Penny Allman-Payne (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to speak to the Disability Services and Inclusion Bill 2023. I would like to acknowledge, like my colleagues before me, the work of Senator Jordon Steele-John in advocating for and raising the voices of people in the disability community. I would also like to echo the comments made by Senators Rice and Cox.

In particular, I'd like to address the Greens amendment to end segregated schooling by 2051. I note that I come to this debate as a teacher with 30 years of experience who only left the classroom in April last year. We know that segregation at school leads to a life of segregation for people with a disability, so it's incumbent upon us to change this, and we start by ending segregation at school. Surely setting a target of doing this by 2051 is achievable.

I understand the concerns that are raised by teachers and educators when it comes to talk about ending segregation. I've taught in the public education system for around 30 years, and over that period of time I've watched the consistent and persistent underfunding of our public school system. It results in a lack of support for students—in particular those who have additional needs. But that is not a reason to say that we shouldn't end segregation in our schools. It's a reason to say that we need to properly fund our schools so that they can support all students.

Persistent lack of funding in public schools means that we are not currently meeting the needs of students with a disability who are in them. We heard in the school refusal or 'school can't' inquiry that schools are persistently failing to address the needs of, in particular, students who are neurodiverse. We also saw recently in Queensland statistics that show that roughly half of students who are being suspended from our schools are students with a disability. We need to do better. I support my colleagues' amendments to extend inclusion to all students in our schools and to end the segregation of young people with a disability in our schooling sector. If we want people with a disability to be able to participate fully in our communities then we need to start by allowing them to participate fully in our schools.

Let's remember: inclusion, and doing it properly, benefits every young person in our schools. There is a reason why attendance levels at our schools are dropping, why young people are becoming increasingly disengaged in our system, and why teachers continue to feel, particularly in our public schools, that they have a lack of support to give every student in front of them what they need to fulfil their potential. I support these amendments, and I say to the government: if we can't end segregation in our schools, when are we ever going to end it?