Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Raise Our Voice competition asked young people to write a speech to parliament. This year they were asked, 'What do you want your community to look like in the next 10 years, and what can the next parliament do to achieve it?' I was lucky enough to have a number of speeches from students in Boothby, with topics as broad as homelessness, plastic recycling, the impact of academic pressure on mental health, artificial intelligence and tree legislation. This year's winner is 18-year-old Chelsea. Chelsea writes:

Twenty-one per cent of Australians live with a disability. In 10 years, I envision equal tertiary education outcomes for students with disability, including achieving population parity within universities. Many states are just tertiary selection ranks to account for disclosed disabilities but South Australia's Tertiary Admissions Centre fails to, disadvantaging students with disabilities in achieving the required ATARs for their preferred courses. While reasonable adjustments like extra exam time and assistive technology aim to level the playing field, they are often poorly organised, failing to meet students' needs, which can, at times, fluctuate, often incompatibly with the rigid structure of year 12.

People with disabilities are also more than twice as likely to face financial stress. I urge parliament to encourage universities in all states to increase the placement of disability based scholarships on EAS portals, as finding funding is often the most difficult for those who need it. Including disability in tertiary EAS schemes and centralising financial aid would boost commencement and retention rates for students with disability.

Chelsea finishes by saying:

I encourage members to engage with universities and admission centres in their states to incentivise these changes, and to champion legislative commitments, ensuring our educational outcomes both domestically and abroad.

Chelsea, thank you for your speech. Equitable access to education and employment opportunities are an important part of disability rights and, as you say, an important part to enable people with disabilities to have secure financial futures as well. It is an important part of ensuring every Australian has every opportunity to maximise their potential and live a fulfilling life and, of course, it is an important part of workforce strategy, making sure we have a skilled workforce for all types of jobs and sectors across the economy.

I would like to give a shout out to the Up the Hill Project, which encourages participation of adults with a range of disabilities, including intellectual disability, in the social and educational life of Flinders University in my electorate. Up the Hill provides an inclusive and supportive opportunity, enabling people with a disability to access the university environment with support from a peer mentor, because access to education and employment for people with disability matters and it is achievable.