Thursday, 6 March 2025

 Gabrielle DE VIETRI (Richmond) (14:47): (1036) My question is for the Attorney-General. Everyone should have the right to share their own stories, but people in my electorate under guardianship orders are afraid to speak out. In fact current laws make it unlawful for people under financial administration, state care or guardianship – predominately disabled people – to speak out publicly about their experiences, whether it is on social media, podcasts or documentaries or even at a royal commission hearing. If they do, they can be taken to court like disability advocate Uli Cartwright was, even fined or imprisoned. These laws are deeply disempowering, and findings from the disability royal commission, from the Office of the Public Advocate and from the Victorian Law Reform Commission all point to the need to reform these gag laws. Will the government change the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 so that people with disabilities have the right to tell their own stories?