International Day of People with Disability

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (11:58): I move:

That this house—

(a) recognises that 3 December 2015 is International Day of People with Disability;

(b) acknowledges the opportunity International Day of People with Disability provides to increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability;

(c) celebrates the achievements and contributions of people living with disability; and

(d) recognises and thanks everyone in the disability sector for their continuing work.

Today, I recognise that this day, Thursday 3 December 2015, marks International Day of People with Disability. This is a day to celebrate and embrace all people with disability. This global initiative aims to promote an understanding of disability and mobilise support for the dignity, rights and wellbeing of people with disability. The day also provides an opportunity to raise awareness of the benefits gained from inclusion of people with disability in the political, social, economic and cultural fabric of Australian life.

I have to say that a celebratory day, in itself, will not redress discrimination that Australians with disability face in their everyday lives. Whilst things have improved significantly over the last few decades, discrimination does continue to marginalise Australians living with disability. Accordingly, this day should therefore not only be a celebration but also an opportunity to pause and reflect on achievements so far and consider what remains to be championed and done.

As in previous years, this year also has a theme. The theme for 2015 is 'Inclusion matters: Access and empowerment of people with all abilities.' As Graham Calma, former board member of Cara and himself living a life with cerebral palsy, says today in The Advertiser, it is a theme we should all live by every day. Graham acknowledges that, while South Australia is not perfect, it already has made great moves towards accessibility for people who use wheelchairs and walkers. Included in the theme I have just mentioned, there are three subthemes and they are as follows:

Making cities inclusive and accessible for all. Cities, basic urban infrastructures and services must be more accessible, user-friendly and inclusive of all people's needs, including people with disability.

Improving disability data and statistics. Poor data collection on disability contributes to the invisibility of people with disability in official statistics and is a major barrier to achieving service delivery that is inclusive of people with disability.

Including persons with invisible disabilities in society and development. People with invisible disabilities such as intellectual or sensory disability or acquired brain injury often face a double disadvantage. People may perceive them as uncooperative when, in fact, their disability affects the way that they learn, work, socialise and interact and live their life. These people can often be overlooked in program development. However, their needs are real and deserving.

People with disability must be afforded the opportunity to participate in society on an equal basis. We must all focus on the ability and not the disability of an individual. Unfortunately, all too often, the greater barrier for people with disability is less to do with their disability and more to do with stigma and discrimination.

By promoting empowerment, this government creates real opportunities for people with disability to participate, contribute, be involved and achieve their goals, so it is worthy to stop and reflect on what empowerment means. It refers to policies and measures designed to increase a person's autonomy and self-determination, to enable them to act on their own behalf and their own authority to the best of their ability. Empowerment involves investing in people—in education, training, skill, development, social independence and social interaction. When people are empowered, they are able to make a contribution and we, the South Australian community, are so much richer for it.

This government, through the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion, is leading the introduction of disability access and inclusion plans across the state and local government and statutory authorities in South Australia. Disability access and inclusion plans ensure that mainstream services, programs and infrastructure are accessible and responsive to people with disability. They provide an opportunity for organisations to identify and seek solutions to overcome the barriers that limit participation for people with disability. Mainstream non-disability-specific agencies have an important role to play in the successful implementation of these plans. The services they provide are important to all South Australians, including those with disability.

With more than 20 per cent of South Australians identified as having a disability, it is critical that all South Australians have the opportunity to participate and contribute. Local government, as we see with the Adelaide City Council, has played a pivotal role in implementing disability action plans. In this regard, I draw your attention to the innovative work of the council of Adelaide with the Adelaide Aquatic Centre upgrade and council's focus in recent years on increasing the numbers of people with disability participating in the New Year's Eve celebrations in Elder Park. Such initiatives create an inclusive and welcoming city for all.

We know that people with disability can often fall through the gaps in other service sectors if their needs are not identified and considered. Better data and information is a first step in identifying need and providing opportunities to improve services and evidence-based solutions.

As part of the South Australian Disability Justice Plan 2014-17, the Attorney General's Department is working with the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion in developing a standard question on disability for implementation across the criminal justice system. This will raise the awareness of front-line staff of the needs of people with disability—whether they are victims, witnesses, suspects, or defendants—and make the criminal justice system more accessible and responsive, particularly to those with cognitive/intellectual disability. This initiative will help promote the fundamental right of equality before the law for every South Australian.

