THEY are the unsung heroes of our community, selflessly looking after the young, old and infirm.
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Without them, thousands would be abandoned to social services' care and the government would struggle to meet the costs associated.
They are unpaid carers – a staggering 2.8 million of them nationwide – and they regularly cop a raw deal.
Imagine the relentlessness, the carousel of loneliness, the sheer tedium of being on call around the clock to care for a helpless fellow human.
Love, of course, is a powerful stimulant.
The vast majority of carers are driven by that universal force and don’t complain.
But that's not to say they don’t deserve a break – or a modicum of recognition.
The recent National Carers Week was as much about saying thank you to carers as it was about educating the community about the invisible army of carers out there.
It was also about harnessing the attention of decision makers and provoking a meaningful political debate about the needs of the disabled and their carers.
Australia is a civilised and wealthy country and we should have the compassion to help those who through genetics, fate or folly, have found themselves with special needs.
They deserve our support so they can retain the independence and dignity that goes with making a worthwhile contribution to society.
That door has simply not been open enough for them in the past.
Mercifully, the government has finally recognised that and is forging ahead with a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
This is the single most important breakthrough for the disability sector in our nation’s history.
People with a disability and their carers don’t need pity, they need a larger safety net, and that’s what they will get.
They need greater access to respite care, greater access to meaningful work, greater access to financial help and greater access to a range of other important services like mental health support.
The disabled should be afforded due dignity and their carers should be afforded the respect such an important role demands.
The NDIS will roll out in Dubbo in July 2017 and it can’t come soon enough to help our region’s underappreciated heroes.
It won’t fix everything, but it’s a good start.