Royal commission

• With 20 state-of-the-art trains running on a 22.4 km line featuring 17 strategic stations and stops, the initiative encapsulates luxury, history, and green mobility like no other.
• The tramway draws inspiration from the historic Hijaz railway; passengers will be immersed in a journey encapsulating AlUla's profound connection to its history.
• Commenting on RCU's progress, Mohammed Altheeb, RCU Chief Development and Construction officer, stated, "The AlUla Experiential Tramway is not just a mode of transport; it is a celebration of our history and a bridge to our future.
• Mohammed Khalil, Managing Director of Alstom Saudi Arabia, further added, "This collaboration with RCU underscores Alstom's dedication to Saudi Arabia's bright and sustainable future.

• FII Institute announces its list of partners, representing leading global organizations from business, academia, and public policy sectors.
• This year's activities will culminate in three days of focused discussion about challenges facing humanity to take place in Riyadh between 24-26 October during the FII7 conference.
• The line up of FII Institute partners for 2023 is stronger than ever before.
• Richard Attias, CEO of the Future Investment Initiative Institute said:
  "Our partners are what make the FII Institute community so impactful.

• This was how Richard*, who has an intellectual disability, described his general experiences with medical professionals.
• He was among 18 adults with intellectual disability and eight support people we spoke to for a study on how people with intellectual disability have experienced medical care.
• This work, part of a broader body of research on intellectual disability and medical care, has revealed an urgent need to shift the deeply entrenched assumptions many health-care workers often hold about patients with intellectual disability.

Centring lived experience from the outset

• We set out to involve people with lived experience of intellectual disability in the project design, implementation and interpretation.
• This meant people with intellectual disability were often unsure why they were having a genetic test at all.
• The video below shows an all-too-common experience for people with intellectual disability seeing a doctor for genetic testing.
• Read more:
  Hospitals only note a person's intellectual disability 20% of the time – so they don't adjust their care

Post-diagnosis support is often lacking

• It touches on deeply personal issues of identity, health implications for children and extended family, and future health.
• For example, after a genetic diagnosis Katrina said:
  I feel like I’m not normal now.
• However, people with intellectual disability told us they were rarely connected with appropriate psychological supports after their diagnosis.
• […] I knew I wasn’t normal to others – I knew I was missing, some part of my brain has gone missing.
• […] I knew I wasn’t normal to others – I knew I was missing, some part of my brain has gone missing.

Change is underway

• Failing to address this means fewer people with intellectual disability getting health checks and screenings, leading to poorer long-term health.
• The average life expectancy of Australians with intellectual disability is already shockingly low compared to the general population.
• But slowly, change is underway.
• If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
• She is also a Board member of Self Advocacy Sydney, an organisation run by and for people with intellectual disability.
• The institute that Jackie Leach Scully directs has received funding from the NHMRC and the NSW Department of Health.

• The final report of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability follows years of advocacy from the disability community.
• The final report recommends disability service providers offer redress to people with disability who experience harm while receiving their services.
• Read more:
  Disability royal commissioners disagreed over phasing out 'special schools' – that leaves segregation on the table

What do ‘institutionalisation’ and ‘segregation’ mean?

• All people with disability have the human right to live independently in the community regardless of how high their support needs are.
• In 20th century Australia, people with disability were institutionalised in many large residential settings.
• People with disability remain traumatised by their experiences, yet governments and charities have not been called to account.
• Read more:
  The disability royal commission recommendations could fix some of the worst living conditions – but that's just the start

Problems today

• Today, many people – especially those with intellectual disability – live in group homes where segregation, social isolation, violence and lack of choice in their daily lives are a common reality.
• The disability royal commission heard how group homes replicate the harm of large residential settings, with operators failing to prevent violence and avoiding accountability.

Recognising wrongs

• Reparations are actions to recognise and respond to systemic wrongs.
• They might involve compensation, restitution (such as returning money or property) or rehabilitation (health or legal services).
• Reparations can seek satisfaction (with apologies and memorials) and guarantees something won’t happen again via law reform or human rights education.

What do people with disability want?

• It is time to work with people with disability towards a national apology from the government.
• In 2021, the Council for Intellectual Disability demanded withdrawal of an application for tourist re-zoning of Peat Island (the site of a disability institution for 99 years) and for memorialisation and truth-telling.
• We found people with intellectual disability support the wider community learning more of what was experienced in these places.
• Read more:
  'Don't shove us off like we're rubbish': what people with intellectual disability told us about their local community

A way forward

• The disability royal commission has highlighted systemic violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation in today’s Australia.
• Reparations are one way to do this.
• Jack Kelly has contributed to projects that have been funded by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).