Abner and Gulliver
Content Warning: These stories are about violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and may include references to suicide or self-harming behaviours. They may contain graphic descriptions and strong language and may be distressing. Some narratives may be about First Nations people who have passed away. If you need support, please see Contact & support.
‘There’s people being abused everywhere.’
Gulliver is in his 60s and lives with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. Gulliver is the legal guardian of his nephew, Abner, who lives with cognitive and physical disabilities following a motorbike accident about 20 years ago.
More than a decade after the crash, Gulliver helped Abner’s mother move him into a group home in a regional town closer to where they lived.
Gulliver told the Royal Commission the manager of the group home tried to take control of Abner’s finances by keeping his bank card – ‘To the point where she refused to let me or [Abner’s mother] use it.’
Gulliver said before the manager went on holidays, Abner’s mother demanded the bank card back.
‘[The manager] didn’t want to hand it over. So [Abner’s] mother insisted, and when she got it off [the manager], she said, “And you’re not getting it back either.”’
Gulliver said he discovered discrepancies in Abner’s accounts, including the use of Abner’s card to buy food such as pizza.
‘[Abner] doesn’t eat pizza. So, I don’t know who ate the three large pizzas. It’s a pretty sad story, isn’t it?’
Gulliver was appointed Abner’s legal guardian and power of attorney. He then had ‘a lot of trouble from the staff up through the ranks’ to the service provider’s senior managers.
‘They considered me an affront to their authority and duly let me know. And from then on, it was more or less a nightmare.’
Gulliver said, for example, that staff ruined the carpet in Abner’s room by failing to empty his urine bag. He demanded the service provider change the carpet.
‘From that day on, their staff were brutal to me and [Abner’s mother] … They were calling the police on me. They were calling the police on [Abner]. I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were psychologically abusing [Abner]. They were bullying me and [his] mother.’
Gulliver says other residents are being abused, including a man who had his finger caught in the bus door.
‘They bandaged it up and left it for about a fortnight, I believe it was. It went gangrene, and he had to have his finger removed.’
The experiences have left Gulliver anxious and depressed. To help him ‘get out of this’ feeling of helplessness, Gulliver started his own business.
‘My goal is to have a successful business that employs people on disability employment, and I’ve just employed my first young man.’
Gulliver also moved Abner to a group home run by another service provider in another town.
‘I’m absolutely thrilled with the way he’s being looked after. And the manager there is as straight as a gun barrel. She doesn’t take any rubbish from the employees. And [Abner] is a different person altogether … He’s happy.’
Gulliver told the Royal Commission that some service providers ‘absolutely abused’ the government resources allocated to help people with disability.
‘Years ago they … didn’t have these facilities and people died, died living on the streets, or ended up in mental asylums where they should never have been. All that’s changed … but the attitude has gotten worse.’
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.