Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to start this speech by acknowledging the traditional owners of all the lands of Australia and their elders, who, with grace and good humour, continue to work to find a way to make the rest of us understand how wonderful our country really is.

It is with that same grace that we as a parliament must recognise the First Australians in our Constitution and as the oldest continuing culture on earth. I do not suggest that this will be easy, but great things never are. Our Constitution can no longer be the hallmark of white man's settlement here. The Constitution must recognise those of us who were here first and their deep connection to this land and their culture. It is unjust that we have not yet moved forward with reconciliation.

It was 16 August 1975 when Gough Whitlam poured the sands of Wave Hill Station into Lingiari's hand, handing back the land to the Gurindji people. It was 10 December 1992 when Paul Keating stood in front of our First Australians and delivered what quickly became known as the Redfern Address. Mr Keating confronted our national identity, as he did on many occasions and in many ways, and directly addressed the injustices that our First Australians have been subjected to for over 200 years. And it was nearly 12 years ago that this party led the parliament's apology to our First Australians.

It is a tragedy that in every single measure our First Australians are dying too soon, educated far less, incarcerated too often and suffer more preventable disease. The numbers show this tragedy in real terms: 64 per cent of the total burden of disease on our First Australians is preventable. The unemployment rate of First Australians is 21 per cent, four times the current non-Indigenous unemployment rate. Over one quarter of incarcerated adults in this country are First Australians and nearly half of all juveniles incarcerated are First Australians. Research by the member for Fenner, Dr Andrew Leigh, showed that over the past three decades the share of First Australians in prison has more than doubled from 1,124 per 100,000 adults in 1990 to 2,481 per 100,000 adults in 2018. In fact, First Australians are more likely to be incarcerated than African Americans. This is appalling.

In 2017, suicide was a leading cause of death among our First Australian children aged five to 17. In that same year, one quarter of Australian children who died by suicide were First Australians. And one in 10 households in public housing has Indigenous people living it. It is the social impact of these raw numbers that should break all Australians' hearts.

Eight Indigenous Australians have been members of this place. We celebrate their achievements, but it is the Constitution of this land that must also celebrate our First Australians. That's why we need to start with recognition of our First Australians in the Constitution. The injustices have continued in many different ways, both directly and indirectly. But there is no question: our First Australians have been, and continue to be, subject to cultural and systemic discrimination. It is my view, and it should be that of all in this place, that this discrimination will see no achievable end until we accomplish constitutional recognition. This can only happen by doing what Whitlam, Keating and Rudd have done: confronting our national identity.

No-one is elected to this place without the support of many, many people, and I'd like to take a few moments to recognise just some of those people who've helped and sustained me over the last three years. I acknowledge all the volunteers and branch members who happily volunteered to letterbox, doorknock, phone-bank and spend three weeks on prepoll for our party and me. I am humbled and grateful. I thank them for taking the time to speak to me or email me, because it's their feedback which makes my contribution in this place and our community. I don't have time to name even some of you, but know I am very grateful for everything you do.

I especially thank my staff. They've supported me over the last three years. To Nathan, Christy, Sharon, Samantha, Liam, Caroline, Harriet and the newly arrived Alex and Nicholas: I appreciate very much your support and care for our community. I would also like to acknowledge Loretta Fletcher, who, as the master of booth rosters, made sure that every one of our 50 booths was staffed. I also extend my special thanks to Stella, Ethan, Daniel and George.

The elected members in my part of the world are great, real people working as a team to get our residents what they deserve. I acknowledge them for all their support: the member for Macarthur, Dr Mike Freelander; Paul Lynch; Anoulack Chanthivong; Greg Warren; and also the Liverpool, Campbelltown and Fairfield Labor councillors.

When we are elected to this place, our families are not; however, they bear the burden of our roles. We all understand the toll it takes on our families. To Larry, my husband: I thank you for your continuing unwavering support and for fostering an environment for me so that I can pursue my dreams of advocacy for our most disadvantaged. To my children, Matthew, Christopher and Andrew; their partners, Chantell, Kate and Siobhan; and my grandchildren, Meaghan and Horatio: you are all the loves of my life, and your support, comfort and counsel is everything I could wish for. I'm proud of you and love you all and I thank you always for your love and support and for giving me the time away from family events.