I spoke earlier of the importance of including people with invisible disabilities. The Department for Communities and Social Inclusion has been funding disability programs for many years aimed at improving social participation and providing opportunities and support for personal development, including for people with intellectual or sensory disabilities and acquired brain injury. A snapshot of these programs includes:

For people with intellectual disability: assistance with learning for jobseekers to overcome barriers to training and work; day option programs for people with intellectual disability that focus on developing social skills and independence; and a Micro Enterprise Project which creates opportunities for people with intellectual disability to establish their own small business.

For people with acquired brain injury: programs aimed at continuing education for skill development, including practical social skills aimed at increasing social and recreational networks and literacy and social interaction.

For people who are hearing impaired: programs aimed at providing opportunities and support for artists with disability; programs designed to increase independence and social skills; and training programs for assistance dogs to enable people with hearing loss to live independently.

For people who are blind or vision impaired: programs aimed at skill development to increase independence at home or in the community, including skills in braille, training in the use of equipment, or participation in leisure activities such as aqua aerobics, tenpin bowling or blind golf.

These programs, along with the department's individualised funding initiative, where people with disability have control over their own personal budget and support, have provided increased opportunities for people with invisible disabilities to participate in their communities.

Finally, with the advent of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)—I remind the house that South Australia was the first jurisdiction to commit to a trial of the NDIS—this represents a landmark in the way we respond to the care and support needs of people with disability. The NDIS will give people with disability every opportunity to exercise choice and control over their supports and personal budget to reach their goals and aspirations. The NDIS will also link people to existing mainstream and community services in their local area.

In closing, I ask the house in supporting this motion to pause and reflect on the contribution and abilities of all South Australians with disability. While I would like to be able to say that the political, social, economic and cultural fabric of South Australia is fully inclusive of all people with disability, I can say, though, that government initiatives, such as Disability Access and Inclusion Plans, promote empowerment and inclusion. The Disability Justice Plan and the NDIS are also plans moving in the right direction of empowerment.

On behalf of this government, I thank everyone in the disability sector for their continuing work, and I encourage every South Australian to celebrate International Day of People with Disability, and to make every effort to ensure the people living with disability are included and are welcomed everywhere. I close with a quote from Graham Calma from today's The Advertiser where he says:

Look beyond the disability, listen and feel more than just words. Together we can achieve anything.

Ms COOK (Fisher) (12:09): I rise today to support the motion by the member for Elder and make a small contribution. I have worked with people with disabilities since 1986 in nursing. My first job was in fact at the Julia Farr Centre, where several hundred people were residing with incredible disabilities. I found all of them deeply moving and deeply inspiring because of their achievements rather than their disabilities: the things they could actually do were just absolutely incredible.

There are also other people I have met during my life that I would like to acknowledge and put on the record. Anne Briscoe is a fantastic woman living with multiple sclerosis in the community. She has always given me hope that I can get through any other challenges I face by watching what she achieves rather than what she complains about, which is absolutely nothing. She is incredible.

Another is Angus Hincksman who, I notice, has been featured recently in the media. He is a young lad in primary school whom I met about eight years ago. He is the child of dear friends of mine, Nat and Stuart Hincksman and he lives in the member for Kaurna's electorate. He is a young lad with cerebral palsy and I have had many conversations with his parents not knowing what his future was and not knowing what he would be able to achieve.

I note that he has recently received the Novita Children Services Award for his determination for success in sport. He is the national cross-country champion for 10 to 12 year olds with a disability and I commend his performance. He is absolutely outstanding and should also be looked at as an inspiration to people.

The third is Tracey Gibb who is a dear friend of mine who was admitted to the Julia Farr centre as a young adult in the mid-1990s with locked-in syndrome, and she still resides there. I communicate with her and I am always inspired by her determination to actually have a voice when she cannot speak at all and uses electronic communication devices. Sometimes in dark hours, we can sit and wallow on things that we cannot achieve, but I think if we look to these people for some inspiration and some hope, I think we can do a whole lot better.

In fact, what can we do for people with disabilities? In this community, I think we just need to take a few special rules. One is not to judge a book by its cover, which is a very simple thought, but just because people with disability cannot speak the same as able-bodied people or walk the same as able-bodied people, that does not mean they do not have equal or higher intelligence and capacity to participate in society. Sometimes we need to stop and listen to what people are saying from different points of view, and people with disability can certainly achieve a lot more than I can, I am sure.

One of the important lessons I have learned recently through the domestic violence hearings is that people with a disability are one group that is actually at much higher risk, and much greater vulnerability, of suffering some of the consequences of violence. One of the important things that we need to make sure they have is equity, because equity means power and choice.

I would urge everybody in this house to think about that when discussing policy and supporting people in their electorates to achieve equity through things like education, jobs and housing. It is just so very vital. I thank everybody in the community who work to give people with disability a voice and I promise that I will continue to do the same. I commend the motion and thank the member for Elder.

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (12:13): I rise to support this motion by the member for Elder that this house recognises that 3 December 2015 is International Day of People with Disabilities and acknowledges the opportunity International Day of People with Disabilities provides to increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability. Also, we celebrate the achievements of people with disabilities and recognise and thank all the people working in the disability sector for the fantastic contribution they make to this great state.

I stood on the stage at Novita with the Premier several years ago. Novita is the non-government organisation that delivers a lot of services for children with disabilities. I stood on the stage at the Christmas party there, and I said, 'If you can't be bipartisan about disabilities, what can you be bipartisan about?' That is what I have tried to do in this place at all times.

Obviously, I have asked the minister questions about the priorities and the timing of things to try to keep things moving along, because I think we could be doing things more quickly, and to make sure that we are going to be able to roll out the NDIS on time to as many South Australians as possible—in fact, all those who are eligible to participate.

The NDIS was introduced by the federal Labor government, but with bipartisan support, again, by the federal Liberal opposition as it was then. Now, with the federal Liberal government in place, it continues to be worked on. It has been put in place and we have raised expectations to a very high level, but now we are not delivering at the level that we should be. There are children in South Australia who are waiting for those services to be delivered, and that is unacceptable.

But let's focus on this motion and let's celebrate today International Day of People with Disability. Let's look at the great things that are going on, because we all should be in awe of some of the achievements of people with disability. The 'i' word—the inspiration word—is a word that many people with disabilities do not want to hear us use, that we are inspired by them. I cannot help but use the 'i' word, because I am inspired by the people I have met in my portfolio. I often tell people, 'This is one of the most engaging and delightful portfolios you can have.' The people you meet, the families and carers, and the challenges that people are facing out there—yet they do it. They do it cheerfully, they do it willingly and they do it without any expectations. They get on with life. They really are able to achieve. They have an ability to achieve that far exceeds a lot of other people in society.

I know sometimes you get down in life and you think things are not traveling as well as you might like them to, but I just think of some of the people who I deal with. There is one particular young woman, Tracy. Tracy lives in Highgate House at Hyde Park. Tracy was 19 when she had a brain stem abscess. Now, because of that brain stem abscess, she has locked-in syndrome. She is fully conscious—completely 100 per cent conscious as we are—but is unable to move. Fortunately, she is able to breathe by herself. When you are communicating with her, it is eyes up for yes and eyes down for no. She does have the ability, with a modified computer, to blow into an air pipe on the computer to work a computer. She has a Facebook site. I go onto Tracy's locked-in syndrome Facebook site and have a good read. She does barrack for Port Adelaide, so we have differences there, but that is okay. Tracy, and people like her who I have met across this whole portfolio, are absolutely wonderful people and so inspiring—I will use that word.

That particularly applies to young people, the little kids you meet out at Novita and the other places where the kids go—even the Cora Barclay Centre with the little deaf kids. It is amazing to watch how they negotiate the world that they are in. They overcome what we see as limitations, and they have this ability—a real ability, and it is delightful to watch. It is a great position to be in, as a member of parliament; to be able to participate and to assist in those positions.

