National Disability Insurance Scheme

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (14:39): My question is to the Minister for Disabilities. How is the National Disability Insurance Scheme assisting organisations to increase participation in the arts and cultural activities for people living with a disability?

The Hon. L.A. VLAHOS (Taylor—Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse) (14:40): I thank the member for Torrens for her question. I had the pleasure this morning of launching the Access2Arts 30x30 Project and would like to acknowledge the members for Morphett and Morialta, as well as the member in the other place, Kelly Vincent, who attended this great event at the Adelaide Oval. We were all joined by Keenan Ramsey from the Adelaide Football Club, who told his own story about his experience of living with a disability since he was a child, with his loss of an eye due to cancer.

As members may be aware, Access2Arts strives to increase access to and participation in the arts and cultural activities for people living with a disability. Since 2012, Access2Arts has received funding from the government of South Australia through the Richard Llewellyn Arts and Disability program and the arts organisation disability program managed by Arts SA.

In 2015, Access2Arts received funding from the National Disability Insurance Scheme to promote community inclusion and capability development in this important area of our community. Through this funding, Access2Arts has established the 30x30 Project, a direct response to Article 30 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that recognises that all citizens have the right to participate in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sports.

I am advised that over this year the 30x30 Project will create and deliver 30 unique arts, culture, recreation, leisure and sports opportunities for people living with a disability across the state. Importantly, all these activities are free and accessible to all members of the community. This project will offer participants new experiences and maximise opportunities in the arts and recreational areas. It also aims to play a role in maximising opportunities for people living with a disability to engage in new areas in their life and wellbeing.

We know from the Australia Council for the Arts report in 2013 that there is a noted lower level of attendance in arts activities with people living with a disability and also by those without a disability that are facilitated particularly for that sector, and we need to redress this imbalance. An equally important point is that 30x30 will also help inform organisations in creating inclusive events and how to celebrate diversity as we move more towards a social justice lens as we move into the introduction of the national disability insurance space.

Barriers created by society that are disabling in themselves to an individual are our collective responsibility to break down and remove. Greater experiences that project the availability and include people with easy access and open caption movie viewing, such as the recent screening of Zootopia at Palace Nova are important. Future events include a sensory tour, an interactive cooking experience at the Adelaide Central Market and visits to the Mega Adventure Park at West Beach, where people will be able to experience climbing on ropes and platforms at a great height, which if you have a disability is a unique opportunity to participate in.

These events will be richly rewarding for all the participants, as they will be able to enjoy and share the same experiences that we all do every day, but catered to their particular needs. This is an exciting initiative and I encourage all members of the house to be involved. I sincerely express my good wishes to all involved with this new project.