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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2007-11-14 Daily Xml
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PARLIAMENTARY SERVICE, DISABLED

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. S.G. Wade:

That the Legislative Council, at the Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government, acknowledges the contribution of members of the parliament of South Australia who have served and continue to serve with a disability and commits itself to promoting the full participation of people with a disability in the life of the parliament and the state.

(Continued from 2 May 2007. Page 75.)

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK (21:05): I move:

After 'members of the parliament of South Australia' insert the following words:

staff and ancillary staff

I begin by commending the Hon. Mr Wade for introducing this motion. For me the important part of the motion is not so much the bit about the contribution of previous members of parliament but the second half, which reads 'and commits itself to promoting the full participation of people with a disability in the life of the parliament and the state'.

Now, I observe that for some people disability is something that comes and goes. There are some people who have disabilities who do not regard themselves as being part of the disabled community, and I remember in 1984, after I had a medical procedure, that I had great difficulty in opening some of the doors in this place simply because of the weight of them. I would pull it open the smallest amount I could, push my hand in the gap and then wedge my leg and then hip in and ultimately push the door open—and I have to say it was a difficult technique.

It is interesting to observe that disability access to this place is via two side doors which are both fire doors—so they are deliberately heavy and designed to always shut. You could not in any way regard that as disability friendly. Now, the Hon. Mr Wade has concentrated on members of parliament but participating in parliament requires staff and ancillary staff, so the amendment I have circulated addresses this.

I have done this because we know that there are people on the staff and on the ancillary staff who have had, and do have, disabilities. Most of us know that there is a member of the Parliamentary Network Support Group who has a disability; I asked him whether he has difficulty getting in those side doors and he said that if he is carrying equipment it is certainly very difficult. I also know that we had a member of the parliamentary counsel drafting staff who walked limited distances with sticks to assist her and who was occasionally in a wheelchair. Now, I cannot imagine that she would have ever been able to get into the building through those side doors in the wheelchair, because if she had attempted to get in she would have probably tipped herself over.

We have also had one of the attendants in the House of Assembly (who, I think, retired early this year) who had a disability. You would very often see him moving around Parliament House, and he had to have other people open the doors for him. Some years ago I had a volunteer who used a gopher, and he could not even open the door of the toilets. You can imagine what that must be like, for a grown man to have to come to other people—particularly women—and ask them to help him so that he could visit the toilet. If we are to honour people with disabilities we must do what we can to make sure that they are not put in the situation where they feel so humiliated.

We do have an ageing population. Members of the public visit us from time to time, and they would not easily be able to manage all the stairs and doorways. My observation is that this building is very much based in the 20th century as far as disability access is concerned—in fact, I would probably put it back in about the 1940s or 1950s. I do believe that it is only a matter of time before we have an MP who has a permanent disability that confines that person to a wheelchair. In his speech, the Hon. Stephen Wade mentioned Mr Graham Edwards, a Western Australian MP who used to be in the federal parliament. It will happen here but, to tell you the truth, I do not think that we are ready for it to happen. Fortunately, when it finally does, I think that we as a parliament will take the issue of disability seriously. With those words, and the amendment I have moved, I look forward to supporting this motion.

The Hon. M. PARNELL (21:10): I rise briefly to support the motion and commend the Hon. Stephen Wade for bringing it to our attention. One of the things we have done in this place on the sesquicentenary of responsible government was reflect on those people for whom the doors here have not always been open. Last year, or earlier this year, I referred to members of the Aboriginal community who pointed out that they had not been represented in this place. However, there are also others for whom the doors, whilst they might not have been locked as tight, are still very heavy to open. The Hon. Sandra Kanck has alluded to the fact that it would be very difficult for a person whose disability related to their mobility to access many of the doors here in Parliament House.

We know that disability need not be a barrier, but we know that in practice it often is—not just in places such as the parliament but also in all manner of workplaces and social activities. I think that the importance of this motion is that we should acknowledge those who have managed to overcome diversity to participate in this place, and I support the Hon. Sandra Kanck's amendment; it complements that of the mover. I think it is perhaps more important that we focus on the second half of the motion, that is, that we make sure that what barriers do remain be removed to enable all people to participate in the life of the parliament.

I think that it would be a very interesting test if a person were elected to this place who perhaps were vision impaired or blind. Would we, as a community, support their engagement in parliament through extra staff—for example, readers to help them get through the parliamentary agenda and to take it all in? If such a member were elected, I would strongly support additional staff for someone to help them fully participate. With those brief words, the Greens are very happy to support the motion and to acknowledge the contribution that people with a disability have made and will make in the future to this parliament.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (21:13): The Hon. Mr Wade seeks to acknowledge in his motion the contribution of people with a disability to the South Australian community through service in the parliament of South Australia. He is right to do so, and I commend him for bringing the motion forward. Government members will support this motion, and we do so because promoting the human rights of people with a disability is one of the primary aims of this government. Our vision aims to uphold the human rights of people with disabilities to ensure that they are valued members of the community who have access to services that will assist them in their personal development, enable them to experience community life and ensure that they maintain a reasonable standard of living. It also aims to assist them in realising their dreams and aspirations, whilst developing mutually beneficial relationships with others in the community.

