Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Hume for her question and for her ongoing advocacy for Australians who face extra challenges, for reasons often beyond their control. The Australian International Day of People with Disability on 3 December is a day to mark the achievements that we have made towards full access and participation by Australians with disability and also an occasion to further champion efforts to that end.

Australian national cultural institutions play a key role in ensuring all Australians have access to arts and culture. The National Museum of Australia, for instance, will hold an event focused on exploring world music for schoolchildren with disability. The Museum of Australian Democracy is hosting social media events and a tour through the spaces where the legislation supporting people with a disability was discussed, debated and decided, to highlight the events and people who have paved the way for disability reform in Australia. The National Gallery of Australia, for its part, will hold a free digital drawing workshop for people with disability and will provide assisted tours throughout December to the Versailles exhibition. Geelong's own internationally acclaimed Back to Back Theatre and Perth's Sensorium Theatre are at the leading edge of theatre, questioning the assumptions that we have about disability and the making and enjoyment of art.

These are just a few examples of the kinds of events being planned to mark this important day in our calendar. I should also note that the National Disability Insurance Scheme will allow many hundreds of thousands of Australians greater opportunity to participate in community life, and that includes artistic and cultural endeavours.