Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Action, Environment and Heritage) Share this | Hansard source

In addressing the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012, let me begin by giving my wholehearted support to the bill and to the broader underlying principle. I want to speak briefly today across three fronts: the humanity behind the bill; the principles to be enshrined in the bill; and the issue of supported accommodation, which, for those living in the Hastings area as well as across the electorate of Flinders and across Australia, is a critical element of care and treatment for those who have some of the most challenging disabilities that we face in our country.

I want to begin by looking at the humanity, with people that I know. There is a young fellow, Tom McGann, whom I have known for over a decade. His situation is that has had:

… a neuromuscular disability since birth which means I have never walked and have been in a motorised wheelchair from age 4.

He is now a young adult. He went through mainstream schooling at Mount Martha Primary School and then secondary school. He is a joy to be with and he is an absolute source of pride to his parents. These days, he is studying IT at TAFE and his goal is to have a career in the field. He has been involved with Boccia, a Paralympic sport, and with Channel 31, where he has an on-camera role.

He has also been involved with Beyond Disability. Beyond Disability is a local self-help group created to assist those with disabilities to have access to the appropriate technology. It was started by a magnificent local constituent, Richard Stubbs, who was a very successful banker. He developed a severe neuromuscular condition and lost much of his mobility. His response was not to feel sorry for himself but to establish a practical self-help group named Beyond Disability. I have watched as their charitable work has grown and expanded. It has provided a window to the world, an avenue and means of communication, self-respect, creativity and fulfilment.

Out of that process has come Tom McGann. Tom has been determined to live the best life he can lead. He is really a shining example to me of a life well lived. So it is a real honour to have known him since he was such a young age and to have watched him develop through primary and secondary school and then enter tertiary education as a fine young Australian. His story is powerful because it is an example of what we can be and how we can overcome challenges and be our best selves. He has done that despite great difficulties, with the support of stunningly helpful and committed parents. In many cases, family circumstances just do not allow these steps forward. That is why we come to the issue of a national disability insurance scheme.

I saw another example only a couple of weekends ago, when the Disabled Surfers Association of Australia held a disabled surf event at Point Leo on the Mornington Peninsula. My understanding is that there were over 50 participants. I was there in a wetsuit as one of the support crew—

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