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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 1 Hansard (20 February) . . Page.. 210 ..

MS REILLY (continuing):

Further, we need to consider the work that has been done in the last 10 years in the development of the Commonwealth-State disability agreements. Various legislatures have done work and I hope that the change of government in the Commonwealth sphere does not affect the continuation of this work and building upon the basis that is there. There have been some important developments and I think it is important that we do not lose them and try to start again.

I particularly want to mention one of the areas where there is, at times, a falling through the gaps. I think this is a good illustration of what can happen. If we look at services for children, some of them are State responsibilities and the Commonwealth has other pieces. If we look at the provision of child care, particularly for children over the age of 12 who need assistance and who need occupation after school and in school holidays, it seems to bounce between the various government departments as to whether it is Commonwealth or State. I think we need to address issues like that. Part of that is looking at what happens in post-school occupation with changes of employment and what people do, because it is important that we have a community where people can develop to their full potential.

Always, when you talk about the provision of services for people with disabilities or other needs, money seems to be the criterion by which we judge everything we do. Money, of course, is important. I am hoping that when the Government looks at this report they are not going to dismiss it merely on the basis that there might be funds required, because it is not only money that is required to provide good services. It also comes back to attitude; to developing a culture; to acceptance of diversity and accepting that people are different and may have different needs. That is half the battle. It is when you just put them down and say they cost money and ignore them that we have problems. We can develop an attitude in our community that looks for inclusion and looks for the celebration of diversity across broader areas, not just ethnic diversity. We seem to have managed to cope with that, so let us cope with the whole of the community.

It is important that we help all people in the community develop to their full potential. One of those particular areas is employment. Think about how important it is for all of us to have a job. Quite often, the way in which we obtain our identity is through the employment we have or through the job we have. The identity of all of us is very much tied up with what we do in this place, and for everybody in the community that is fairly similar.

It is important that we look at providing work for people with disabilities because they are an important part of our community. If we do not include them in employment, if we do not include them in that way, we are losing all of that potential. We are losing their skill in developing our community fully and it is just a waste. It is important, even though employment is more difficult at the moment, that we do not say, "People with disability, you are too hard. We will not worry about employment for you people. We will not provide the necessary assistance or technical aids. You need to ensure that you can take part in employment like other people". Employment services must remain as employment and work services and not become part of the health program.

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