Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Hansard source

Jill, for goodness sake, do not let the cat of the bag! Similarly, last year I had the privilege of addressing In 2 Life, which is a national youth organisation that supports Australia's youth by building help-seeking behaviours, coping strategies and life skills amongst peers. In 2012, In 2 Life launched their suicide prevention program, that was inclusive of a Facebook page. I was recently informed by Darryn Keneally, one of In 2 Life's directors, that since the introduction of the Facebook page the group has grown to approximately 23,000 members. The use of Facebook has provided another avenue for young people to engage in and utilise a significant resource of support.

Like many in this place, I have been involved with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and have met with many ambassadors from my own electorate of Sturt. Lorraine Pitman—the Family Voices committee chair—and her son, Thomas, have been fantastic ambassadors for JDRF. Lorraine has been involved with setting up workshops that assist people with type 1 diabetes to navigate through their challenges. In October last year, I attended the Walk for Juvenile Diabetes to raise awareness and funds for this group. I had the pleasure of supporting Oscar Lawrance from Sturt on this walk and the privilege to host him when he attended Parliament House in November for Kids in the House. Georgia Hall is another youngster from Sturt whom I have taken the time to meet with to discuss the concerns she has about facing diabetes. She raised a number of issues where the system is failing them. Along with meeting young ambassadors for JDRF, I have met with the chief executive officer Mike Wilson. Through all these conversations and this dialogue, what has been very clear is the need for the NDIS to be a success, and the need for it to be incredibly apparent and transparent in people's lives.

I must also acknowledge the work of the Every Australian Counts campaign, chaired by John Della Bosca, which has sought to keep the NDIS in the public mind on behalf of disability organisations. I did speak at the Every Australian Counts rally—alongside the member for Mayo—which was held in Adelaide with David Hoist and many of my South Australian parliamentary colleagues. During this campaign, I was invited to attend the DisabiliTEA that was being conducted Direct Care Australia, a fantastic organisation in Sturt that specialises in nursing recruitment, and providing personal and domestic care. The morning tea was attended by local service providers and carers. It provided an opportunity to have an open and frank discussion about the need for a way to overcome the issues currently facing the disability sector and the need for successful implementation of the NDIS. Andrew Daly, the chief executive officer of the Royal Society for the Blind—which exists in the north of my electorate—has gone through his concerns with me on many occasions about the way the NDIS deals with blindness as a disability.

In my role as a shadow minister for education, I firmly believe that there is no shame in a learning disability; the only shame is if it is not recognised and treated to an individual's needs. We are calling for the use of modified curricula and instruction in education, appropriate assistive technology and extra time for learning as students with disabilities go through school. It is crucial for children who suffer from a learning disability to receive the appropriate diagnosis, treatment and support in their school. I am currently working with the Specific Learning Difficulties Association of South Australia, SPELD, to raise awareness of this by asking the parliament to formally recognise dyslexia as a disability and to provide funding to ensure that students with dyslexia receive high-quality intervention as soon as the diagnosis has been confirmed.

Dyslexia is not a sign that children are lazy or unintelligent; it is a genuine disability. Sadly, proper support for children with dyslexia has not always been available. Although attitudes are changing as people come to understand the condition more, there is still much work to be done. We need to ensure that all Australian children with dyslexia and other learning difficulties get the support they need. The NDIS, properly implemented, will dramatically improve the lives of people with a disability. A coalition government will deliver it for all Australians and will work with the Labor government for as long as it is in power to make sure that the NDIS is successfully implemented. I thank the House.

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