Emma Husar (Lindsay, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges that:

(a) Saturday 3 December 2016 is International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD);

(b) the United Nations proclaimed IDPwD for the first time in 1992 as a way of promoting better understanding of disability issues and as a sign of support for the dignity, rights and wellbeing of people with disabilities; and

(c) each year, the United Nations chooses a theme for IDPwD and this year's theme is 'Achieving 17 Goals for the Future We Want', which draws attention to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and how these goals can create a more inclusive and equitable world for people with disabilities;

(2) encourages all Members of Parliament to support IDPwD in their electorates; and

(3) reaffirms its commitment to:

(a) ensuring Australians with a disability get the support they need; and

(b) an adequately funded and resourced National Disability Insurance Scheme.

This Saturday, 3 December, will be International Day of People with Disability, a very important day for many people in my electorate of Lindsay, and also across the country and, indeed, around the world. As I have noted in my motion, International Day of People with Disability was proclaimed for the first time by the United Nations in 1992 as a way of promoting better understanding of disability issues and, importantly, as a sign of support for the dignity, rights and wellbeing of people who live with disability. Paragraph (2) of the motion is incredibly important. This is a day where communities can demonstrate their support for those among us who live with disability, whatever it may be. It is a day when we can reflect on what it is that we are doing to ensure that every life has dignity and purpose, and that every person is valued and can contribute.

This year, the theme of International Day of People with Disability asks us to consider the role of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in building a more inclusive world and a more equitable world for people with disability. Some of the key development goals include the provision of quality education and learning, so people with disability can pick up the transferable skills so vital to a sense of self-worth. Also among the development goals is an increase in decent and supported work, so people with disability can contribute to society and build an independent life for themselves.

Perhaps the most important development goal relevant to those with a disability is the goal to end poverty. We know that in Australia people with disability are significantly more likely to live below the poverty line. In fact, this year's Poverty in Australia 2016 report by ACOSS shows us that more than 300,000 Australians who are severely impacted by disability live below the poverty line and a further 500,000 Australians with various levels of disability who live below the poverty line. According to ACOSS, people with a disability are between 50 per cent and 100 per cent more likely to live in poverty, compared to Australians who live without disability. That is simply unacceptable. It is a continuing injustice and it must be addressed.

The NDIS presents a remarkable opportunity to ensure all people with disability live with dignity and not in poverty. Importantly, this motion recommits us and the government to adequately funding and resourcing the NDIS, a reform from the previous Labor government that has the power to deliver life-changing benefits to people with disability, their carers and their families. We all know the preceding system of disability care in Australia created huge swathes of further disadvantage for people with a disability right across the country. In fact, the Productivity Commission labelled the past system 'underfunded, unfair, fragmented and inefficient.'

The NDIS was created to address these concerns and establish a fair and necessary system where participants are given a say in the services they use and the rigid service delivery structures of the past are broken down to make way for more flexible and personalised models of care. People with disability and their families then knew how important this reform was and they know it today. However, time and time again I hear from people who fear the NDIS is stuck in a rut, and this government is not doing all it can to ensure service providers and the National Disability Insurance Agency have the resources they need to deliver the scheme. Critically, I am hearing that care plans are often expiring without new plans being in place. I have spoken before about the impact of a plan expiring, leaving families without the supports their children need and leaving adults without access to the assistance they absolutely require.

Of course, this scheme was created to provide long-term certainty around disability care, and it seems to me that the government is letting down scheme participants and it is letting down the service providers, who are constrained by the level of resourcing and the lack of funds flowing from this government. I am sure we can all agree that on the eve of International Day of People with Disability the best thing we can do as a parliament to support the dignity, rights and wellbeing of those who live with disability is to ensure the NDIS is able to live up to its promise of fairness.

I encourage all members of parliament to join with me in celebrating International Day of People with Disability on Saturday, 3 December. And I extend that invitation to everyone in the wider community: visit www.idpwd.com.au and check out the community event calendar to find out what local events are being held near you. I am actually looking forward to visiting the No Boundaries Art Group, which meets in my electorate every Monday to support people living with disability and their carers to get access to creative and practical arts.

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Vocational Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion. I rise today to support the motion, moved by the member for Lindsay, acknowledging Saturday, 3 December as International Day of People with Disability. I thank her for bringing this very important motion to the House.

