This morning, I developed an extreme case of the irrits. Those of you who know me well would be aware that before 10am is not considered kosher. Imagine my horror when my phone startled me out of a sound sleep at eight o'clock. Particularly as I had broken my bedtime cup of tea all over the floor and was not inclined to face the carnage of porcelain and cold sticky tea that early in the day.
Refusing to respond to a call at the crack of dawn, I returned to slumber, only to be awoken a second time at 10.20am. Succumbing to the reality of Getting Up, I retired to the loo to check for phone calls, messages and emails. I was not impressed to receive a message from a bloke in Melbourne named Jerwin, employed by ANZ who was pestering me for information.
Now Jerwin had also sent the message whilst driving what sounded like a fairly revved up sports car. Probably electric. We drive a 2017 Diesel Holden Colorado, so I was immediately on the back foot. Jerwin was an ANZ operative who was part of the infamous KYC (Know Your Customer) team who harassed us for three months last year, without revealing the information they really wanted. I had responded to Jerwin's email on 7 October providing the information (again) and had not even received an acknowledgement.
Are these people stupid or do they just not give a shit?!
As a result, I spent thirty minutes on hold, waiting for a Senior representative to respond to my most aggrieved communication. Nobody confirmed that Jerwin had received my email providing the answers to their enquiry. Nobody apologised for taking up close to an hour of my valuable time asking for information they had already received. Nobody assured me that I would not be harassed by the KYC team in the future.
Give me strength.
Then there is the ongoing saga between Alex and I and that horrendous organisation, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). This entity really is the epitome of the Department of Stealth and Total Obscurity. Their jargon is indecipherable, their rules and regulations a mystery and their purpose appears to favour the myriad of middle managers, rather than the participants themselves. The Grand Plan to make the lives of people with disabilities simpler would be laughable if it wasn't so out of reach.
Alex has Autism and an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) as a result of cardiac surgery or its aftermath. He also has a number of related conditions including very slow processing, right sided muscle weakness, scoliosis, repeated foot fractures, asthma, underlying pseudomonas and a complex congenital heart defect named Tricuspid Atresia. This means Alex has three heart chambers instead of four and three heart valves instead of four. We understand that Tricuspid Atresia is a medical condition not covered by the NDIA.
However, the NDIA has decided not to add Alex's diagnosis of ABI to his profile as "he is not disabled enough by this condition"! I beg to differ and we have produced mountains of reports and recommendations to support registering his ABI to his NDIA profile. And still, the NDIA refuse.
As a result, we are fed up. Instead we will apply to the AAT (Australian Administrative Appeals) to have Alex's ABI added to his profile. Why have the NDIA refused our request? Because Alex would probably be entitled to additional funding for Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and Physiotherapy. The NDIA would rather fund a multitude of agencies controlling services to people with disabilities rather than to their clients directly. This is a disgrace.
As an aside, I was really annoyed by the media coverage of the Prime Minister's new residence. This is lazy journalism. If the news organisations really cared about the homeless, the disabled and the vulnerable, then the NDIA and Centrelink would be front and centre. All too easy to attack a tokenistic target and ignore the real victims of floundering social security systems - Centrelink and the NDIA.
And now, I come to those stuffed shirts, those fearless leaders, those self important would-be politicians honing their skills in local government. Their blatant political ramblings, when they should remain impartial, just does my head in. Crying poor due to state government (Labor) requirements, whilst crowing the achievements of a Beverley trio sent interstate to attend a airshow and speak to the organisers (where is the report, the budget and the recommendations?) sniffs of bias. What a crock.
I have been inquiring about the reticulation, care of the Vincent Street gardens and removal of rubbish for several months. I was assured that there is a gardening and rubbish removal programme in place, followed by the admission that there was no strategic plan in place for the Vincent Street gardens, in spite of a large outlay of capital to complete the redevelopment.
Finally, three months after the Shire promised a replant and mulching, whilst denying my observations of dying street trees and bushes, they have employed a full-time worker to fix the broken reticulation, undertake a mass replanting and return the main street to the beauty after the initial revitalisation two years ago. In late spring, this action is a little late and will involve careful management, including reliable reticulation of the new plantings on a daily basis.
Why do all these people deny or deflect? What is the point of lying to participants, to ratepayers, to constituents when the truth inevitably comes out? Because the mainstream media do not care; they are after the quick buck, the fast headline, the article that has not been fact checked so they can produce a story for the deadline.
Where is the integrity?
And many thanks from Vivian for his profound turn of phrase.