Governing is about choices; I recognise this. The people of Werriwa need a government that is making choices for them. Unfortunately, this government seems to have no intention of doing so. This was made clear during the election campaign, when the Liberal Party made no commitments to the people of Werriwa. In fact, I received numerous representations from schools, businesses, local community groups and individuals, all with serious concerns about the way this country was heading. Schools were seeking much-needed funding for classrooms and infrastructure for learning. The community of Middleton Grange was needing road connections to reduce congestion on their local roads. I had, and continue to have, countless constituents contact me about the extensive issues they were having accessing the NDIS or achieving funding for their assistive technology services. Many constituents have been waiting for the rollout and repairs to the national broadband network in the many areas of Werriwa where the connections fail to deliver anywhere near the minimum standard. But the Liberal Party made zero commitments on these to my constituents. On the contrary, Labor committed to these people that, if elected, we would address all of those issues.

With the construction of the Western Sydney Airport now underway, this important piece of infrastructure needs planning and delivery that shows insight and forward thinking. We have one chance to get this right. Getting this right means that the airport should be connected to the rest of the region. There should be, and there needs to be, connections not only to the north of the airport but to the south as well so that it is truly part of a 30-minute city and so that that concept doesn't stay a pipedream on paper. Infrastructure Australia has identified the need for the railway and a pipeline for fuel. We need to keep the 65 trucks a day off the road.

We need to get the airport right, but, more than that, the infrastructure needs to be forward looking and not a patchwork quilt of fixes. It needs to be available when the residents move into the new suburbs of Bardia and Edmondson Park. They need schools, childcare and access to healthcare services. How can it possibly be that, in 2019, brand-new developments are being built in Sydney that don't have access to the sewerage system? Gough Whitlam would have been appalled that a member for Werriwa, 50 years later, is still advocating for sewerage provision. In Austral, brand-new homes are being built without sewerage. So here we are in 2019 in metropolitan Sydney and we're returning to the use of septic tanks. It is beyond belief that in a modern, wealthy country developers can build brand new homes in the country's largest city that are not on the sewerage grid.

We hear and talk of the 30-minute city. The revelation recently that trains on the T8 line run late three days out of five in the evening peak is preposterous. Only two lines are that bad, and it needs to be fixed. Actually, in 1975 it was quicker to get from Liverpool to the city than it is now by about 10 minutes. What other options do the people of Werriwa have? The lack of parking and public transport to and from our railway stations place them in nearly impossible situations. Station parking in the Werriwa, Macarthur, Fowler and McMahon regions is full by 7 am—most days it's even earlier. During the state election promises were made that Edmondson Park in particular would receive $40 million for a new parking station, and it would be opened by mid-2020. With only $212,000 in the New South Wales budget for planning and community consultation, the government is putting the people of my electorate last again, and failing to support the growth in this region—despite Western Sydney Airport construction moving ahead. The community has spoken loud and clear: they need parking to make south-western Sydney liveable. I've said, and the community continues to say, we needed this parking when the station opened eight years ago. Now the situation is a sad joke and the promises made by the state government must be fulfilled. I've had hundreds of responses to my petition on this issue, and I'll continue to advocate for this most important infrastructure.

The most fulfilling, yet saddest, part of my job is meeting and assisting constituents with issues they are having with Centrelink or the NDIS. In a rich, wonderful country like ours there should be a safety net for people with disabilities. We need real action; people with disabilities need real action. The late Stella Young, one of the most prominent disability advocates, once said:

No amount of smiling at a flight of stairs has ever made it turn into a ramp. No amount of standing in the middle of a bookshelf and radiating a positive attitude is going to turn all those books into braille.

This government knows that people with a disability are waiting: they're waiting for funding, they're waiting for reviews and they're waiting for support. While I recognise the NDIS has succeeded for many of my constituents, it has also failed too many.

