Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I second the motion. I thank the member for Hotham for raising such an important issue. It is an issue that has many complex levels within it. I take this from the International Year of Disabled Persons, when that was first a focus for educational reform in Australia. The issue is the mindset and understanding of people who are not only within schools but within communities. In that era, people with disabilities or cerebral palsy or a special medical condition were often placed in special education centres and we did not have the interaction that we saw emerge in the 80s when children were brought into mainstream classrooms. When you take an initiative like that, you also have to consider the training for teachers. The point that the member for Hotham made, in terms of the teaching profession, is critical. In those days you were dealing with 30 children in a classroom and, if you had somebody in your classroom with very particular needs, there was also the requirement for support and additional effort, not only by the school but by the education sector.

When this motion was proposed, I spoke to both major jurisdictions in Western Australia: Catholic Education and state education. I want to acknowledge the intent and effort made by those jurisdictions in trying to provide for students in an inclusive environment. In fact, one of them stated that students with sensory disabilities or those with ongoing medical conditions are eligible to receive services through the Department of Education or their local Catholic schools through a range of services that they provide. But the other layer in this that they alluded to is community perception. We look at anybody who is different to what we consider meets normal expectation in classrooms or in human beings with a lack of understanding. We never make the effort to be as tolerant as we should be, but we also set benchmarks at a lower level; we never look at expectations. I look at some people who have progressed, like Hawking. If you looked at him in his wheelchair, you would not get a perception of his intellect and capacity and his contribution to the world. In my own teaching profession and career, I had children with disabilities of varying degrees. It was hard work, but I also had a responsibility as a teacher to ensure that consideration was given to what students within my classroom needed. Teachers need to understand a child in their presence and need to think about the potential of that individual. Often we forget about the potential and capacity that a person has.

I have been following the Senate inquiry, like you have, Member for Hotham. I think that some of the submissions I have read are gut wrenching in terms of parents wanting systems to respond to their child, and every parent wants that, but in many cases they are frustrated that some of the very particular services that they need for their child to progress in their educational pathway are not there. I hope that what comes out of the Senate inquiry is a rethink of the mindset around the services and supports that are needed by students and children with disabilities. I know that health and education systems will always say that the expectation of parents is far greater than their capacity to deliver—both the professional approach and the resources required. I think as a society we have an obligation to make sure that the weakest of those in our society, or those who are challenged in their disposition in life, are accorded the same opportunity as anybody else. On that basis, I would hope that the report comes out with some very far-reaching recommendations that cause the rethinking of the delivery of education and training.

I held a disability forum in my first term, and the mothers on that forum all expressed to me that they not only wanted their children to get a good sound education but also wanted them to look at training and career pathways. When they leave this earth, they want their children to be in a position where they can cope for themselves, be part of a community and be accepted for who they are and their capacity to contribute to their community.

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