As well as the NDIS going nationally, one of the things we are doing locally down at Glenelg is that we are trying to make that a disability friendly precinct. One of the things I have done there personally is we have made my office a disability friendly office. We have done that with the assistance of Disability Recreation and Sports SA (DRSSA). DRSSA is a non-government organisation, formerly known as Wheelchair Sports. They will come in and they will train your staff up in talking to people with disabilities, discussing their issues and understanding the barriers that they sometimes have to overcome to communicate their issues with you, whether it is in a shop, a professional centre or, in our case, in our office.

I would encourage every member in this place—I think I already have given every member in this place the brochures from Disability Recreation and Sports SA. I would encourage all members in this place to look at those brochures and, if you have not already, to contact them and sign up to the disability friendly scheme so that we can make sure that we are setting the example of being as accepting and encouraging as we possibly can be. All our constituents deserve to be given as much ability to access our services as we can possibly offer.

The other group from a disability organisation that has come to me in just the last few weeks is the group called Determined2Dive. It is run by Peter Wilson. Peter is an amazing bloke. He had a motor vehicle accident. He has an acquired brain injury and some personal issues, but he has overcome them, and he is now running this Determined2Dive. Go onto the website, Determined2dive.com.au and have a look at it.

Peter and his group are helping people with disabilities, profound disabilities in some cases—high level quadriplegics and paraplegics—to go scuba diving. It is just amazing to see people who have not stood up for years get into the water, into this weightless area, and stand-up. Some of them with some movement of their arms are able to swim around, and it is just amazing. They are determined to make sure that they enjoy the experience. People like Peter, with Determined2Dive, are able to make sure that we give all the assistance we can to people with limitations, with some degree of disability, to fulfil dreams, wants and wishes and thoroughly enjoy life, that we take for granted.

It is an amazing place out there, the disability sector—the parents, the carers. You can give example after example after example of just the amazing love and devotion that you see, not just from parents and grandparents and the immediate family, but from a whole range across the sector. It is something that you cannot fail to be in awe of, so it gives me great pleasure to support this motion.

I am going down to Victoria Square, where there are displays today between now until 2 o'clock this afternoon. I will go down there and say hello to a few of the disability groups and just ensure that we give them our support. Let us all do that, let us all do what we want to do in this place, namely, make everybody's life better, particularly people with disabilities.

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (12:21): I too rise to recognise that 3 December 2015 is International Day of People with Disability and support the full motion as moved by the member for Elder. The theme this year—'inclusion matters: access and empowerment for people of all abilities'—has three subheadings: making cities inclusive and accessible for all; improving disability data and statistics; and including persons with invisible disabilities in society and development. These themes provide a frame for considering how people with disability are excluded from society by promoting the removal of all types of barriers, including those relating to the physical environment, information and communication technology, or attitudinal barriers.

We can all play a role in working towards addressing the challenges faced by people with disability and their families. I know from experience in my role as a teacher, through representing workers and constituents, that there is still so much to be done. I am particularly committed to ensuring that young people through their educational opportunities have the opportunity to achieve to the level of their ability, that they are not hindered by irrelevant rules and regulations that serve as another barrier for them.

I commend the motion and look forward to supporting it, not just today in this place but also in the future in wider forums in the community.

Mr SPEIRS (Bright) (12:23): It gives me great pleasure to speak today on the motion that is before the house that provides us with the opportunity to acknowledge that today is International Day of People with Disability. This is a United Nations-sanctioned day that is celebrated internationally, and it aims to increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability and celebrate the achievements and contributions that people with a disability contribute to our communities.

I noted that the member for Elder in her speech outlined that the theme of this year's international day is 'inclusion matters'. I think it is certainly worth reflecting on that and reflecting on the difficulties that people who do live with a disability have in being included and in seeing basic social inclusion fulfilled in their lives.

For better or worse, life will always be that bit more difficult for people who are living with a disability, and not just more difficult for them, but more difficult for the people who are involved with their lives—their carers, friends and family. Often their carer will be their friends and family. Life will be that bit more difficult so we, as legislators and community leaders, need to look for ways in which we can work to make life that bit easier for people who have disabilities.

I am very much of the view that the role of government should be a small one in society, but in believing that I believe that the role of government is a safety net and the role of government is to step in when people are disadvantaged through no fault of their own. A program like the National Disability Insurance Scheme is something that I wholeheartedly support, and anything which sees government step in and give people who have been disadvantaged, through no fault of their own, a helping hand, is something that I will always advocate for in this role and speak of in great support.