There is a systematic lack of resourcing for the NDIS. It's outrageous to think that a person with a disability is waiting for more than three months to have their plan review, receive no outcome and are then forced to go and get quotes again. This is all caused by the government's chronic under-resourcing of the agency, and it seems that not a lot is being done to fix it. Time does not allow me to do a rollcall of the litany of policy failures that my constituents face every day; however, I do recognise that for some the NDIS works as it was meant to, and the choice the scheme is providing is giving people with a disability the support and choices they need.

Social security is just that: it provides a safety net and security to people when they most need it. But it is failing some of those people, and to fail those people has compound effects. The processing time and bureaucratic nature of Centrelink in processing of pensions, especially the disability support pension, seems ludicrous. While the spending of taxpayer money should be under scrutiny, Centrelink has told one of my constituents, who has battled mental illness for nearly 30 years—since she was 13—that she hasn't put enough effort into therapies so that she can get better. This is a disgrace! Her medical professionals have said that although she has been compliant and tried, her anxiety and other issues make it impossible for her to work full time. Like the vast majority of people with a disability, she tells me she would love to work and has found herself full-time jobs on many occasions. But, unfortunately, she cannot sustain the pressure of a full-time job and finds her illness gets worse to the point that she again can't work—and yet Centrelink says she hasn't tried enough.

One of the biggest challenges facing our healthcare system is the cost of chronic disease. It's not only the direct cost, but the associated health issues and complications that arise if you do have a chronic disease. Werriwa has one of the highest rates of prevalence for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in Australia. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the National Diabetes Services Scheme has provided people with diabetes much-needed consumables such as insulin, pen needles, syringes, blood-testing strips and insulin pumps at discounted rates for a number of years. Diabetes is an expensive condition for people who have it and their families. It's extremely expensive for governments and healthcare systems when complications arise. I call on the government to provide people with diabetes access to the new technology faster on the NDSS. This is technology like constant glucose monitoring or flash glucose monitoring and has been proven to give people with diabetes greater control and reduce complications—complications that end up costing our healthcare system more in the long term.

CGM and FGM are technologies that will help improve quality of life with people with type 1 diabetes, not just those under 21 years old. Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, in partnership with Diabetes Australia and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Australia, has published unequivocal data on this. For every person with diabetes, the federal government spends $3,468. Complication arising from poor glucose control means the federal government pays up to $16,698 per patient with complications. Why is it that this government is not making a clear decision to fund both CGM and FGM on the National Diabetes Services Scheme? The decision is clear: as a government, it can save people from the horrors of diabetes complications and save Medicare from the horrors of a budget blowout. The government must make the investment and allow all people with type 1 diabetes access to CGM and FGM on the National Diabetes Services Scheme no matter their age. It's an investment that will save lives and money.

Access to health care has been the hallmark of our society for decades. Affordable, accessible, readily-available health care should be what this government strives to continue to provide to the people of Australia. But there are 60 drugs that have already received positive recommendations for listing by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee that have not yet been listed on the PBS. Patients are going without medicine or risking financial futures just to get the treatments they need. I have constituents who have visited me to tell me their unacceptable situations. For instance, there is a pensioner couple who must decide each fortnight which one of them gets the pain relief because they can't afford for both of them to be on their pain medication. One woman told me of choosing between food or her prescription medication. This is unacceptable in Australia. All Australians deserve access to health care in an affordable and readily accessible way. This government is failing to provide Australians that access—access that Australia has been proud of and renowned around the world for for many decades.

This government and this parliament must make sure that the programs designed to support our most vulnerable Australians actually meet their goal. This government and this parliament have a chance to recognise our First Australians in the Constitution and continue the work of reconciliation. They have a chance to make sure the most vulnerable members of our community have access to the services and support systems they need. They have the chance to make Australia healthier and make sure our health system no longer fails people suffering from chronic diseases.

I will continue to advocate for all this for the people of Werriwa. We're a proud community but cannot continue to put up with the government inaction on the serious issues we're facing. I will do everything I can to support this parliament, protect the human rights of all Australians, support and protect those in our community who are vulnerable and recognise all who have made great their country that we call our shared home. I too will work tirelessly to achieve better outcomes for all the people in my electorate.

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