Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party) | Hansard source

It's not quite Adelaide; I think it might have been Moree for a while there, but unfortunately it hasn't rained to clear the air. As an old Adelaide girl, though, I will give that to you, Senator Farrell. Being born in Adelaide, it's a pretty good place to start. Tim and Judy Sharp really demonstrate what can be done when you work together as a family and a unit to create a successful business and go on to influence and inspire so many other families.

I acknowledge Sam Best and his parents, James Best and Benison O'Reilly. I mentioned Benison in my first speech; she literally wrote the book on autism, with The Australian Autism Handbook, both volumes one and two. Sam, her son, and James, her husband, travelled to Africa a couple of years ago and wrote a book and made a documentary of their experiences, demonstrating how the neuroplasticity of the brain in teen years can mean experiences and independence can be opened up when challenges are put in front of children who, far too often, parents are told will never achieve much. Sam Best made such a great leap forward in his own development and showed so many parents and other children what advances you can make when you challenge your teenagers; it's not just for younger children.

I'd like to also acknowledge Chris Varney, an autistic adult who set up the I CAN Network, which is so important, offering mentoring to other children on the autism spectrum and providing an autistic body in itself. I think that if those outside of the autistic community could start to really get a better understanding of the contribution that autistic people make, the supports that they require to make those contributions and the supports that they can provide to each other we would make this community and their lives so much better, and so much better for their families, moving forward.

I'd like to finish by paying tribute to the Prime Minister and the government for their focus on the NDIS: their assurance that it will be fit for purpose and that it will focus on ensuring that services and supports are available to all Australians should they require them going forward.