Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Hansard source

It is a great honour to second this amendment to this motion today. When the Prime Minister announced the royal commission in April 2019, he said that Australia needed to:

… establish a culture of respect for people living with disabilities and the families who support, love and care for them.

He said people with a disability 'deserve our respect' and that the establishment of a royal commission was 'so above politics'. If the government is serious about respect for those living with a disability then the government must act to prioritise their voices and their experiences.

Sixty disability organisations have called for the removal of Mr Ryan and Ms Bennett, and that is a decision I am sure they have not taken lightly. Fifteen hundred people have signed a petition calling for the removal of Mr Ryan and Ms Bennett. The government should listen to those people living with a disability who have already stated that they no longer feel safe in giving evidence to the royal commission. We can't have that. We need people with a disability who would like to give evidence. That in itself is a very daunting procedure and a decision people do not take lightly. If they want to provide evidence then we need to ensure that they feel safe to do so. When people who are desperate to have their voices heard are considering walking away from the very opportunity that they have fought so hard for, that they have spent years fighting for, then there can be no mistake that the commissioners have lost the confidence of the people they very much need to have confidence in them—and that is the disability community.

The very integrity of this royal commission is at stake. This is a very serious matter. I make no comment on the individual commissioners and have no doubt that they accepted their appointments seeking to further the interests of the disability community. But the perceived conflicts of interest presented by their past roles and experiences, I believe—and I know that many people across both chambers believe this—are unmanageable. Sixty disability organisations and 1,500 people were willing to put their name to the petition. I strongly urge the government to reconsider the appointments of Mr Ryan and Ms Bennett.

I would just like to acknowledge the tremendous and courageous work of Senator Jordon Steele-John. Since entering this parliament, he has been a tremendous advocate for not just the royal commission but people living with disability.

Coming from the NGO space, I know that organisations are often fearful of going on the record against government policy. Organisations are often fearful that there will be some kind of backlash against their organisation from a funding point of view. So it is very, very rare for an organisation to stand up against government policy like this. These are, I believe, very reasonable calls that are being made by many in the disability sector and many individuals who are living with a disability.

So, I would urge the government: please reconsider the appointment of Mr Ryan and Ms Bennett. And if Mr Ryan and Ms Bennett happen to be listening or reading the Hansard, perhaps they could reflect on the concerns of the disability organisations, on the concerns of those who have been willing to sign a position and perhaps consider resigning from their roles. Again, I am very pleased to second this motion and very pleased to second the good work of the member for Melbourne and of course Senator Jordan Steele-John, and I commend this motion to the House.

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