Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Bernardi for the supplementary question. What I would say, in the absence of a detailed brief, is that I think that all governments—state and Commonwealth and of both persuasions—in the last 20 years have failed people with disabilities. I think that is quite clear, be it over questions of care for young people with disabilities or be it over appropriate housing for people with disabilities. I think we, as parliamentarians who develop public policy, have all failed. The services are inadequate; the funding is inadequate. I think there are serious attempts to try and address that now. I know that Senator Kay Patterson, the minister in the former government, made it a focus of her efforts, and I know that Minister Macklin is doing so. When we deinstitutionalised in the area of mental health and some of those disability services, I think we failed to put in place appropriate support and services, and so the area has been a disaster in my view— (Time expired)