Justine Keay (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to congratulate the honourable member for bringing this motion before this chamber and the parliament, as it is important that this parliament recognise the fantastic work done by so many in Australia to support people with a disability. With parents, caregivers, support networks, disability organisations and research institutions, there are so many in our nation who make a contribution towards improving the lives of people who live with a disability. I would also like to congratulate all the finalists and winners of the 2016 awards. There is an amazing cross-section of people who are all working hard and making a difference.

I do note that my electorate, and Tasmania as a whole, did not have a nominee in the 2016 awards. But that is not to say that the Tasmanian community does not make a contribution. In fact, in 2015, we had a finalist from my electorate: the Wynyard Yacht Club, in the Excellence for Community Accessibility category. Led by Chris Symonds, who is unable to walk more than 10 metres unaided due to a rare degenerative condition called Kennedy's disease, the Wynyard Yacht Club has created a Sailability program, an initiative providing open-access sailing experiences to the elderly, children and people with a disability. Chris has invited me to go sailing with him soon, and we shall be sailing on the Inglis River and, might I say, a very small section Bass Strait in the Sailability craft. I will be sure to take some Kwells that day! As mentioned, this club was a finalist in the 2015 National Disability Awards and has won Australian Sailing's Club of the Year and the Australian Sports Commission's Community Club Award. The Sailability program brings people to the club from all over Tasmania and has recently installed a lift to enable greater access to the clubhouse for elderly members and those with a disability. Wynyard Yacht Club has also been nominated to host the sailing events at this year's Masters Games, which will be held in the northwest of Tasmania. The club already possess sailing yachts that allow people with mobility issues to compete, and their recent addition of the lift adds to the club's inclusive environment. The Wynyard Yacht Club, like every other winner and finalist of the National Disability Awards, is an example of what we can do as a nation that prides itself on supporting the development of an inclusive society.

'A nation that prides itself on supporting the development of an inclusive society,' are actually the words of the honourable Assistant Minister for Social Services and Disability Services when she announced the finalists for last year's awards. I am confident that if the honourable member or assistant minister were to have a conversation with any of the previous National Disability Awards finalists and winners then they too would be appalled by this government's move to link funding of the NDIS to cutting payments to pensioners and other vulnerable people in our community. It is not a very inclusive society that plays one vulnerable group off against another to fund the NDIS while at the same time wanting to give big business a $50 billion tax break. I would hope that the disability assistant minister and those on the other side are arguing the case to have this plan reversed.

Families that live with a disability need the NDIS and certainly do not need it treated as a political football. Already it is making an enormous difference to people's lives in my electorate. One such person is Mandy from Smithton, who explained to me the two reasons why the NDIS is important to her and her family, the first being that the old system did not allow respite. Mandy's daughter Sarah suffers from Rett syndrome and epilepsy. The NDIS means that once a month Mandy and her husband can have some respite. Before the NDIS, many low-income families simply could not afford respite even when it was available. Importantly, though, Mandy and her husband know that their daughter would be cared for if something happened to them or if they both became ill. Their minds are at ease. They know that their daughter's NDIS plan is there, with provisions for when they are not around. Sarah would go into a group home but, most importantly, that group home can be in the local area of Smithton. It would be devastating to remove Sarah from her local area, as the locals know her and the area is her home. Mandy is now concerned that without proper funding this may not happen. What will become of Sarah into the future?

It is great we celebrate the people and organisations that are a part of the disability sector. Their passion and commitment to overcome so many challenges should be recognised and they deserve this House's congratulations. But if we are truly to become an inclusive society, the stupid political games have to end and the NDIS has to be delivered in the way it is meant to be.

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