I think we can always do better when it comes to supporting those with disability, even when we are working hard. Even when we have a bipartisan focus on programs for people with disability, I think we can always do better and we should always be trying to innovate in that space, look for ways to improve our dollar spend in that policy area, and work harder to support our most vulnerable in society.

Members of parliament, my colleagues in this place, are uniquely positioned within our communities as leaders and as people who, through our privileged positions, have influence and can hopefully be able to get things done. With that privileged position comes a significant responsibility to look out for ways that we can help people who live with disabilities.

A few months ago, I saw on the internet a social media photograph—it was on Facebook and I was actually tagged in it by a member of my community—of a disability access mat. It was overseas and it was running over the soft sand on a beach to the water's edge to give people who might have physical impairments, and particularly those who have wheelchairs or who are on walking frames, the ability to get over that soft sand and be able to dip their toes in the ocean or to paddle or perhaps have a swim. That is something that many people take for granted.

It is certainly something that I take for granted as a beach lover and as someone who represents 16 kilometres of beautiful coastline in the city of Adelaide. The beach is a huge part of my life. It is probably the reason why I live where I live, and it is a huge lifestyle factor in my life being able to walk to the beach, which is a couple of minutes from my home, and run over the sand and into the water. That is something which I take for granted. It is something that most people probably take for granted, but it is something which is denied to many people who have disabilities.

Wheelchairs, unless you have an unusual and expensive model, cannot navigate soft sand. People on walking frames cannot navigate soft sand. Even people with walking sticks, bad backs or problems with their joints cannot necessarily navigate soft sand.

When I saw this image on social media which showed a pathway through that soft sand and taking people to the water's edge, I thought, 'Look, that is an opportunity for us to do something in my community which will improve the lives of many people and enable them to do that thing that I take for granted—getting myself to the water's edge.'

I approached the local council and had initial discussions with them and it appeared that it might be quite a bureaucratic process to get the local council on board in the first instance. I decided to go down the track of crowd funding, using social media and that image I had initially seen, the image that had drawn me into this area, and use it on social media, set up a website through www.mycause.com.au to try to raise some funding around this to be able to fund such a beach access pathway, partnered with Surf Life Saving SA and Seacliff Surf Live Saving Club, one of the key community organisations in my electorate, to see whether we could get this to happen.

Also, once they saw this on social media, people started to come out of the woodwork. People with disabilities approached me, and I was able to form a sort of little advisory group to look at this. I want to particularly mention an employee of the University of Adelaide, Scott Crowley, who has been very supportive in pushing this forward as well, and he is a wheelchair-bound triathlete.

We got the crowd-funding site up and running and, within a couple of weeks, we have been able to raise almost $3,000 through that. We have received a donation of $5,000 from the Rotary Club of Brighton which is shutting down and wanted to leave a legacy with the last of its fundraising efforts, so we have had $5,000 from them.

We have had interest from the local Lion's Club and the local Kiwanis club donating money. Two businesses, one called Solarsuit and another called EnerG+ personal training, have both decided to give a percentage of their profits to this fundraising initiative through the months of December and January. So, there is a lot of momentum around this project.

We are very close to raising the amount of money that we need to raise, and hopefully in January we will be able to see one of these beach access mats rolled out across the soft sand in front of the Seacliff Beach Hotel at Seacliff and take people down to the water's edge so that they can dip their toes in the ocean, because that is what inclusion is all about—giving people who might not have the opportunity to do something, finding a way to bring them that opportunity.

The beach is incredibly important to my electorate, it is incredibly important to me, so let's give people who might not necessarily have the opportunity to enjoy the beach the chance to get there and dip their toes in the ocean. I commend that little initiative to members in this place. If you do want to get on board you can pledge via my website, www.davidspeirs.com.au where there is a link to the mycause website.

Equally, this is just one example of what someone in our privileged role can actually look at achieving. Though you may not have a coastal electorate, there may be other initiatives in your electorate you can identify where we can use our position and our role as leaders in our community to say, 'No, we're going to go about this.' The local bureaucracy might not necessarily make it easy, but let's look for a way to get around it.

