Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to commence my contribution to the debate on workforce participation for people with a disability by congratulating the member for Pearce on moving this motion. It is a very important issue and one that is very, very close to my heart because, prior to becoming a member of parliament, I worked for 12 years helping people with disability get into the workforce—that was my job. I find it quite sad that there has been report after report making recommendations over a very long period of time and yet nothing seems to change. In fact, things seem to get a little worse all the time.

I will start by discussing public sector employment. That was not where I initially intended to start, but when I worked in the area of disability there was a fantastic scheme operating, whereby people would undertake work experience in the public sector and, if a job became available in that area and they were qualified to perform it, that person would automatically get that job. It circumvented a lot of other procedures that existed at that time in the public sector. I must say, over a period of time I was very successful in assisting a number of people with disabilities into the workforce and to find work in the public sector. The member for Pearce mentioned that one of the problems was low-level jobs. Some of those people that I assisted into the public sector are now working at EL2 level—so they are obviously very, very capable people. But, on the other hand, some of the people who had more visible disabilities were moved out of the public sector. That happened in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

One public sector case in particular was of a young girl who was hearing impaired and also diabetic. She was working in Social Security at the time. It was determined that everybody in Social Security had to be able to work in every job. Because of this young girl’s hearing impairment, there were some jobs that she could not actually undertake, and she was made redundant. I hate to inform the House of this, but within three months of leaving there this young woman was dead. I am quite sure that she would not have died if she had remained in employment. I mentioned that she had diabetes; she had a ‘hypo’. She was at home. She was isolated. She was not making contact with people on a regular basis. It was a very sad thing that happened.

It is important that we recognise the abilities of people and not look at their disabilities. For a long time some very, very dedicated people have been working hard to see whether they can address this issue. There have been a number of good programs over the years. The current government has put in place the National Disability Strategy, which COAG signed off on in February. I want to see some results out of that disability strategy. I want to see more people with disabilities given the opportunity that every other person has. From the Year of the Disabled back in the eighties until now, I do not think a heck of a lot has happened. There have been spurts, where an investment has been made in an attempt to address the barriers. Government works very hard to encourage the private sector to employ people with disabilities but, as the previous member stated, each year, when the budget is brought down, there are calls to tighten up on the budget and to crack down on welfare payments.

Every so often, when you open up a newspaper there will be comment about too many people being on disability support. There is also talk about the barriers in moving people from the disability support pension to the workforce. A person with a significant disability who works 15 hours can be put in a position where they are financially disadvantaged. Having worked with people with disabilities, I know how keen and committed they are to work. To them, that is the goal out there; they want to be like everybody else. When you meet a person, one of the first things you say to them is ‘What do you do?’ A person with a disability who cannot obtain work but who may have the skills cannot go from being a person with skills to a person who is working. They say, ‘Oh, well. I’m sorry but I actually don’t have a job at the moment; I’m on a disability support pension.’ That reinforces the stereotype that exists.

I was privileged to talk to a young man who came to my office a month or so back. He was an outstanding athlete. He had an accident and is now a C56 quadriplegic. He is a very bright young man and is currently attending university, where he is doing computer technology. At the same time, he is also very interested in setting up a consultancy where he can give advice to local government and the private sector on how they can make areas more accessible to people with disabilities. He is happy to set up this consultancy for free. He wants to give that advice to people so that access is improved for people with disabilities. By improving access, he can make it easier for them to study at university. He could only attend one of the campuses at the University of Newcastle because of access issues. Better access to campuses for people with disabilities enables them to study, which in turn enables them to enter the workforce. This young man is addressing in a very tangible way the barriers that exist in relation to employment.

This is an issue that has been addressed so many times. The current ministers are totally committed to seeing that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as every other person. Both Minister Macklin and Minister Ellis are both committed to seeing that people with disabilities are not discriminated against and that they do have the opportunity to enjoy the same things in life that every other person has the opportunity to enjoy. Minister Ellis is looking at employment programs which I hope will embrace some of the issues that have been and will be raised in this debate.

It is only by the actions of this parliament, by showing leadership, that we can make the lives of people with a disability better. It cannot be endorsed that people with disability are discriminated against in relation to employment on economic grounds, because this is a wasted resource. These people have ability. They can contribute to the economic activity of our nation, and refusing to give them that opportunity, by discrimination remaining entrenched in society in the way it is and has been for so many years, means that Australia is losing a valuable resource. As a nation I do not think we can afford to do that. We are impoverishing the lives of some Australians simply because they have a disability. Let us look at their ability. Let us give them the opportunity. I thank the member for bringing this motion to the House.

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