Kay Hull (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Absolutely. She gets the results. This is not a result for Sue Davies personally, for her personal life; this is a result that Sue Davies has delivered as the Manager of Kurrajong Early Intervention Service to families right across my electorate and beyond. She has brought together a wide range of experience. The team consists of, as I said, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, special educators and family support workers. Through the Rural Beginnings Program, funded by the minister sitting here today in the chamber, she has been able to give hope and deliver enormous steps forward for our children with disabilities, their families and communities.

Kurrajong Early Intervention Service was one of only 23 providers that were successful in obtaining a grant under the Australian government’s Early Childhood—Invest to Grow initiative to operate their Rural Beginnings Program. Their main goals have always been to work with families and their children to enable the children to reach their full potential and the families to function effectively and functionally as an accepted part of the community. That is the entitlement of all Australians—to be able to reach their full potential and function as a family regardless of the trials and tribulations of disabilities that may come.

One of the main aims was to expand the evidence base of what works in early childhood intervention and to develop tools and resources to support other early childhood intervention services in rural and isolated areas. In many of the city areas we take it for granted that we can access the types of occupational services that we require. But certainly in rural areas they are very difficult to access. So this program was essential in exposing people to a suite of services to determine whether this could make a difference, and it certainly has made a difference. It has allowed Kurrajong Early Intervention Service to expand and develop their innovative model of early childhood intervention and their service delivery to rural areas around my electorate.

More than one in 20 young children from nought to six years of age in New South Wales have a disability or a developmental delay. The first three years of life are critical to lay the foundations for what will happen over the life span. Our research shows that early childhood intervention can significantly improve the development and functioning of children with disabilities and developmental delays, make a substantial difference to families’ wellbeing and reduce both the children’s and families’ dependence on costly specialist services later in life, which is a cost to government and to the taxpayer. Investment in the early years will have substantial long-term benefits. For every dollar spent in early intervention there is a saving of $700 to the community. It is in these ways that early childhood intervention benefits us all and deserves the support of our entire community and our governments.

Early childhood intervention really does make a difference, so the services that Kurrajong Early Intervention Service provide are simply so important. The best part about their book is that it will allow other professionals and service providers to take the information and the work that has been compiled by Kurrajong Early Intervention Service that has been found to be successful in delivering results and to incorporate these well-documented measures into their own services and practices. The book also addresses the difficult problems of recruitment and retention of therapists to country areas and it recognises this through, as I have indicated previously, the hub and spoke structure.

As I have indicated, the organisation received funding under Stronger Families and Communities of $1.5 million over the years 2004 to 2008. I truly believe that this is a really great example of the community taking responsibility and applying guidelines to manage early intervention within communities in various areas of population and availability of services.

The Rural Beginnings Project has enabled the expansion of these services to the areas of Tumut, Tumbarumba, Gundagai, Temora, Cootamundra, Junee, Narrandera, Lockhart and Coolamon, with between 60 to 70 families in these areas alone supported through this program. There is a team of 24 people and each year there are up to 200 children just from those small areas on their books. Kurrajong Early Intervention Service is regarded as a lighthouse program and a best practice service. The book has the potential to be a timely catalyst in Australian early intervention for children.

Again I take the opportunity to congratulate the Kurrajong Early Intervention Team on the work that they have done with the model and the book. It is so fantastic to see the innovative ideas and exciting practices that will now be able to be followed by many throughout Australia and even on an international level. You can pick up many programs from this book and drop them into so many communities.

I support this bill entirely. It will improve the quality of life for around 130,000 children with a disability, their families and their carers, and it is a practical way in which we as federal members and as a government can help with difficult, challenging and lifelong tasks that may be undertaken in caring for a child with a disability. I commend the bill. I commend Kurrajong Early Intervention Service and I commend the staff and the dedicated and committed people who provide a service well and truly above and beyond their financial remuneration. If you were to factor in the hours that they put in out of their own valuable recreation time—time that they are not spending with their families or doing things of pleasure for themselves—you would see the great amount of effort they devote to children. I commend the bill to the House and thank the minister for his unrelenting support of families supporting children with a disability.

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