National Disability Awards

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. K.L. Vincent:

That this council notes the work of Peter Wilson and the Determined2 team, and—

1. Acknowledges the benefits of the Immersion Therapy Program developed and delivered in South Australia;

2. Congratulates Peter Wilson on being the joint winner of the Excellence in Inclusive Service Delivery Award at the 10th National Disability Awards.

(Continued from 1 March 2017.)

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (21:37): I would like to support this motion from the Hon. Kelly (aka Superfish) Vincent commending Mr Peter Wilson and his immersion therapy program, known as Determined2, his team of staff and his family for this particular program. I would also like to add my comments to the many accolades he is receiving for his program.

I guess it is very hard to upstage the Hon. Ms Vincent in her contribution. She has actually been a participant in that particular program, and I think the first I became aware of that was when I saw some of her pictures on social media where she was wearing a scuba diving mask underwater. I thought it looked as though she was having a bit of fun, and clearly she was.

When I became the shadow minister for human services my predecessor in this portfolio looking after disabilities on behalf of the Liberal Party, Dr Duncan McFetridge, advised me that Mr Wilson was someone I should talk to for the innovative work he was doing.

He has a very interesting history; he has quite remarkable life experience in terms of having been very seriously injured at work in 2007, with a very significant impairment of some 47 per cent total body impairment. He had a very difficult time and attempted a return to work and also attempted a business venture, and those things, sadly, were not to come to pass.

Because of changes to the legislation for injured workers in 2015, he was able to put his dream into action and combine several things that he loved to start a new program to benefit people with disabilities, in many cases some people who have very profound disabilities. He had a lot of support from his case workers and case managers in his injured situation. He also obtained some support from a specialist at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, Dr Wilkinson, who has been very supportive of what he is doing and has enabled him to develop world-first medical standards under his guidelines as the director of hyperbaric medicine at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

In 2015, Determined2 was born with a pilot period of different individuals with varying levels of disability to trial the program and receive medical clearances in ways that they would not have otherwise done before. I had assumed when I first met him and had seen the pictures that it was a form of hydrotherapy, given my background, but, as the Hon. Ms Vincent said in her contribution very eloquently: it is not just part of the cure culture. It is more than therapy because it is actually about people having fun.

In the context of the NDIS and where I think the thinking on services and programs for people with disabilities is, that is a really important initiative in terms of it not being all about those sorts of boring things where the therapist designs a program of weights and those sorts of things. It is called immersion therapy. As the Hon. Ms Vincent said in her contribution, it is not a diving program—they do not teach diving—but people are enabled to move freely underwater because they have the scuba equipment and the staff who work with them engaging in much more playful kind of activities.

Some people with some very profound disabilities are able to move underwater in ways that they would not be able to on dry land. That has certainly contributed to significant improvements in physicality and functionality for a number of the participants. Given the late hour, I would direct people, if they are interested in more information, to a range of fantastic testimonials on the Determined2 website. The team are very active on social media and their program has been expanded. It is often at the Adelaide Aquatic Centre, but it also operates out of the Hampstead centre and the Thebarton Aquatic Centre and is doing more and more work at Port Lincoln. With those brief words, I commend this motion to the house.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (21:43): I would like to thank all contributors to the debate, particularly the Hon. Ms Lensink. I know she has developed a good working relationship with Peter Wilson over time and is as passionate as I am about promoting and defending this important service. Given the hour and also the fact that I spoke at length about the importance of motion therapy and the achievements of Determined2 in introducing this motion, I do not intend to go over it again, except to say that this is the kind of innovation that we need in this state.

I think, as the Hon. Ms Lensink argued with the rollout of the NDIS, this is the direction in which therapeutic support services really need to head. I am very pleased that we are leading the way in that in South Australia with the motion therapy program. I am also pleased to inform the chamber that, since I spoke to introduce this motion, just a few days ago on 23 October, Peter Wilson, on behalf of Determined2, put out a media release stating that Determined2 has just been announced as a finalist in the South Australian Community Achievement Awards.

This program really is going from strength to strength, so anything we can do in this parliament to recognise and promote that so that this great South Australian initiative and innovation can continue to grow is welcomed by me. My thanks to Mr Wilson, his wife Amy Wilson, and all the staff and members of Determined2 for their participation and hard work. I commend the motion to the chamber.

Motion carried.