Celia Hammond (Curtin, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Werriwa for moving this motion and for raising some important issues. I would like to acknowledge that 3 December is International Day of People with a Disability. This is a UN-sanctioned day that aims to increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability and to celebrate their achievements and contributions.

'Disability' is an umbrella term for impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions. There are varying degrees of disability, and they can be the result of genetic disorders, illnesses, accidents, ageing or a combination of factors. People living with disabilities make up a large part of our communities. In 2018, there were over four million Australians with a disability—approximately 18 per cent of the population. The prevalence of disability increases with age. One in eight people aged between zero and 64, and one in two people aged 65 or over have a disability. One in three of all people with a disability have a profound or severe disability. One in five of all people with disability reported a mental or behavioural disorder as the main condition. This includes intellectual or development disorders, mood affective disorders, dementia or Alzheimer's.

International Day of People with a Disability and similar initiatives are vital for raising awareness and understanding in our communities. Like all Australians, people with disability interact with every aspect of Australian life. However, some routinely face challenges in participating in everyday activities. These challenges are affected by the severity of their disability, the availability of services, the accessibility of the environment, and community attitudes and discrimination. The impact on participation is evidenced by the following statistics. One-third of people with a disability aged 15 years and over had completed year 12, compared to 62 per cent of people without a disability. Fifteen per cent of those 20 years or over with a disability had completed a bachelor's degree or above, compared to 31 per cent of those without a disability. Labour force participation was 53.4 per cent of those with a disability compared with 84 per cent of those without a disability. And 32 per cent of adults with a disability self-reported high or very high levels of psychological distress compared with eight per cent of adults without a disability.

In my previous life working in universities, I became acutely aware of some of the issues facing people with physical disabilities: access to premises, opening of doors, lecture theatre spaces, sound, access to materials in a readable format, sitting for long periods of time and handwriting speeds. I also became aware of footpaths that are uneven or not wide enough, no ramps, crosswalk troubles and shopping items on higher levels. I also became aware of the often-unintended discrimination experienced by people with a disability. I was told a story of a father who'd been travelling with his then-young daughter, who was confined to a wheelchair. They were travelling on a plane and, following the safety demonstration, an air host came up to them and told them that, in accordance with the rules, she would be the last person off the plane. There may well have been a legitimate reason for this rule, but it was the way it was said and the way it was heard: she was the least important person of all on that plane. In this context, I note data from 2015: one in 11 people with disability aged 15 years and over had experienced discrimination in the previous 12 months because of their disability and one in three avoided situations because of their disability. These rates are not acceptable.

There are many examples in my community of Curtin where people are working together to empower people who are living with a disability. One such example is the Lions Eye Institute. I recently attended the Lions Eye Institute Sensory Science exhibition, a unique blend of science and art combining the incredible artistry of legally blind artist Dr Erica Tandori and the scientific excellence of Professor Jamie Rossjohn and Monash University's Biomedicine Discovery Institute. It's an absolutely fantastic exhibition that combines science and research in a tactile environment to bring it to more people. We need to continue to develop technologies and, more importantly, we need to continue to address our often-unknown biases, prejudices and assumptions.

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