Empathy

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (15:18): Today, I would like to build on some things that the member for Mawson raised in his earlier contribution to this debate this afternoon, and that is the issue of empathy. It is a very important issue because, in my view, the real test of whether or not we are a civilised society is how we treat those in our community who are vulnerable and less fortunate. We should not measure our society by those who are the wealthiest, but by how we as a society look after those who, for whatever reason, need support from the rest of the community.

I raise this issue because there are two ways of looking at the way we organise our societies: you can either believe that the economy is there to serve society, which I subscribe to, or you can actually see it as a way of society having to be there to serve the economy, which I believe the federal Liberal government subscribes to—certainly this federal Liberal government does. I mention that because in my office I get a number of complaints in certain areas which are covered by federal policy around the NDIS, Centrelink and aged care, and they would be the highest number of complaints I get.

I raise this issue because the National Disability Insurance Scheme was established under a Labor government for the purposes of ensuring fairness and equity for people who are living with a disability, not only in terms of getting access to services, which is very important, but in terms of making sure they get the support and services that enable them to live a fulfilling life in all parts of their life. I am referring to the capacity to work, the capacity to be involved in sport and recreation, the capacity to be involved in arts and culture. So, if we are going to talk about justice and equity for people living with a disability, then there must be capacity for those people who live with a disability to get access to services and support which enable them to fully participate.

Day in, day out, my office gets complaints about the lack of resources provided for people living with a disability. Day in, day out, we get complaints about how long it takes to get plans approved or funding approved for people living with a disability. In a nation which is relatively wealthy by international standards, we can do much better than we are doing in terms of caring for people with a disability—and we should. This is because we have a federal government, unfortunately, which diverts funding which was earmarked for disability services to other projects to balance the budget, and that is shameful.

Another issue I want to raise is Centrelink. I know the Prime Minister has said ad nauseam that the best way to help people on Centrelink, particularly people on Newstart, is to get them a job, and I do not disagree with that. But while people do not have employment, it is important that we provide them with the support and means to live a dignified life. Again, it is one of those areas which I get complaints about. There has been a growing trend in the delays of processing Centrelink claims and applications, and people have to live below the poverty line, not only themselves but, in the case of where there are young people involved, children, etc., the whole family suffers from that lack of care from this federal government.

It is also true that the process of getting appeals and reviews is slow and people can actually be in the system for many months and years without an income before they get a chance to get financial support. Again, this government nitpicks and goes after the poorest in our community yet lets the other end of the community off.

Another area that I would like to talk about in the time I have left is aged care. The reason I raise this is because there has been an idea floated that we need to raise funding for aged care, which I agree with, but one of the concerns I have is that aged care is not funded properly at this point in time. We do, unfortunately, treat our elderly in a less than dignified manner, particularly in some facilities. This is not a reflection on the staff, who are very committed, and they are often very poorly paid in aged-care facilities, but the resources are just not there to ensure we have the staffing levels and services to provide to people who require aged-care services to live in a dignified way.

I started this speech with the fact that we need to show empathy towards those people in our society who need our support and I will end with that as well because, unfortunately, this federal government has no empathy for those in need.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Mr Speaker, I draw your attention to the state of the house.

The SPEAKER: There not being a quorum present, ring the bells.

A quorum having been formed: