Sharryn Jackson (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I know it is young, Member for Kalgoorlie. It is young for some. The motto that the Western Australian Disability Services Commission has had is ‘Good access for people with a disability means good access for all people’. That not only has led to some very positive changes in our state but also, I think, reflects good common sense and good business sense.

I noted with some regret the comments made in this place last night by the member for Tangney when he addressed this legislation. He was very concerned that the legislation was going to expose businesses and employers to substantial cost in having to take steps to make their businesses or their goods and services accessible to people with a disability. I was, frankly, a bit concerned by his comments and, indeed, appalled at his lack of understanding of what is happening in his own home state of Western Australia. One of the things that he talked about was access to shops. Whilst he understood that it was practical and proper for a house like the parliament to ensure that we have good access for people with a disability—that growing group of people that I have talked about—he thought it was an outrageous imposition on his local fish and chip shop to maybe have to install a disabled toilet.

I do not know what happens in the electorate of the member for Tangney, but my local fish and chip shops generally do not have toilets for any of their customers, let alone toilets for people with a disability. But they do make sure that the doorways and entrances to their buildings are wide enough not only to accommodate electric wheelchairs and the like but also to accommodate the pushers and prams that parents are often required to use. We are not talking about causing hardship or cost on employers; we are talking about sensible business decisions to allow access to business. Good access for people with a disability means good access for everyone. I know that members of this House would have had the experience of trying to get, for example, double strollers through doorways and can sympathise with that need. Good access is good business sense and good common sense.

Indeed, in Western Australia, by legislation introduced in 2004-05 or thereabouts, all state government agencies and departments and all local government in Western Australia are required by law to develop a disability access and inclusion plan. This was done on a proactive and cooperative basis. It involved, in many cases, good consultation with people with disability in their local communities and state wide to ensure that in Western Australia we have good access for everyone. I know many other states have indicated an interest in the proposal in Western Australia. In the main, it was a wonderful exercise, opening the eyes of many businesses and many local governments to the fact that there were people living in their community who were unable to access their services and benefits.

Another initiative in our home state—which I know also operates in the state of Victoria—is a wonderful thing called the carers card. People with a severe disability are often unable to participate in activities without being accompanied by a carer. I know from my constituents Carol and Norm Franklin that their son Stephen requires a carer in attendance for him to be able to participate in normal activities. Stephen, for good reason or bad, is a one-eyed Dockers supporter, and one of his great delights in life is being able to attend a football match. Until the introduction of the carers card, that involved the family spending twice the amount of money to get Stephen into the football with his carer—twice the amount of money to pay for public transport to and from the ground. Now, with the introduction of the carers card, which is available to people with a disability, many businesses are cooperating with the state government through that scheme and are allowing free entry to the carer. All of them report that that has been a positive scheme and, indeed, they are displaying logos in their businesses and enterprises to ensure that people know that they are supporters of the carers card. This is being done with goodwill and cooperation from local business without any kind of fear about unreasonable expense or the like.

In conclusion, I want to share another initiative that is very Western Australian. We have a wonderful scheme that operates in WA, sponsored by the Disability Development Council, which is called the Adopt a Politician Scheme. Most of us who are members of parliament, state or federal, in Western Australia have been fortunate enough to have been adopted by a family who have a family member who has a disability. In my case, I have been adopted by Lisa Harris’s family. Lisa is eight years old and she suffers from a chromosomal abnormality—a condition known as Turner syndrome—and she has a very severe level of disability. She has been wonderfully supported by her parents, Phil and Tania, and is dearly loved by her younger brother, Matty, and younger sister, Lizzie. As a result of my adoption into their family, I have become personally aware of some of the issues and hardships that they confront. Life for them, and the way in which they participate in the community, is very different from what it is for those of us not exposed to the issue of people with a disability.

I see legislation like this having immediate relevance for the Harris family, who live in Kenwick in my electorate. I know that, as a result of legislation like this, Lisa will grow up in a country that has a very clear position on ensuring the proper rights of people with a disability. To that extent, I am delighted to support this legislation today and I urge all members of the House to do so.

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