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Debate, Think Autism Sydney 2025
A call to break the system, and a panellist’s case for new civics
In short
At Think Autism Sydney in May 2025, an audience member called the panel’s solutions slow band aids. A panellist answered with falling faith in democracy and a civics that trains activists.
Read it instead, 4 minutesThe transcript
The story
The challenge came from the floor near the end of the opening panel at Think Autism Sydney in May 2025. An audience member said that the panel’s talk of representation and entrepreneurship was important, but that “these are all like very band-aid slow solutions”. Their questions went to the structures underneath. They asked why there was not enough funding in education, why emotional intelligence, a basic skill, was not in the curriculum, and why everything was loaded onto parents when it should be the state that takes care of children. “We don’t want to fight for crumbs,” they said. Things should simply be funded more.
They went further. They asked why children have so little autonomy in the first place, and why a child rocking or self soothing is seen as antisocial behaviour. They asked what antisocial behaviour even is, and argued that the label is used to oppress poor people and mentally ill people. Autistic inclusion was one part of that, they said, and the systems themselves should be broken down. Their question to the panel was how.
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Sources the story draws on
- Democracy (2025 Lowy Institute Poll) (opens in a new tab), Lowy Institute (Ryan Neelam)
- From Classroom to Community: Strengthening civics education (opens in a new tab), Parliament of Australia, House of Representatives (media release)
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