Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, President. I come to the Senate today to seek your support to be elected to the position of Deputy President of the Senate. If you were to elect me to this role, a person who identifies openly as a disabled person, it would be a historic moment.

The Deputy President of the Senate is a leadership role in this place. Appointing a disabled person to this position would send a very clear message to disabled people across the country. It would send a message that disabled people belong in politics and that disabled people are able and are trusted to lead. It would send a message that this government, the opposition and the newly appointed crossbench are committed to centring disabled people and, from day one, will waste no time in breaking down the structural ableism that disabled people experience each and every day as a result of the decisions made in this place.

I am proud to have the support of my Greens colleagues to put myself forward for this position today. The Greens will always prioritise and promote upholding the voices of disabled people in this place. I encourage every member of the Senate to take this opportunity to do the same.