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

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

I hold in my hand a piece of paper. When it first arrived in my office, I took some convincing that it wasn't an act of satirical comedy. I must admit that I laughed for a couple of minutes straight. It is a letter from the Hon. Ray Williams MP of the New South Wales government, who happens to also be the Minister for Disability Services, outlining to the President of the Senate the many wonderful things that, in his opinion, he and the Liberal government of New South Wales are doing to support, promote and otherwise celebrate disabled people in that state. By all accounts, he seems quite pleased with himself and notes certain programs to increase things like employment for disabled people.

By the nature and tenor of the letter, it seems that Mr Williams is generally a fan of the idea of people with disabilities having their voices heard within communities and within governments more generally, so I find it highly ironic that this letter also comes from the minister who has consistently refused to guarantee to restore his government's funding to disability advocacy services in New South Wales. In his state, there are over 50 disability advocacy agencies whose primary role is to help give voice to disabled Australians, particularly in the context of the introduction of the NDIS, which is one of the most complicated social reforms since Medicare. Their role is to help ensure that disabled Australians in New South Wales have a voice, yet Minister Williams is content to sit by and allow these organisations and all of the institutional knowledge therein to go to the wall simply because he feels he now has an excuse to shift that budget line item off to the federal government.

It is a disgrace. I don't know where this man gets the cheek to write such a letter to the Senate in these circumstances. I would like to use this opportunity to call on him, once again, to rethink his decision and to fully fund and support disability advocacy services, both individualised and systemic, in the state of New South Wales. I thank the chamber for its time.

Question agreed to.