DISABILITY WELFARE PROPOSAL ANNOUNCED
by KIM TOWERS, World Assembly Correspondent, and SARAH PLEDYS, Political Editor
World Assembly HQ – A proposed resolution tasked with ensuring that those who are disabled have access to benefits was today submitted to World Assembly Delegates to approve for vote by the Sanctarian Ambassador to the World Assembly, Dr. Christian Ferguson. This is the second time the proposal has been submitted to delegates, the first time having failed to achieve sufficient approvals. Ferguson, approaching his first anniversary as Sanctarian Ambassador to the World Assembly, is confident that the proposal will reach quorum within the next few days.
This is not the first proposal that Ferguson has submitted to the World Assembly; his previous submission, Repeal "Missing Minors Act", was successfully adopted by the World Assembly to become GA#133. When questioned on his hopes for this his second submission, Ferguson replied that he was "confident" it would not only reach quorum but would also "eventually be approved by the Assembly as a whole". The "Disability Welfare Act", previously called "Enabling the Disabled", is intended to ensure that World Assembly member nations provide "adequate benefits" to those who are disabled and cannot work.
Regarding the background of the introduction of this proposal, Dr. Ferguson also indicated that this is just one of many social justice proposals which would be appearing on the Assembly floor, though this may be the only one authored by himself. "There exists a group effort", Ferguson said, "in which many Ambassadors are working towards total social equality through a variety of proposals, including this one. Other proposals which may be coming up include parental leave and pensions, to mention just a few. But we're looking at about ten Social Justice proposals in all, perhaps a little fewer."
Speaking on the actual proposal, Ferguson stated that although such a system exists in many countries, there do exists countries where those who are disabled are "simply left to fend for themselves"; he continued to say that he believed there existed an "inherent tenet" in the World Assembly that "those who genuinely cannot help themselves due to a disability should be helped by their government." Ferguson also confirmed that he referenced the social welfare code of the Divine Republic when drafting but that the proposal is written in such a way that Sanctarian beliefs are not enforced on the World Assembly member nations as a whole.
Whatever the outcome of the approval process, and then the final vote, Secretary for Social Welfare and Family Affairs, Deputy Andrew Silk, has confirmed that all disabled Sanctarian residents have access to disability benefits in order to make their lives more comfortable and enjoyable.