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

It is again a great pleasure to rise in support of a member who has decided to put his support behind autism and the families of people with autism. I have done this many times in the House. I have had grievance debates and put up many issues in relation to autism. So it gives me great pleasure to now stand as a member of the opposition supporting families who have children with autism. There is no doubt that we need early and accurate diagnosis of autism. This needs to be supported by treatment plans that are prepared by early intervention specialists. I have one such early intervention specialist in my city of Wagga Wagga that covers the entire area around the Riverina. They do a sensational job and it is not autism specific but it is dealing with a lot of mums and dads and new babies and providing a significant approach to the way in which autistic children will be able to achieve their life’s potential.

It is unfortunate that, at the completion of education, around seven out of eight people with autism receive the disability support benefit once they reach an eligible age. With early intervention this can be halved if not further reduced simply because it enables the much-needed speech pathology and a host of other occupational therapies to take place that will enable a child to go into mainstream, if that is the case, and be able to make a fist of that. We need to be able to prepare our young autism sufferers to live and work independently. In fact, it can happen. The majority of these young people do not have intellectual disabilities and they do not have health reasons why they really cannot participate in a normal workforce. They just simply have not had access to early diagnosis and the available treatments with significant treatment plans that give access to numerous services.

Just recently 27-year-old Justin Omrod from Orange, who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, decided to go on a bike ride. He came through my region of Cootamundra, Junee, Wagga Wagga and Gundagai. On his ride he was trying to indicate to the minister that he wanted the commitment to autism honoured. During his ride Justin launched a 16-page publication called Turning wheels for autism. It is a navigation book for country New South Wales. This is a guide to autism and the book contains information about what autism is, hints for families and carers, and contacts and support services. Justin did a fabulous job in raising the issues of autism through his ability to cycle such long distances.

I would like to thank the government and the minister particularly for funding for another 12 months the program from Currajong Early Intervention Service called Team around the Child. It was most welcome, and even if it is just for 12 months it has enabled us to keep our professionals. I would urge the minister to come to visit the program and to see just what a hub and spoke network does for early intervention services in rural and regional areas. We have this outreach service that goes out to the communities, and many of the clients of Team around the Child have been the families who are experiencing autism in one or two members—at times there can be three tragic cases—where there has been no support services made available to these families.

I thank the minister for funding Team around the Child: Working together in early childhood intervention. It was a fabulous initiative of the last minister. It has now been responded to by the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin. I openly urge her to look at this program, to see that this program could be rolled out right across Australia. It is sensational. It has now been adopted in many countries overseas. In my view, it is a great credit to Kurrajong Early Intervention Services, particularly Sue Davies, who has retired and moved on to easier issues. She is a women who has fought fiercely for the rights of those in the disability sector. (Time expired)

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