It was 1992 when the United Nations first proclaimed International Day of People with Disability, and they did so to promote better understanding of disability issues and to support the dignity and the rights of people with disabilities. Twenty years ago, the Australian government followed suit. I would like to make reference to the fact that over four million Australians have a disability—that is one in five Australians—so reaffirming our support for them and also reaffirming our support to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals is absolutely critical to the way we deal with this very important issue, as is, of course, this House's reaffirming of its support for the NDIS and the work that it hopes to achieve for people with disability in Australia.

I want to go to Karni Liddell, Australia's most successful Paralympian and 2016 patron of the International Day of People With Disability, who says, 'The most disabling thing about having a disability is other people's assumption about what we can and cannot do.' She says if people with disabilities can shine on the sporting stage, then they should be able to experience basic human needs and desires such as fulfilling careers and relationships, travelling, being fit and healthy and living away from their parents.

Australia came fifth on the medal tally board of the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio this year. One of the gold medals of the games belongs to Nazim Erdem, a successful wheelchair rugby player who has competed in four Paralympics and, I am very proud to say, is one of my constituents. I had the pleasure of meeting Nazim this year before he took off to Rio. At the age of 20, Nazim's life changed forever when he broke his neck in a diving accident. Nazim was told that he had a spinal cord injury and would never walk again.

Nazim says a spinal cord injury changes your life forever. He says that you do not know what your future is going to be like but he wants to show disabled people all the possibilities. Through his work with Spire, the Spinal Injury Resource and Support Network, he mentors and supports those with spinal injuries and helps them adjust to their new life. He says, 'You can go back to sport, to work; you can have relationships—whatever you want. You just do it a little bit differently.'

He does say that after every Paralympic Games that he has attended, there is a lot of attention on the athletes and that attention gets bigger and bigger with each games. The media attention highlights their successes, which means they then have to work even harder. Their training regime becomes more intense. They attend lots of training camps. The point is that Paralympians deserve the same accolades and attention as other athletes receive. People with disability do want to achieve what everybody else wants out of life, and they should, of course, be given the opportunity to do that.

I want to say a few words about a very good friend of mine and a constituent, the wonderful Janet Curtain, who, for some time, worked in my office. When Janet came to work for me, I realised how restrictive life could be for a disabled person. The truth is that, in our office, we did not have the ability to deal with or accommodate a person in a wheelchair. There were no disabled toilets and, of course, in order to be able to allow Janet to move freely within the office or actually enter the office that had been assigned to her, we had to remove the door. It sounds very primitive, but there you are. I am happy to say that my new office is totally fitted out for people with disability.

I want to quote Janet, because she is a very warm and passionate advocate. I asked her the other day what it is that she would like me to say to the House. These are Janet Curtain's words: 'For me, international disability day is not only celebrating people's abilities, tenacity and determination to live their lives the way they choose, but, even more so, celebrating how far society has come in its awareness of differences and diversity where people are not defined by their disability, but are seen for the people they really are.'

In my electorate, we have found lots of fun ways to celebrate International Day of People with Disability, and I look forward to being able to share some of those events: at the bowling centre in the Watergardens; at the Broadmeadows Aquatic and Leisure Centre, a disco night is planned. I look forward to getting back home and visiting with them.

Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to rise today on the motion on the International Day of People with Disability before the Federation Chamber. For me, the International Day of People with Disability is really about ensuring that people with disability can be seen as full participating members in our society. On that note, I just want to make one minute's brief comment about a program in my electorate run by the Footscray Community Arts Centre—ArtLife. ArtLife is a program that has been running for more than 20 years. It engages artists with disability, and enables them to collaborate with professional artists in the community in Melbourne's west. Professional artist tutors work with artists with disability to make new works, to build capacity and, importantly, to change perceptions in our community.

This has been a thriving success in Melbourne's west over the last 20 years. It has been particularly successful in engaging other community institutions, reaching out to the other institutions in Melbourne's west. I have been very proud to host a series of works that have resulted from the ArtLife program in my electorate office in Footscray. So all the people visiting me as a member of parliament in my constituency office have been able to see these works on display. I commend this program, and I will cede my time now to other speakers in this debate.

Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the private member's motion brought to the chamber by the member for Lindsay to acknowledge International Day of People with Disability on Saturday, 3 December. I note that this year's theme is 'Achieving 17 Goals for the Future We Want', which draws attention to the United Nations' sustainable development goals that can encourage a more inclusive and equitable world for all people.

