Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I start by thanking the member for Fisher for sharing his experience as an MP and also as a father of a daughter with a disability. It sounds like he has firsthand lived experience of the way our world is geared. It sounds like he had a pretty awful process at Sydney Airport. I hope someone is listening and they can action how we can improve accessibility for all Australians, including those with a disability.

Inclusion is something that is close to my heart. There are many people here in this place who have a connection to someone—a friend or a loved one—with a disability. The person who comes to my mind is Alice Migdale. She is a woman I have known for over 20 years. She has cerebral palsy   . She is incredibly smart and positive. She was studying psychology when I met her. She is also a really great social justice advocate. She is also in an electric wheelchair. We always love spending time with Alice.

One thing I think is important in this place is that we are conscious of the decisions we make and how they impact the lives of others. Fundamentally, I believe in an Australia where everyone belongs and where everyone can be understood, heard and included, so I welcome this opportunity to contribute to the debate on this very important legislation—the Disability Services and Inclusion Bill 2023 and the Disability Services and Inclusion (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2023—and I am proud to be part of a government that puts the interests of people with a disability who live in our community at the centre of its public policy.

A sense of belonging is feeling that you belong to a group or a community. The opposite is isolation and exclusion. Fundamentally, belonging is important for everyone's health and wellbeing. Unfortunately, many of our systems, institutions and structures are still catching up with the needs of people living with disabilities. Because of this, people living with disabilities are at risk of being marginalised and are probably being marginalised at times.

When individuals are unable to participate fully in economic, social, political and cultural life, it leads to social exclusion. When people are denied full access to rights, opportunities and resources that are normally available to members of a different group, this leads to exclusion. Some may describe exclusion as unintentional, such as when disabled people are excluded from services or excluded from participating in social or civic life or have issues travelling through Sydney airport simply because there is a lack of awareness about their needs. This is why we need to be very intentional and make concerted efforts to ensure that structural exclusions are rectified and stamped out.

This means introducing laws that actively include people with a disability and encouraging programs and activities that promote awareness of the needs of people with disabilities. It is something that I have thought about in my role as an MP. In fact, for my last mobile office that we held in my electorate, we had an Auslan interpreter. It's a small step at a local level, but it's an example of how we can include people in our community and make sure they can be included in providing feedback to the government and be consulted with. It's an example of how we can provide access to participation in civic life to make sure that the voices of all people are heard.

It's time for the entire community to become more aware of our deaf community and recognise their culture, their language and their achievements. The National Week of Deaf People occurred last month, and the national organisation representing deaf people, Deaf Connect, hosted a parliamentary breakfast in this place to promote those achievements. I was inspired by the representatives from the deaf community speaking out about their experiences. They talked about the importance of the NDIS and the wonderful Auslan language in promoting the inclusion of deaf people in the community. They also threw some great questions to the NDIS minister, Bill Shorten, which I think that some people, including the media in the press gallery, would be a little bit jealous of. Similar events have taken place around the country. Such events will continue to make sure that we're making a difference to ensure that deaf people are known and included in communities and groups and that their needs are known and understood.

But more needs to be done at a statutory level. For all of us, a sense of belonging gives us the sense of wellbeing that we need to prosper, so why should people with a disability be excluded from that? That's why I'm proud to be part of a government that, through statutory reform, is delivering a commitment to enabling people with a disability to participate fully in a society. The current legislative framework is outdated. Legislation that is now almost 40 years old does not account for changes to the public policy framework since it was introduced.

Firstly, it doesn't account for Australia's international obligations in protecting the rights of people with disability. It was a commitment made by Australia when we ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007. The purpose of this treaty is to promote, protect and ensure the full, equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities and to promote respect for their inherent dignity. Parties to this convention are required to ensure that people with disabilities are treated equally and fairly. The changes made by this bill will reflect our commitments and obligations.

Secondly, the current statutory framework does not account for the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme in 2013, which was rolled out across Australia by 2020. The NDIS now supports more than half a million adults and children with a disability. Many of these people are receiving support for the first time. This includes people in my electorate, who can get support through a wonderful, homegrown organisations which is leading the way as an NDIS service provider. It's in East Victoria Park, and it's called the Healthy Strides Foundation. I am really proud to share with you that Healthy Strides is a world-class and leading facility that puts the latest science, technology and research into practice through intensive therapy programs, and the results are truly transformational. It's providing outcomes for nearly 300 NDIS clients who access their work and facilities.

