Zoe Daniel (Goldstein, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sometimes in life you meet extraordinary people—people who are selfless, people who are tenacious, people who give everything to their community. And today I would like to talk about one such member of the Goldstein community, Jeff Naylor. I first met Jeff early in my election campaign when we got together to discuss accessibility for people with disabilities within Goldstein, especially in Bayside, Melbourne. Jeff and his wife, Sue, are the proud parents of two sons: Keith, 26, and Mitchell, 24. Mitch is severely disabled, and his care is supported at home with the help of the NDIS.

In fighting for inclusion and accessibility for his son, Jeff has become a passionate advocate for people with disabilities within our community. It has at times been a frustrating and arduous task but Jeff has persisted and continues to do so. In his paid job, Jeff delivers structured problem-solving training. In his so-called spare time, and through his voluntary work on Bayside City Council's Disability Access and Inclusion Advisory Committee, he's helped deliver Bayside's first inclusive playground at Thomas Street in Hampton, along with Bayside's first Changing Places bathrooms. These facilities are critical to our civic infrastructure to allow people who require them, and their carers, to enjoy time outdoors in our vast parklands and enjoy watching sport at our sporting facilities across the electorate. People with disabilities should not be forced into a position where they can't attend these venues because there are inadequate bathrooms.

Recently, Jeff ran a non-partisan disability inclusion pledge for the 2022 Victorian state election, across the Brighton and Sandringham electorates, which was supported and signed by all candidates. I also endorsed this landmark pledge—the first of its kind in Australia—which saw every candidate running in the state seats of Brighton and Sandringham sign up to the pledge to always consider disability inclusion and accessibility, should they be elected, when considering all legislation. I support Jeff one hundred per cent in his advocacy, and I was so humbled when he presented me with a framed copy of the pledge to hang in my office.

People with disabilities must be embraced into our community in every way possible, including via access to Changing Places bathrooms. I'm also pleased that Jeff and others in Goldstein will soon have direct access to the Minister for the NDIS, Bill Shorten, who's agreed to come to Goldstein for a forum in which I will moderate a Q&A with community members to enable direct engagement with the minister on critical issues for people with disabilities.