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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-11-01 Daily Xml
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DISABILITY SERVICES

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (14:56): My question is to the Minister for Disabilities. Will the minister update the house on the disability sector's Stronger Together conference held in August?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (14:56): What an excellent question from such a new member. I don't know how he does it, but once again the Hon. Mr Maher is on the button—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: —always at the forefront—

The PRESIDENT: Hang on a second.

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: As a former state secretary, I though you would get his name right.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Well, that could be why he has very similar views on these matters as I do, Mr Dawkins—former state secretaries both, we think alike. I do thank the honourable member for his most important question—

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: —no, we won't go there, David—about the conference—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Minister, you have the call.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Thank you, Mr President—for the disability sector in South Australia. Staff in my department, the non-government sector, and people with a disability and their families all gain very much from this annual event. This year, I am advised, it was no different. The Stronger Together conference in 2012 was held over two days, with a number of guest speakers presenting updates on the major reforms taking place in the disability sector at the moment. Speakers included Disability SA leadership teams, academics, advocates and representatives from the non-government sector.

One particular speaker left quite an impression on many of the attendees at the conference, someone who has a lived experience with disability and has a very powerful message to share. This speaker offered an insight into her experience with self-management and individualised funding, telling the audience that the new system has quite simply transformed her life. That speaker was a woman by the name of Ms Rebecca Hughes.

Mr President, you know how much of a stickler I am for protocol and tradition. You know how much I support the old way of doing things and the unchanging nature of the Legislative Council, no matter how disconnected those practices might be from the modern world and no matter how irrelevant, so I will refrain from pointing out to you, Mr President, that Ms Rebecca Hughes is in the chamber today. I wouldn't do that, sir, because I would not want to be unparliamentary, but I would like to take this opportunity to share some of her presentation with you all.

Rebecca is a bright young South Australian who told the conference of her desire as a person living with disability to pursue her dreams and her hopes to not be lost in the old welfare model of support or, as Ms Hughes refers to it herself, 'service-land'. Rebecca had, for a long time, the desire to become a full and valued citizen of our community. She called it 'having a real life in the real world'.

Rebecca talked to the conference about her experience in the education system, where her desire to participate in mainstream education was not always embraced. Indeed, Rebecca had to travel 17 hours a week to attend a specialist school and found that it was not always meeting her personal needs and that she was becoming lost in the system. As a result of this, Rebecca decided to change the course of her life. She decided that she should be in charge of her own life, make her own decisions and choose her own support services.

With assistance from service agencies and through what we now term as a person-centred approach, Rebecca has been able to enjoy what we all take for granted, that is, choosing her own course in life, gaining independence, participating in the activities that she is interested in, and choosing how and when to use her resources. Rebecca now volunteers at the Wandana Community Garden and is undertaking further education. She is also writing a book with her brother Ben. She is an active member of her local community and lives a fulfilling and meaningful life.

This is what we desire for all South Australians living with disability. That is why the Premier announced last December that we were implementing individualised and self-managed funding, because we know that the person with disability is the best person to make decisions about their life. These reforms are about rights: the right for people with disability to be in charge of their own destiny. There is no doubt that, for Rebecca, these reforms are helping to deliver what would otherwise not have been available to her: as Rebecca calls it, a real life in the real world. Mr President, if Rebecca were in the chamber today I would like to say how very proud I am of her achievements and taking control of her life.

The PRESIDENT: And I am sure we would welcome her and say that she is a great inspiration to many.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

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