Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today is International Day of People with Disability, and I would like to reflect on not only the significant contributions people with disability make in our community but also the still as yet untapped potential they offer to workplaces and the wider community. Over four million Australians have a disability. That is one in four people in our community. Their disabilities range across a spectrum of physical disability, hearing and vision loss, intellectual or developmental disorders and mental health disorders, which present serious challenges in their everyday lives but do not define them as human beings. While 3.4 million of these people have physical disabilities of one kind or another, almost 90 per cent have a disability which is invisible to the naked eye. We have come a long way as a society in our recognition of the capacity and dignity of people with disability, particularly in the last few years, but we have come nowhere near far enough.

I am proud to have been a member of the Labor government which established the National Disability Insurance Scheme, which will provide every Australian with the personal care and support they need in the event they are either born with or acquire a disability. Whilst I do not know this personally, I have a nephew with downs, and I watch each day my brother and his wife struggle with the difficulties that brings. Chris is an amazing child. He is full of life, he is full of beans, he is as cheeky as all get out, but at 13 he has very little language. He will progress and he will make strides, but Chris will have downs today, downs tomorrow and we all live with the reality of what that will bring, particularly his two sisters who understand that this journey will not end for them anytime soon. But I do not want to talk about him, because I think that is his story to tell some day and I am sure he will be able to do it brilliantly.

I acknowledge particularly the bipartisan dedication to the National Disability Insurance Scheme that was borne in this parliament. I urge the government to do everything possible to keep to their election commitment and ensure that the scheme is rolled out in full in the time frame promised. There are just too many people suffering with inadequate services or watching loved ones languish in nursing homes to allow any delay in this vital scheme.

Gone are the days when people with a disability were just written off as being of no use. We have grown as a society. We know far more today than we did yesterday, and we have a far greater depth of understanding of the causes of many disabilities and the acute impact they have on a person's capacity to work and participate in the things we all take for granted. More often than not, the only barrier facing most people in attaining employment or participating fully in everyday life activities is access—access we can grant them merely through minor changes or modifications to our infrastructures, services and most importantly our attitudes.

Once upon a time, the parents of a child with autism were told by doctors, paediatricians and others that because they could not find any biological cause of their child's behaviour it must be due to a defect in their parenting. These children were left to struggle in schools with curriculums unable to cater to their needs. While we do not have a conclusive understanding of the root cause of autism, we do understand its range of effects and development therapies and learning tools which are helping young people with autism learn and develop at a rate which enables many of them to become indistinguishable from their peers. A child diagnosed with autism today has a far greater chance of achieving their full potential in life than a person born decades ago—not because autism has changed but because our understanding of it and our adjustment to the learning environment for people with it has changed dramatically. And it is no different for people with any disability seeking employment or opportunities in the avenue of life.

In Australia, people with a disability have an employment rate of just 38.9 per cent, compared to 79.4 per cent for people without a disability. We rank 21 out of 29 OECD countries for employment rates of people with a disability and 27 for people with a disability living in or near poverty. These figures are not a reflection on the capacity of people with a disability to work; they are a reflection on our willingness to offer them the opportunity and to accommodate them in our workplaces.

I would like to use this opportunity to encourage more employers to actively consider the role of people with a disability in their own workplace. Just three per cent of employers turn to Disability Employment Services when recruiting and, without the active participation of more employers, we will not be able to turn these figures around.

In my own office I have had the opportunity to have individuals with disability work for me. Lachlan, who is legally blind and has autism, worked for me for many years. The only issue was what radio station we played every day! Alexis, who has osteogenisis imperfecta—often known as 'brittle bone disease'—is bound to a specialised wheelchair and has more degrees than I care to mention. She cannot get full-time work but works for me on a voluntary, contributory basis and offers much to my office. Mario, who has cerebral palsy and physical limitations, is a great asset to my office because of his computer skills. More people need to employ people like Alex and Mario.