Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to raise an issue of concern to a number of parents within my electorate and more parents throughout Victoria generally. I have been approached in particular by Maria Franca Lachman Galanzi and Alan Lachman, her husband. They have a child who is vision impaired and who suffers quite profound blindness. I had not been aware that Vision Australia had been forced to close its school for the vision impaired within Australia. I confess that it is something of which I should have been aware, but I was not. As I have looked into it more deeply, it has been quite a profound shock. Maria writes to me: ‘There are 81 schools for people with special needs and desires in Australia. That may include those with deafness; that may include those with profound intellectual or physical disability. But the one school in Victoria specifically set aside to give the parents of children with blindness or vision impairment conditions—the choice as to whether they attend a mainstream or a specially streamed school—is about to be closed. I would respectfully but categorically and absolutely say to the Victorian government that it is extraordinary that Victoria is about to find itself without any government support for a school for the vision impaired at all.’

In Adelaide in South Australia, as Maria writes to me, there is a school for students with vision impairment with over 40 students. That school does wonderful work. Not every child who is blind or vision impaired in Adelaide attends that school. But many parents choose consciously, deliberately and absolutely to pursue the education of their children within a specially streamed school. The reason is very simple: it is, as Maria has said to me, many needs are easily addressable. A blind student needs a school equipped with Braille books and PCs with adaptive technology; adapted art rooms, PE and music facilities; no physical barriers; and an expanded core curriculum. These are easily achievable, but only on a whole-of-school basis for many people who lack confidence or societal connections. One of the points made to me by Maria and Alan was that it can be terribly isolating for a blind student to be in a mainstream school. Some can adapt, but some have profound social disadvantage as well as a learning disadvantage. They have no intellectual impairment but have great physical and social needs. So I say to the Victorian government, please listen to the pleas of Maria and Alan and other parents and help re-establish a school for children with blindness in Victoria. (Time expired)