Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was very lucky recently at one of our Hotham seniors morning teas to meet a women by the name of Derryn. She introduced herself to me very briefly and handed me a note about her daughter Robyn, letting me know that I could read it when I had time. I know what it means when a mother has taken the time to write down concerns she has about her child. It means that there is a young person is in need. So I remembered Derryn, and at the first opportunity I took the time to read that note and understand what is happening in the life of her daughter.

Madam Speaker, we often think of ourselves in Australia as the lucky country, but as members of parliament you and I regularly meet with people who are not living up to their full potential and are not getting the support that they need from others. Robyn, the woman about whom this note was written, had some experiences recently that really made me reflect on what a long way we have to go to help some Australians get the opportunities they deserve.

Robyn is a very energetic young woman. She is artistically talented, and she is ready and willing to contribute to the community in any way she can. She is 32 years old, just a little bit younger than me, and she was born with Down syndrome. Robyn was born with a disability, but she is an articulate and capable young woman, and in her 30s she should really be at the beginning of the peak of her working life.

In 2011, with the support of a disability employment service, Robyn began supported employment at a McDonald's restaurant in Melbourne's CBD. She loved the work she was doing. She was working three days a week, having a great time being part of a team, but after 18 months, with what appears to be very little warning, she was made redundant. She was provided another employment opportunity at a Hungry Jacks but soon after was made redundant again.

The story that I heard there was really about a young woman who was being passed from provider to provider and who has had her arrangements chopped and changed. I think it is a story of a family who are very frustrated that their daughter wants to make a contribution but is not being given the support that she needs to do that. In Derryn's own words, 'We have done everything in our power to ensure that she lives a worthwhile life in the wider community.' And Robyn does live a really worthwhile life. She lives alone. She cares for herself and, like any person her age or my age, she has hobbies, she has interests, and she has dreams.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, almost half of all working-age people in Australia with a disability today are not in the labour force. That means they are not looking for work, and they are also not employed. There are many other statistics that I could furnish, but what is really concerning is that, when we look at how Australia ranks compared to other OECD countries, we see that we are performing about 21st out of 29 OECD countries for employment participation for people with a disability. I think that 21st out of 29 is a pretty disturbing figure, and anyone in this House would be moved to think that we need to do something differently. In addition, we know that almost half of those in Australia with a disability are living at or below the poverty line.

I definitely do not want to politicise this issue, because I think it is an area where both sides of the House have at least spoken about their commitment. But I do want to say that I think that the rhetoric that we have had with some of the welfare debates we have had recently in this House about 'cracking down' and 'welfare cheats' and these sorts of things really gets the situation wrong for many people. I know that there are a lot of people out there in Australia, just like Robyn, who have a disability, but they really want to work. They just need the right support. Robyn's story was a really good reminder for me that we have a long way to go before employers, agencies and governments around this nation really understand what good, effective support looks like and how we can provide it.

All of us in this House know that employment participation is not just about money, and it is not just about having a job; it is a critical way that Australians engage in everyday life. It is about having independence, having the opportunity to socialise and having the belief and the knowledge that you are making a real contribution to the community that you live in. Labor believe that one of the best ways that we can help people feel this way is to help people with disability to find and keep work. That is one reason why we created the National Disability Insurance Scheme. That is something that I am incredibly proud of. We know that the NDIS will take us some way to helping people with disability be the ones in control. They will help determine what support they need, and they will have the resources that they can marshal to make it happen. But it cannot come fast enough. Already people like Robyn have waited many years.

I applaud people like Robyn Doherty. She is not afraid to give things a go, and she has so much more to offer. I want to thank her for raising this matter with me. I want to encourage the family to keep in touch, and I offer any support I can provide to Robyn in her future endeavours.