![\"Fiona](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773188949_204_f097b4e3f0d69c08f0f59b4df3666d3bb07289a3328407fb2a92a31e98bdcd52.png\")
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Heartbreak High star Chloe Hayden may have missed out on sharing her thoughts at the weekend\u2019s Labor state conference, but the award-winning actor and disability rights activist has used a far bigger megaphone to voice her concerns about the Labor Party \u2013 her 425,000 strong Instagram platform.<\/p>\n The perceived slight has seen Hayden, who found fame playing Quinni<\/a> on the Netflix series, slam organisers online, claiming she was denied the opportunity to speak, alleging access and inclusion shortfalls at the event and labelling the conference undemocratic.<\/p>\n In what has turned into an own goal, the conference could not accommodate Hayden<\/a> on the schedule at Centrepiece at Melbourne Park, with the actor, author, podcaster and Labor Party member claiming to have been told on both days that time had run out for her to have the floor.<\/p>\n She had wanted to address a number of issues including holding the party \u201caccountable for the growing divide between their words and their actions\u201d regarding inclusion, the \u201clack of access\u201d at the event, the impact of NDIS cuts and the \u201cexhausting bureaucracy\u201d faced by disabled people.<\/p>\n Hayden lives with ADHD and autism<\/a> and has been an authoritative young voice on equality and inclusion for neurodivergent and disabled people. She also knows how to make a statement, wearing a trench with the phrase \u201cFix the system, not me\u201d on its back to the conference.<\/p>\n After missing out on a chance to air her views, Hayden fired up her Instagram<\/a> on Sunday afternoon to blast the conference, claiming wheelchair delegates had been stuck upstairs for 40 minutes on Saturday, that staff did not know where the venue\u2019s \u201cquiet room\u201d was located and the lack of live captioning during presentations.<\/p>\n \u201cI am sick and tired of accessibility being a buzzword pulled out for votes but refused to be used in practice. Democracy cannot exist when you are refusing access,\u201d she posted before reading the speech she had planned to give at the gathering of party faithful.<\/p>\n As of Monday morning, the reel had attracted more than 317,000 views \u2013 which is about 315,000 more than attended the conference.<\/p>\n \u201cYou cannot sit there and pat yourself on the back for being accessible when your lack of access would cause rightful outrage and consequences if this lack of access was demonstrated in a local primary school. It is not democracy if participation is conditional,\u201d she told her followers.<\/p>\n Hayden went on to note Labor had enshrined reasonable adjustments to ensure inclusion in the Disability Discrimination Act and the Fair Work Act.<\/p>\n All up, it was a big \u2018do better\u2019 clapback.<\/p>\n Labor Party state secretary Steve Staikos denied the conference was undemocratic, but acknowledged there were improvements to be made regarding accessibility.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re proud this was our most accessible conference yet, we acknowledge there\u2019s more to do and we are committed to getting better each year,\u201d Staikos told CBD.<\/p>\n \u201cAccessibility is an ongoing effort; we\u2019ll keep working with Labor Enabled and our members to implement our Disability Action Plan and improve accessibility within our party.\u201d<\/p>\n CBD understands that Hayden was one of a number of delegates that did not get a chance to speak. A lift malfunction on Saturday meant delegates in wheelchairs were delayed moving between floors, and awareness of the quiet room location will be reviewed.<\/p>\n It is just a hunch here at CBD, but next time Hayden wants to share her thoughts at a Labor event we figure she is likely to get the floor.<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Heartbreak](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/82cb9d699801602141069c6782c2a81f88af44c7.jpeg\")
Heartbreak High star and disability advocate Chloe Hayden claims the Labor state conference needs to improve its access and support for people with disabilities. Instagram\/@chloeshayden\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Hayden](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ecbe47c3614e71ffbaa19da08784b52b17946c87.jpeg\")
Hayden (left) in Netflix\u2019s Heartbreak High with Gemma Chua-Tran. Lisa Tomasetti\/Netflix<\/p>\n![\"Fiona](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/f097b4e3f0d69c08f0f59b4df3666d3bb07289a3328407fb2a92a31e98bdcd52.png\")
Fiona Byrne<\/a> is the CBD columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":692803,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,134],"class_list":["post-692802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=692802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692802\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/692803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=692802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=692802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=692802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}