Question: NDIS cuts
Question to Council Chambers - Councillor Seal Chong Wah – Paddington Ward
Chambers Meeting -25th August 2026
My question is to the Lord Mayor, through the chair, about supporting our disabled community.
In Federal parliament, both Labor and the LNP have voted to cut billions from the NDIS, instead of making big business and the ultra rich pay their fair share. This will kick over two hundred thousand disabled people off the support system, including thousands of our residents.
This Council has also failed our disabled community through austerity budgeting. Footpaths are cracked, uneven, and narrow. Ramps and lifts aren’t being built. Tac-tiles are damaged or missing. Council facilities like Kurilpa Library aren’t wheelchair accessible, and aren’t being upgraded.
To quote former paralympian disability advocate and wheelchair user Karni Liddell: “The reason I’m spending on support workers is because I can’t access the city. I can’t access playgrounds. I can’t access parks.” “Right now, I’m only using support workers because I’m a mother in a wheelchair who cannot take her children to Southbank and any playground in Brisbane City.”
Lord Mayor, through the chair, will you support Brisbane’s disabled community by committing to increasing funding for new footpaths, ramps, lifts and accessibility upgrades, and footpath maintenance?