It is true to say that there have not been many people with a disability who have served in this place, and it is equally true to say that this parliament is still not truly representative of our wider community in this respect. This should give us pause for reflection on why this might be so. Our parliament does not reflect the gender distribution of our community or, indeed, our indigenous history, or the multicultural mix we see every day walking through our city. For example, despite leading the nation in giving women the right to vote in 1894, it was a further 24 years before a woman stood for parliament in South Australia in 1918.

It was another 41 years before a woman was elected to the South Australian parliament, in 1959, and we are still not in a position where half of our members of parliament are female. We have a long way to go before this place truly reflects the diversity of our community in the sense of the make-up of this place reflecting the community which elects us.

Perhaps the most well-known current parliamentarian with a disability is Graham Edwards, who has been the member for Cowan and will remain so for a short period of time. Mr Edwards served in the regular army for three years (1968 to 1971) during which time he was engaged in active service in Vietnam, where he lost both legs as a result of a landmine. He is known for not letting his disability get the better of him. When he returned to civilian life, the welfare of veterans became a vital cause for him, and he also moved into public affairs and, of course, politics. In 1983, he was elected to the Legislative Council in the Western Australian parliament, serving as a minister in various portfolios. In 1988, he was elected to the federal parliament.

The best way to improve the representation of people with a disability in our parliament is to ensure that more people with a disability have the opportunities every other Australian enjoys. The state government's South Australian Strategic Plan includes targets specifically aimed at improving the life and circumstances of people with a disability and their families. There is a new target around disability employment in the public sector. It stipulates that we are to double the number of people with a disability employed in the public sector by the year 2014, and we have pledged to double the number of people with disabilities appropriately housed and supported in community-based accommodation by that same date.

These measures are aimed at helping people with a disability to play their rightful part in our community. The days of people with a disability being hidden from view are rightly gone. It is up to all of us to embrace people in all their diversity and in all their abilities and, by increasing their participation in every area of life, I hope that one day that will have a spin-off in the representation in this place. Government members are pleased to support the motion, and I indicate that we also support the Hon. Ms Kanck's amendment.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (21:17): I rise briefly to indicate Family First's support for the motion and, indeed, for the amendment. I commend the Hon. Mr Wade on bringing this motion forward to the council. I think the sentiment is 100 per cent right, and I am pleased to see that all members support the motion.

The Hon. S.G. WADE (21:17): I thank all honourable members for their contribution to the discussion tonight, and I welcome the fact that the motion will apparently receive the support of the council and that speakers in support of the motion have come from the government, the opposition and the cross-benches.

As I said when moving the motion, it links two milestones: the sesquicentenary of this parliament and the 20th anniversary of the Disability Information and Resource Centre and its project, the history of disability in South Australia. I briefly outlined the service of three members of the parliament who served with a disability, that is, Sir Collier Cudmore, the Hon. Arthur Whyte and Mr Peter Blacker. As I have said, I know there are other members of parliament who have served with a disability. Some of those disabilities were not apparent, or are not apparent, or known but, nonetheless, they served.

I warmly welcome the Hon. Sandra Kanck's amendment, which rightly highlights that a number of staff, too, have served with a disability, or continue to serve with a disability. Parliament is a community, and we as parliamentarians are fully aware that the support we receive from the staff is absolutely essential for the functioning of this place.

In conclusion, I thank the Hon. Sandra Kanck for highlighting what was always intended, that is, that this motion is not simply an historical. retrospective motion but is an act of committing ourselves to a better South Australia. The closing words, as the Hon. Sandra Kanck highlighted, talk about promoting the full participation of people with a disability in the life of the parliament and the state.

In this context, I mention that I recently had the pleasure of attending the launch of the new strategic plan of the Julia Farr Association. At the launch, the association affirmed that its vision was that people living with a disability and their families live valued lives in inclusive communities. However, I think it is the mission statement that links well with this motion. The mission statement of the Julia Farr Association is that JFA becomes a world leader in the discovery of knowledge and practice that supports people living with disability to access the good things in life and to become leaders in their local community.

I think it is important for us as parliamentarians to appreciate that people with disability are no longer simply expecting their basic needs to be met. They are not simply expecting to be included in the community: they are expecting to have the same ambitions and goals as any other member of the community, and that includes aspiring to leadership. They want to go beyond participation to leadership.

Parliament is a part of the leadership of our community, and I think it is important that we are an open community welcoming people with disabilities. In that regard, I thank the Hons Sandra Kanck and Mark Parnell for their contributions in which they highlighted the particular challenges that we as a parliament need to face if we are to be a truly accessible, inclusive community. For example, the Hon. Sandra Kanck highlighted some of the physical challenges and the Hon. Mark Parnell highlighted some of the accommodations we might need to make in terms of the tools of trade of parliamentarians. In conclusion, I thank members for their contributions and I welcome the apparent imminent passage of the motion.

Amendment carried; motion as amended carried.

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