Like the member for Lindsay, and all on this side of the House, I am committed to ensuring Australians with a disability get the support they need through an adequately funded and resourced National Disability Insurance Scheme. The NDIS, developed by Labor, has been life-changing for so many people, and we will work to ensure the Turnbull government adequately funds and resources the NDIS so that many more people with a disability can achieve their goals to live inclusively and equitably; to live well. Labor remains committed to working with the government to ensure its success. It is too important to fail.

The goals determined by the United Nations are worthwhile reflecting upon: to end poverty and hunger; to ensure good health and education; to ensure access to clean water and sanitation; to ensure affordable and clean energy; to stamp out inequality; to ensure decent work, economic growth, industry, innovation and infrastructure; to ensure sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production; and to ensure peace and justice for all. These goals build on the principle of 'leaving no-one behind', emphasising a holistic approach to achieving a sustainable world. But these goals are particularly relevant to people with a disability, as there is a strong link between disability and poverty, especially in developing countries. Even in our own beautiful country, disability can cause poverty by preventing full participation in the economic and social life of our communities, especially if the appropriate supports are not available.

We are fortunate to have so many organisations that do work towards making those appropriate supports available, and today I would like to make mention of just one in my electorate. Mai-Wel in Maitland, led by an extraordinary CEO, Pennie Kearney, is one of the largest disability service providers in the lower Hunter region, providing services and programs to 800 clients across nine local government areas. Mai-Wel offers people with a disability work and training opportunities, living, leisure and lifestyle services, and a creative arts program—which comes into its own at this time of year.

There are number of Mai-Wel events around International Day of People with a Disability that I would like to share with you. There was a performance last week of Destiny—The Musical—The journey starts here at a fundraising party for the launch of a disability-led arts project funded by Accessible Arts NSW and hosted by Cessnock's Royal Oak Hotel. Maitland Includes You: a summer exhibition of artworks at Maitland Regional Art Gallery featuring the works of artists with a disability. Cessnock Includes YOU is a similar exhibition at Cessnock Regional Art Gallery, which will be officially opened on the International Day of People with Disability, this Saturday. And, to take place next Wednesday, there is the Tin Pan Alleycats original songwriting album launch party celebrating the debut album of students graduating from Hunter TAFE with a statement of attainment in Certificate III in Music.

Congratulations to everyone involved in these events. They truly are examples of the kinds of supports our community needs for all people to live inclusively and equitably and to live well. I for one again want to really celebrate the work of the creative arts that have been achieved through Mai-Wel. The artists, the musicians—I have sat and had chats to them, had some little jams and looked at their paintings. They truly are amazing, and they are worthy of display in some of our most reputable art galleries. That is why it is so great to think that they will be hanging in the Maitland Regional Art Gallery and in the Cessnock art gallery. Again, this is about inclusiveness for all so that we can have a better world for people with disabilities. I commend them to you: this coming Saturday, 3 December.

Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion by the member for Lindsay in relation to the International Day of People with Disability, and I thank the members for Calwell, Paterson and Gellibrand for their comments in relation to this motion as well. Of course, we want to see people with a disability live normal lives. They want to be able to play sport. They want to be able to work. They want to be able to have relationships like all of us. The NDIS has bipartisan support, and I think that as a parliament together we need to continue to work on that to ensure that it is delivered on time and is helping those people who need it most in all of our electorates right throughout Australia.

I met a young guy just last week—on Friday, actually. He was having lunch nearby. He came to one of my job seeker boot camps that I put on a couple of weeks ago. He was looking for work. He is a young man with Asperger's. He has been on a disability support pension for two years. He really wants to go to work. I ran into him again on Friday and said, 'What is it that you really want to do?' He wants to be a baker. I encouraged him. He could get some experience now in a bakery, and perhaps in years down the track he could run his own bakery. He is putting together his resume at the moment so that in the next week or two he can get out and see all the bakeries in my electorate and ask for the opportunity to work in one of those bakeries with great customer service on the front bench, serving people, perhaps getting in really early and helping with the actual baking—when they get in at three in the morning—and everything else.

I mention that because I believe, after talking to him on Friday, that that young man will achieve his goals. It goes to show that, just because you have a disability, that does not mean that you do not have goals like everyone else. I think this motion is very relevant, and I thank all the speakers involved.

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Vocational Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned, and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.