Interestingly, and in closing, the City of Holdfast Bay three weeks ago unanimously endorsed a motion to contribute $1,000 to the project. Having not been necessarily enthusiastic at the beginning of that process, the councillors did get on board and pledge $1,000 to the initiative a couple of weeks ago. I am very grateful to the City of Holdfast Bay and very grateful for the role of Surf Life Saving SA in providing advice for this project and, of course, the Seacliff Surf Life Saving Club for partnering with me on it. Inclusion does matter and we can make a difference, and I commend the motion to the house.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light—Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (12:33): I would just like to say a few brief words in support of the motion by the member for Elder. Today is a day when we, as a community—in fact, as a worldwide community—celebrate and acknowledge the contribution that people living with a disability make to our communities, but we also acknowledge the challenges they face as individuals in a community which, perhaps, does not understand disability very well.

It is also a day when I think we should acknowledge the challenges for their families and carers. I have met a number of family members who have children with a disability and, while they love their children enormously, there is a challenge to raising a child with a disability. As a community, we need to support them as much as we can, and that is why I am looking forward to the NDIS agreement being signed and we roll out the full agreement and support the families.

It is also a day when I think we should acknowledge the contribution made by the service providers in this sector. Often the only time we hear about the service providers is when something goes wrong. There are a number service providers out there, particularly in the not-for-profit sector, the non-government sector, and they make an enormous contribution, and a very positive contribution, to the lives of people living with a disability. I have ongoing contact with them; in fact, last night I met with a number of the providers, and they are also looking forward to the signing of the agreement.

This morning, I held a small function to acknowledge the contribution made by the Community Visitor Scheme. This scheme, headed up by Maurice Corcoran, is all volunteers apart from a couple of staff who receive some payment. These volunteers help ensure that people living with disability are safeguarded and protected in a residential setting. Whether that is institutional or whether that is in a group home, they visit the premises and ensure that people are being looked after, and I really do appreciate the contribution that they make.

It is interesting to look at the profile of the volunteers—from retired law professors, to social workers, to people who have medical degrees, etc. To a T, all of them said how much they enjoyed their volunteer work. It does not matter what they do in their paid work, their volunteer work is very rewarding. I would also like to acknowledge all the work done by support workers in the disability sector because, again, this is an area which can be very challenging at times for support workers and, unfortunately, the only time we hear about them is, again, when something goes wrong. The overall majority of support workers really do put their heart into their work in caring for the most vulnerable in our society.

I also acknowledge all the people in Disability SA and Domiciliary Care in the government agencies. They often do a lot of work that is not seen by the community at large. Often their work is behind the scenes making sure that things go right. I would like to acknowledge the contribution made by my agency and, in particular, the agency's work in helping to prepare the necessary information required to move forward with the NDIA scheme and, as I said, I look forward to Santa bringing a special present this year and leaving it under the tree for the sector.

One of the challenges mentioned which I think I need to reinforce is that people living with a disability face some misunderstanding. I call it 'misunderstanding' because often people just do not know; it is more around ignorance than deliberate actions against people with a disability around employment, training, recreation, arts and culture. One of the things I have tried to do as a minister—and the government and a lot of people and advocates in the area—is try to make sure that the community understands that people with a disability also have abilities and that they should, like every one of us, have the opportunity to experience the full range of human experiences we take for granted every day. Certainly, it has been the policy of this government to do so.

We have had a number of discussions and round tables about how we remove some of those barriers against employment, training, recreation, culture and arts because of people holding views which may not be based in reality. This is particularly so in the area of justice. The Attorney-General and his agencies have done an enormous amount of work in this area, ensuring that people living with disability who are the victims of some crime have an opportunity to speak for themselves and make sure they are heard in our justice system.

While that is really great, as minister I am also concerned about people living with disability who are alleged offenders because often there can be a second injustice for those people, the people who cannot defend themselves, particularly those who are in our correctional system. I am working with both the commonwealth and other state ministers to make sure that people in our correctional system do not get left behind by the NDIA.

