Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Payments) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Australian Human Rights Commission report Willing to work: national inquiry into employment discrimination against older Australians and Australians with disability. In doing so I congratulate Commissioner Susan Ryan on this significant report. I would also like to say that I am quite disappointed in the contribution by Senator Paterson, where he spoke for about 30 seconds on the report that is before the Senate today. It was a pretence—going on to other issues, which is the real reason he is here.

I would like to start off by thanking the Attorney-General, senator George Brandis, for having referred what is a critical issue to the Australian Human Rights Commission for an inquiry. This report is informed by 120 public consultations held in all state and territory capital cities and some regional locations. Through this consultation process the commission met with over 1,100 people, including older Australians, Australians with disabilities, carers, advocates, community organisations, employers, businesses, trade unions, peak bodies and academics. The inquiry received 342 submissions. In her foreword Commissioner Ryan states:

The Inquiry is grounded in the voices of individuals affected by discrimination, the experiences and perspectives of employers of all sizes and across all sectors, extensive research and the ideas and expertise of advocates, legal practitioners, policy experts, industry representatives and unions.

This is one of the critical elements of this report. It is informed by a significant consultation process and reflects the voices and concerns of people in real-life experience.

It should come as no surprise that the inquiry found that many Australians with disability and older Australians who want to work are shut out of the workforce because of assumptions, stereotypes or myths associated with their age or their disability. These viewpoints lead to conscious and unconscious discrimination. This discrimination impacts on people in recruitment, in the workplace and in decisions about training, promotion and retirement, and comes at a cost to individuals, businesses and our economy.

The report notes:

International comparisons by the OECD show Australia lagging behind similar countries in terms of employment of older people and people with disability.

Everyone has a role in addressing this gap and in attacking the systemic discrimination that has created such a significant barrier to workforce participation for too many people in our community.

It is incumbent upon everyone at every level to take action to address the issues identified in this report. As individuals, we all need to work to change attitudes about older employees and employers with disability. Employers and businesses need to build understanding and awareness of discrimination, and the benefits of employing older people and people with disability. And governments need to take action to ensure that policies and programs do not create disincentives to participation, and appropriately encourage businesses to employ older workers or workers with disability.

The report includes a range of practical strategies for change, as well as measures for monitoring progress and outcomes. Critically, the report also recommends introducing a national education campaign to dispel the myths and stereotypes about older people and people with disability that lead to discrimination. It is promising to read some of the examples of best practice that are highlighted in the report and see that with the right information and understanding older Australians and Australians with disability and businesses can all reap the benefits.

I also commend the resource for employers the commission produced, along with the inquiry report. The resource sets out the commission's recommendations to businesses, examples of existing good practice and provides details of available resources. Once again I would like to thank Commissioner Susan Ryan for her work on this report and the incredible job she has done in the dual role of Age Discrimination Commissioner and Disability Discrimination Commissioner.