Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this afternoon in the adjournment debate to highlight an important initiative of the ABC to give young people living in regional Australia a voice. This wonderful program is known as Heywire. Students aged between 16 and 22 who live or work in regional or rural Australia submit engaging real-life stories about their experiences in these communities. Last year some 800 applications were received at the ABC about a range of issues that matter to these young people. The ABC is really giving regional youth a voice through this program. I would also like to add at this point that this program has been assisted by sponsorship from the federal government and many of our federal government departments.

One voice being heard is that of a young disabled girl from a town called Wandoan, which is on the eastern side of my large outback Queensland electorate. This week Yulanna Wright joined the other 39 Heywire winners from last year for a Youth Issues Forum at the Australian Institute of Sport. You, Mr Speaker, welcomed them to question time this week, which I know they appreciated. I was privileged to meet young Yulanna yesterday when the group of winners came to Parliament House.

Before I continue, I would like to talk about Yulanna and her story. As a three-year-old, Yulanna contracted meningococcal. For a month she underwent a series of tests and had seven needles each day. Soon she was transferred to a hospital in Brisbane where her left leg was amputated below the knee. She was given a wheelchair, and a month after the operation she was fitted with an artificial leg. Finally, after three months of being in hospitals, Yulanna was ready to go home. Growing up in Wandoan was made all the easier for Yulanna because the local people and the Taroom Shire Council made the whole town wheelchair friendly. Ramps were installed at the school and other public places around the town.

After chatting with her, it is clear she has not let her disability hinder her success. In fact, Yulanna, with a passion for swimming and with much hard work and dedication at swimming training, represented Queensland and broke several national butterfly records. Yulanna also spoke to me about plans the local youth group have to design and build a skate park in Wandoan. Not only would young kids have somewhere to meet and have fun but it would be another attraction for the townspeople—the young people particularly—and for tourists.

Yulanna has many dreams, including having aspirations to get into the child-care industry and eventually take up photography. However, since moving away from Wandoan for study purposes, Yulanna has had to deal with minimal wheelchair access. She sums up her dilemma very well in the conclusion of her Heywire entry:

Toowoomba is my home now and it’s a place I can make my dreams happen for me. When I came here, I brought with me my sense of humour and positive attitude to life, but the one thing I didn’t bring was wheelchair access. In the 21st century, councils are supposed to be aware of people with disabilities and special needs. However, life in Toowoomba can be awkward for those needing wheelchair access. This is a big disadvantage in most schools and many businesses do not have wheelchair access either. I am lucky. I have an artificial leg. But what about those that are stuck in wheelchairs for the rest of their lives and may never walk again? Whose dreams are they destroying?

That is right—whose dreams are they destroying? I would like to call on councils and state and territory governments across Australia to heed the calls of this fine young Australian and all the disabled and special needs Australians she represents. By way of interest, there are some 512,400 people in Australia who need mobility aids, and there are 254,000 births each year with mothers who during their pregnancy, and afterwards of course, need to move their children around in strollers. Ramp access to schools, businesses and other public places should be a fundamental inclusion in all town and school planning. People with special needs are just as important as any other member of the community and they should not be forgotten. Often their skills and abilities contribute greatly and are invaluable to the local and wider Australian community.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! It being 5 pm, the debate is interrupted.