When you step into Healthy Strides, you see enthusiastic staff and high-technology equipment, and it's a fun, bright and child-friendly environment. I can see all the students upstairs here right now, watching the parliamentary proceedings; the truth is that we want all children to achieve their full potential. We want to see these children and students having a sense of belonging so that they can engage in community. We want to see every single person with respect and inherent dignity. This is part of the philosophy at Healthy Strides; it's an approach that's based on the needs of individuals.

They have intensive therapy programs where, basically, they look at the individual and measure each child's development by using high-tech equipment and then tailor their program accordingly. It's innovative technology transforming the lives of NDIS clients on a scale that was unimaginable decades ago. This is why this government wants to ensure that the NDIS is sustainable for the future—to make sure that it's here to stay so that organisations like Healthy Strides will prosper and be replicated. This will ensure that we see more fantastic outcomes for children across the nation. The changes introduced by this bill will ensure that our legislative framework supports such initiatives. It will do this by matching the achievements of the NDIS.

The bill will reflect on another significant milestone: the implementation of Australia's Disability Strategy 2021 to 2031. The strategy outlines a vision for a more inclusive and accessible society in Australia—a place where all people with disability can fulfil their potential as equal members of the community. For the strategy to achieve its mission, it needs the legislative framework to support it. That's why the legislation we have before us today is critical. It will establish a framework that reflects the current landscape for service provision for people living with a disability and it will adapt to changing needs.

How will the bill do this for all? It will introduce a code of conduct that mirrors the NDIS Code of Conduct. This will contribute to an improvement in the safeguarding arrangements for disability services. It will also align quality standards with those that have been put in place by the NDIS, and will provide the ability for disability services to recognise other standards relevant to disability service provision. It's this provision which is relevant to the release of the disability royal commission final report, which made 222 recommendations. This bill will strengthen safeguards and support a timely response to the recommendations of the commission. It will strengthen the legislative framework that supports people with a disability and won't exclude non-NDIS initiatives.

One of the recommendations of the royal commission was the development of a disabilities rights act, and this is a development that I welcome. This will be an important step towards a proactive approach in good mechanisms for the treatment of people living with a disability. The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 is reactive; it comes into force when discrimination against people with a disability is already allegedly occurring or has occurred. The proposed disability rights act will enshrine in law the ability to make proactive and positive actions to ensure the inclusion of, and the protection of the rights of, people with a disability. This bill will work towards those actions and will mean the inclusion of some of the most marginalised people in our society, such as Indigenous Australians who live with a disability. For example, it will support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by providing them with culturally-sensitive protective rights. It will provide legislative authority for current and future programs, as identified for attention by the royal commission.

The bill will not be restricted by a definition of 'disability'. That means that it will provide a broad approach, not limited in its application, and the ability to respond to current needs and adapt to future ones. Including a definition of 'disability' in the bill would function to exclude. This would be contrary to the overarching premise of this bill. Therefore, I support the position of the bill to omit the definition of 'disability', noting that it was a decision made after two rounds of consultation.

In conclusion, people with a disability have the same rights as every other member of our Australian community: the same right to receive support or services, the same right to control over the decisions that affect their lives and the same right to pursue a remedy or complain after receiving poor services. The bill before us today is based on the principles that I have outlined and upholds this fundamental premise that people living with a disability have the same rights as everyone else. It honours the commitment of the Albanese Labor government, and I stand here advocating for the passage of this bill as a proud member of the government. It means that we, in this House, can create the legislative framework to safeguard the rights of people living with a disability, to create an environment for people in the community to construct the standard of service that is needed to ensure that people living with a disability are heard, to ensure that people living with a disability are included and to ensure that people living with a disability experience the same sense of belonging as other people in our community. It means including people to ensure they have the best opportunity to reach their full potential and have autonomy and control in terms of how they do this. That's what this bill is about.

This single, unified piece of enabling legislation will ensure consistency. It will promote best practice. It will be responsive to the modern public policy framework, and it will develop a more streamlined approach to the administration of disability supports and services. It's fit-for-purpose legislation, and I think that it has the ability to improve the lives of all Australians with a disability. For that reason, I commend this bill to the House.

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