Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Last Friday I hosted a disabilities forum in my electorate, the second such forum I have hosted since becoming a member of parliament. I find community forums are a wonderful way of getting together individuals and organisations that are passionately involved with a particular issue and giving them the opportunity to express their views direct to government. The purpose of the forum was to enhance the dialogue between government and the disabilities community by allowing individuals to hear about the current and future government reforms in this area and by giving these community members and organisations an opportunity to raise their issues directly with government officials.

The forum was held at the Mounties Club in Mount Pritchard. I would like to use this opportunity to thank Mounties and their CEO, Greg Pickering, for providing the venue and catering for the meeting. This is just one of the many examples of the good work that Greg and his team at Mounties do for their local community. They are certainly an indispensible part of the south-west of Sydney.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers, Senator Jan McLucas, was also present on behalf of the government. She was there to hear firsthand the concerns and issues being raised by disability organisations and individuals alike. More than 60 active local community members, including people with disabilities, parents, carers and service providers, were in attendance. We had a number of speakers from local disability groups, including Lucy Reggio from the Special Needs Ability Program Providers, Grace Fava from the Autism Advisory and Support Service and Branko Boskoski from Disabilities South West. The speakers were highly inspirational, outlining their own journeys and their current commitment to supporting or assisting those living with disabilities.

Representatives from 15 other local disability groups were present. I would like to praise the contribution that they make to our community, where people and families living with disabilities are unfortunately overrepresented. The forum provided individuals, carers and community disability groups with the opportunity to tell us what the government can do to help make their lives a little easier. The issues raised during the forum ranged from everyday concerns faced by individuals with disabilities and their carers to the government's current and future directions in respect of the disability sector.

I was particularly inspired by a number of individual stories. One that really struck a chord with me was that of a 16-year-old woman called Rebecca. Rebecca is a student, but she is also the full-time carer for her father, who has polio. She is currently endeavouring to maintain her education while looking after her father in the process. I thought her experiences and what she said at the conference were truly inspirational. A number of other individuals also shared their stories of dedication and commitment and of assisting not only themselves in their day-to-day life with disability but also their family members or fellow members of the community.

I am in the process of compiling a report outlining the issues that were raised during the forum which will make a contribution to the government's future directions and policy development in the disability sector. The Gillard government's strong commitment to ensuring individuals with disabilities and their carers are adequately assisted has been demonstrated in a number of recent policies in this area, including the early intervention and workforce participation measures, the Better Start for Children with Disability initiative and a number of other programs. All of these were fully discussed during the course of this forum.

Disability has always been an area which I have taken a very close interest in, and it is an area which this government has justifiably made one of its priorities. I am personally committed to doing all I can as a member of parliament to assist the disability community. I know that, regrettably, some people are dealt a very hard hand in life, but as a government and as a caring society we need to act to make life a little easier for those who have a lot of challenges ahead of them, particularly in raising a family and pursuing employment.

Before concluding, could I mention Hoxton Industries, an employer of people with disabilities. They currently employ over 150 people with disabilities. They make an extraordinary contribution to our community and I would encourage any employer who can to outsource work to Hoxton Industries and the like, as it would be a very valuable contribution to our community. (Time expired)

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