Matters of Interest

International Day of Persons with Disabilities

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:19): One day, let's hope people with disabilities are properly represented not only in all fields of work but in parliaments and councils across Australia. When International Day of Persons with Disabilities falls on 3 December, it will give us pause to consider the important contribution provided by those many people in the community with some sort of disability.

But the contribution is not widespread enough because of limited opportunities. It could be argued that people with disabilities do not put their hand up to take on roles often enough, but that is almost certainly because of the historic stigma and lack of flexibility in our thinking. There is no reason someone who is vision or hearing impaired, has a physical disability that restricts mobility, or has a condition such as epilepsy or autism cannot be a productive and valuable member of our staff. The list of disabilities is too many to name, but we can celebrate the fact that, whatever the issue, these people are refusing to let it beat them.

We still have not reached the point where people with disability have an equal playing field, but we are getting there. We can be proud of the progress made in this area. Discrimination may be invisible to most of us, but those with a disability have become used to dealing with it. That discrimination can range from having a job application refused without consideration to being rejected as a possible tenant because the person has a guide dog. Those instances are happening less and less, fortunately, through better understanding and legislation.

It has been 33 years since the first Disability Discrimination Act was legislated by the Keating federal Labor government. It is almost beyond belief that we did not have such a law until 1992, but we have come a long way since then. It is surprising that disability remains the single largest cause of discrimination, based on complaints received by the Australian Human Rights Commission, and that certainly surprised me. Most of these complaints come in the area of employment. It seems people are happy to get behind those with a disability, until they have to deal with them directly.

I think members in this parliament would know that one of the most productive and enlightening people as a member of parliament was Kelly Vincent, who was elected for Dignity for Disability. Kelly was one of the most productive and delightful people that we could have had in parliament and she performed her functions exceptionally well, as well as any one of us, and, to be honest, better than some.

How would a retailer deal with a customer with a disability? How would a workplace, such as a service centre, deal with having someone with a disability come into their premises? Having someone with a disability on the staff could be a very good thing for business or departments that need to deal with the sector on a regular basis.

Cerebral palsy did not stop Dignity Party representative Kelly Vincent winning her way to a seat in this chamber in 2010. Alterations were made to accommodate her, as they should have been, and she showed that her disability did not prevent her from being an effective MLC. It did not stop wheelchair-bound Natalie Wade from becoming Australian Young Lawyer of the Year for her tireless work on the South Australian Child Protection Systems Royal Commission. Even cerebral palsy and epilepsy could not prevent artist and poet Oliver Mills from running his own business and writing or co-writing five books.

The Disability Discrimination Act does not legislate for equality of outcomes. The person must be able to meet their inherent requirements for the job and the employer has every right to choose the best applicant on merit. That is all people with disabilities want: the chance to prove, when they are, that they are the best applicant.

However, the Equal Opportunity Commission believes we will get better outcomes for people with a disability by improving attitudes and practices. As employers improve their workplaces and work practices to the point that the disability may not impact the potential employee's ability to do the job well, it will be a better outcome for everyone. We are getting there. There is still a long way to go, but we are learning and creating a better environment for those with disabilities. International Day of Persons with Disabilities celebrates how far we have come, particularly in South Australia.