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‘Just be kind’: The three-word message from one boy to the royal commission

Early in the disability royal commission Quaden Bayles – a nine-year-old boy with dwarfism who had given harrowing evidence about being bullied at his primary school – said three words that left a profound impression on chair Ronald Sackville.

“Just be kind,” Quaden said, when asked what message he had for new children who hadn’t learned about his disability.

Quaden Bayles’ plea for people to “Just be kind” left a lasting impression on royal commission chair Ronald Sackville.

Quaden Bayles’ plea for people to “Just be kind” left a lasting impression on royal commission chair Ronald Sackville.Credit: Dan Peled

“This young boy saying that just really left a mark,” Sackville says. “This is what the royal commission is about – we have to change community attitudes towards people with disability because that is the source of discrimination, abuse, violence and exploitation. He just encapsulated that.”

After four-and-a-half years, 32 public hearings, 1785 private sessions, almost 8000 submissions, 28 research reports and about $600 million – the most expensive royal commission in Australian history – the final report was handed to the governor-general on Thursday. It is expected to be made public on Friday.

The commission heard of sickening incidents of violence and appalling conditions in group homes, the widespread exclusion of children with disabilities in the school system, the glacial COVID-19 vaccine rollout for people living in disability homes, and the abysmal employment rate of people with a disability.

Quaden and his mother, Yarraka Bayles.

Quaden and his mother, Yarraka Bayles.Credit: Dan Peled

Quaden, now 12, said it was “awesome and amazing” that his message had resonated with the royal commission chair.

“My message is not just to the royal commission, it’s to the whole world. When you see a kid like me, don’t stare at me.”

The royal commission played an excerpt of a video Quaden’s mother, Yarraka Bayles, had posted on her private Facebook page in early 2020, which showed his extreme emotional distress after he was patted on the head and mocked over his height in the school yard.

The video was posted by others on YouTube and soon went viral, with many high-profile people, including actor Hugh Jackman, showing their support and echoing Quaden’s clarion call for a more inclusive society.

Quaden says he is no longer bullied, although he sometimes has social anxiety about leaving the house because he is often stared at.

He has starred in two films directed by Hollywood royalty George Miller – Three Thousand Years of Longing – and the upcoming Furiosa, a prequel to the post-apocalyptic blockbuster Mad Max: Fury Road.

Quaden’s mother hopes the royal commission recommends guidelines for schools on how to tackle bullying.

In her evidence she suggested a “Quaden’s law” to protect students from bullying, akin to Ryan’s Rule in public hospitals in Queensland, a three-step process to raise concerns if a patient’s health is getting worse. This could include an anonymous reporting system at every school.

“What’s happening now obviously isn’t working ... especially with marginalised communities, Indigenous communities, or people from migrant backgrounds that also have a diagnosis. That’s like a double-edged sword.”

Governor-General David Hurley receives the final report by the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, from Ronald Sackville, chair of the royal commission, at Government House.

Governor-General David Hurley receives the final report by the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, from Ronald Sackville, chair of the royal commission, at Government House. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

She says appearing before the royal commission was a huge weight off her shoulders because the family didn’t have to suffer in silence anymore.

“The amount of people that have reached out, families that have lost their children to suicide because of the bullying, and also people that are reaching out saying they’re still experiencing that and asking for any support or advice,” Bayles says. “We’ve been able to help, pay it forward and support other people with all the support that we’ve gotten.”

Bayles is glad Quaden made such an impression on the royal commission.

“His dad was like ‘that’s solid my boy’, we were very proud. Quaden just speaks from the heart and people can feel that.”

Disability royal commission chair Ronald Sackville.

Disability royal commission chair Ronald Sackville.Credit: Rhett Wyman

In an interview with The Age, Sackville said the commission was concerned about the “awful circumstances” in which some people were forced to live in supported residential services, a type of privately run group home in Victoria.

It heard two of these homes – Sydenham Grace and Gracemanor – were spending just $2 per person a day on food and a woman was left lying in the communal area of a supported residential service for more than two hours after she died.

Sackville said the commission’s final report would touch on supported residential services.

“Counsel assisting submissions for that public hearing will indicate the issues that have been identified and the failures of the regulatory system in Victoria to address the serious deficiencies in some supported residential services,” he said.

“That forms part of a much broader subject matter dealing with security of tenure and decent accommodation for people with disability to ensure that they have effective choice and that they’re living in conditions that are appropriately adjusted to their interests, their needs and so on. SRSs (supported residential services) are a pretty obvious example of deficiencies that do need to be addressed.”

Sackville is optimistic the royal commission will have a lasting policy influence.

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He points to the government already adopting all but one of its recommendations on the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, after a hearing was told under 5 per cent of disability home residents had been vaccinated three months into the national program.

“The experience thus far suggests to me that yes, our recommendations will be taken extremely seriously not only by the Commonwealth but also by the states.”

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