Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Payments) Share this | Hansard source

This Saturday, 3 December marks International Day of People with Disability. Now in its 24th year, International Day of People with Disability has been celebrated on 3 December every year since 1992. The day is set aside to celebrate and promote the participation and inclusion of people with disability in society. It is a great opportunity to raise awareness of people living with disability and the barriers they face within our communities. It is also a chance to celebrate the achievements and contributions of people with disability. Across the country, events will be held to educate, celebrate and break down barriers. I congratulate all those schools, workplaces, businesses and community groups that have already held and are holding barbecues, street stalls, workshops, talent shows and other community events to celebrate the day. I encourage everyone to get online and find an event near them this weekend. These events provide us all with an opportunity to think and talk about and to acknowledge people with disability in a positive way. They also give us the chance to reflect on the work still ahead of us to increase the participation and inclusion of people with disability.

Each year, the United Nations identify a theme for International Day of People with Disability to provide a focus for consideration of barriers that exclude people with disability from inclusion and participation in our communities. The theme for 2016 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 disability. The Sustainable Development Goals were developed to succeed the Millennium Development Goals, whose achievement period concluded in 2015. The SDGs address all three dimensions of sustainable development—environmental, economic and social. In announcing the theme, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said:

We mark this year's International Day of Persons with Disabilities in the wake of the adoption of the ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This global blueprint for action summons us to "leave no one behind".

The theme is about considering the role these goals will play in building a more inclusive and equitable world for people with disability. More broadly, the theme is about an inclusive future for people with disability and how this can be achieved. Disability is specifically mentioned in several of the goals, particularly in relation to education, growth and employment, inequality and the accessibility of human settlements, as well as data collection and the monitoring of the SDGs.

Goal 4, on an inclusive and equitable quality education and the promotion of life-long learning opportunities for all, includes a focus on eliminating gender disparities in education and ensuring equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for vulnerable people, including people with disability. This goal also calls for building and upgrading education facilities that are child-, disability- and gender-sensitive, and providing safe, nonviolent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all. We know that, even in Australia right now, too many students with disability are not getting the support they need to achieve their best at school. They are not getting the support they need to reach their potential and succeed at school. In fact, the Gonski review of school funding concluded that inadequate support for students with disability limits their achievements not only at school but also later in life. These students are less likely to graduate, go on to further training or be able to find a job.

Goal 8 of the SDGs outlines a vision for sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. Specifically, it sets out the aim of achieving full and productive employment, decent work for all women and men—including for young people and persons with disabilities—and equal pay for work of equal value by 2030. Here in Australia, too many people with disability are still excluded from workforce participation. They are not given the opportunity to contribute and to engage in work. Australia has one of the lowest rates of employment for people with disability in the developed world. The OECD ranks Australia 21st out of 29 OECD countries for the employment participation of people with disability. ABS data shows that the workplace participation rate in Australia for people with disability is 53 per cent, compared to 83 per cent for people without disability. In 2015, the unemployment rate for people with disability was 10 per cent—significantly higher than that for people without disability at 5.3 per cent. People with disability deserve the same opportunities as any other Australian to participate in our economy. However, achieving this requires a real plan and a commitment to overcoming barriers for people with disability, including bias and discrimination.

Closely linked to the objective of goal 8 is goal 10, which strives to reduce inequality within and among countries by empowering and promoting the social, economic and political inclusion of all, including persons with disabilities. Again, in Australia people with disability continue to experience unacceptable restrictions on inclusion and participation in economic, cultural, social, civil and political life. In 2015, around two in five people of working age with disability reported that their main source of cash income was a government pension or allowance. Around 45 per cent of people with disability in Australia live near or below the poverty line. This means that Australia currently ranks 26th out of 27 OECD countries for the percentage of people with disability living in poverty.

The exclusion of people with disability in Australia reaches beyond the mere economic. The objective of goal 11 is to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe and sustainable. Countries are called upon to provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of vulnerable people, such as persons with disabilities.

Further to this, the goal calls for the provision of universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible green and public spaces, particularly for persons with disabilities. Improving accessibility is critical to transforming the experiences and lives of people with disability and creating more inclusive communities. I am pleased that this issue will be examined by the Community Affairs References Committee, following the Senate's adoption of my reference on progress made under the National Disability Strategy to build inclusive and accessible communities. It is timely to initiate an inquiry into the efforts to address barriers to the inclusion and participation of people with disability, in the lead-up to International Day for People with Disability.

I would finally note goal 17, which stresses the need for accurate data collection to progress sustainable development. This includes the need for reliable data that is also broken down by disability. Often when we talk about sustainable development in Australia, we look at our role in assisting developing countries, especially within our region—and rightly so. However, we do not have to look too far to see people who are being excluded and left behind; people with disability within our own community are among them.

In spite of the bleak picture I have just outlined, there is much to celebrate on this International Day of People with Disability. So this weekend I encourage everyone to reflect on the work ahead and celebrate the abilities and achievements of people with disability. And I cannot miss the opportunity of putting on record my congratulations to Dylan Alcott, who this week became the first wheelchair star to win the Newcombe Medal, the highest honour in Australian tennis. Alcott is an exceptional athlete by any standard: world No.1 and triple Olympic gold medalist for wheelchair basketball and tennis. Alcott has had the kind of year an athlete dreams of. He successfully defended his Australian Open title, won singles and doubles gold in Rio and was crowned as Australia's Paralympian of the Year—collecting titles not just in Australia but also South Africa, Japan, France and Britain.

And while we might not all be capable of Olympic gold, everyone has abilities that should be celebrated. So this weekend get involved and celebrate ability. And every day that follows, recognise and value the contributions of people with disability. Start a conversation, challenge misconceptions and break down barriers.