I put on the record that certainly the commonwealth minister was quite receptive when I raised that issue with him. Being an ex-corrections minister in WA, he understood the issues. As corrections ministers around the country, we are certainly advocating to make sure that the supports which are available to people in the community should not be cut off when a person goes into the corrections system because we are effectively punishing them twice. With those few comments, I would like to support the comments made by other speakers and, hopefully, this time next year, we will be celebrating a lot more in the disability sector.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright) (12:39): I want to make a few brief comments. The contributions before me highlight just how significant and wide ranging the challenges are that face our community in ensuring that people with a disability live full lives and have equal access to all aspects of our community. We have come a long way but we still have a long way to go.

When I say we have come a long way, back in the 1970s, for example, when my niece was born with Down syndrome, parents, at that time, were encouraged very strongly to forget that they had children with an intellectual disability, put them in a home, leave them there and get on with their lives. My brother and sister-in-law were part of that first cohort of parents who said, 'No, we won't do that. We're going to keep our child at home and do our best by her.' They were told that my niece would never walk or talk or eat unaided. When she was about 30 my sister-in-law said to me, as this beautiful young woman was chatting away, that she blamed my brother: he insisted that she would talk and she did. She now lives a very fulfilling and active life.

The challenge facing governments in the last couple of years has been the fact that many parents did exactly what my brother and sister-in-law did, kept their children at home and did their bit as parents, and they are entering their older years with the distress of what is going to happen to that child. Along with the new cohort of parents who accept that it is their child, their responsibility, but not totally their responsibility, they are demanding appropriate supports for that child.

So, self-managed funding, the NDIS, was a very important initiative. I was very proud, as minister for disabilities, to sign some of the first self-managed funding agreements in South Australia that we were trialling before the NDIS was introduced. We have done an enormous amount in South Australia under this government to improve housing for people with a disability. When the housing stimulus package became available we built many purpose-built homes for people with a disability and many people from institutions, such as Strathmont, were able to be accommodated in small clusters so that they could maintain their friendships but live in the community.

It was very exciting to see. Many parents were quite frightened by it. They had been convinced that was the best place for their child to be back in the 1970s and then we were convincing them that, no, they should be out in the community. When they saw the quality of the homes they were overwhelmed and their children were very excited. We provided money for Minda to build new homes, to get people with a disability out of that institution. At Woodville West we built apartment buildings that had inbuilt electronic and technological supports for people with physical disabilities.

We have constructed and opened six new special schools in South Australia. Errington, I think, is a highlight. The old Ashford Special School moved to Errington. Six special schools co-located with mainstream schools. I know that each of the schools were concerned about the transition of the students and how they would cope, and in every instance the students were really excited about being in a quality educational environment. They literally took to it like ducks to water.

We need to understand in our community that although someone may have a disability they have many abilities. Many people can, in fact, hold down really good jobs. When I was located in Pirie Street in the Attorney-General's office there was a young woman with Down syndrome who was employed and a young man with an intellectual disability who ran the files, and he did a great job throughout the building running the files. We saw recently that lovely young man who was the strapper of the Melbourne Cup winner holding down a really good job. I think it was a very powerful message to employers around the nation that you can look at people with a disability, that they can be really quality employees with the right support and in the right environment.

The minister touched on those people who are working in the sector and I think, for a large part, they are angels. They do work that many of us would never be able to do, day in and day out, supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our community. My hat goes off to them and I thank them very much for the work they do. I think it is fitting and I congratulate the member for Elder on bringing this motion to the house so that we can continue to lift awareness about the needs of people with a disability and thank those who work to enhance their lives every day.

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (12:45): I would like to thank all those who have contributed to support this motion—the members for Fisher, Morphett, Torrens, Bright, Light and Wright. It is a really important motion to recognise International Day of People with Disability. To actually be able to do it today, on the day, in this house is very significant.

The conversation is but part of what we all need to do, and I think we all recognise (those of us who have spoken and probably those who have not spoken) that the role of a member of parliament is very privileged and we carry with it responsibility and ability to make a difference and make a change. Critical to this is discussion that goes on in this place to support those who need our support, and this is one such group.

I would encourage everyone to maintain the conversation and keep on promoting those who are in need of our support so that at some stage they will walk on equal footing with us on life's journey. I commend the motion to the house.

Motion carried.