Consumer protection: Why diversity and inclusion matters
Disability Discrimination Commissioner Dr Ben Gauntlett's keynote speech at the ACCC International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN) Conference Dinner in 2023.
Disability Discrimination Commissioner Dr Ben Gauntlett's keynote speech at the ACCC International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN) Conference Dinner in 2023.
May I begin by acknowledging the Larrakeyah people – the traditional owners of the land where we meet today. I pay my respects to their elders and those who have come before us.
Transcript of remarks made by Graeme Innes AM Deputy Disability Discrimination Commissioner, at the launch of the revised Commonwealth Disability Strategy, Parliament House, Canberra, 5 October 2000
I would like to acknowledge the Ngunnawal People , the traditional owners of the land on which we stand, and pay my respects to their elders past and present.
I want to start, though, by talking for a few minutes about the broader legislative context under the Disability Discrimination Act and about what all of this is for in terms of achieving access and inclusion.
A very big thank you, in particular, to our colleagues from the Australian Attorney-General's Department and theDepartment of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Mostly, of course, for their work with us, over many years, in advancing the human rights of people with disability, internationally and domestically. But also, for being (as far as I know) the first in the world to refer, officially, to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities not by its unappealing acronym of CRPD, or as the Disability Convention, but as the "DisCo".
I always enjoy receiving an invitation from Victoria to talk about Action Plans because I know that Victoria is a leader in the country in terms of organisational commitment to developing Action Plans.
I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we stand and pay my respects to their elders both past and present. And I would like to thank the Australian Employers’ Network on Disability for organising this very important seminar to examine this critical issue of ‘disclosure’ which continues to be a significant issue for employers and a barrier to employment for people with disability.
Australian summer holidays. The phrase evokes an image of sun, sand, slow days and late nights. But just imagine you and your mates are staying on the Gold Coast and it takes 20 phone calls for you to find a beachside unit with a shower you can use. Or the only wheelchair accessible restaurant in a 3km radius is fully booked so you have to eat take-away most nights.
There is substantial attention in the international community being directed at present to the human rights of people with disabilities. An international convention on human rights and disability is being actively considered through the United Nations system. I would have been attending a regional meeting in Beijing in April this year as part of this process but this was cancelled because of the SARS outbreak.
I hope that you are not expecting from me a speech full of stirring rhetoric, to inspire you before you settle into detailed and practical discussions throughout the rest of this conference.
Tonight's ceremony is, in part, a belated celebration of the recognition of the ABC as national award winner in the Prime Minister's Employer of the Year awards for 2000.
Presentation to Ageing and Disability Department training workshop on Disability Action Plans Michael Small, Disability Rights Unit, HREOC. February 1999
Thank you, Bob, for that generous introduction and warm welcome. And thank you to G&T for hosting this event. I am so pleased to be able to join you this evening for this year’s Vincent Fairfax Speaker Series. I thought I might never make it – for the last two days I have had the privilege of being on-board the warship HMAS Sydney as it undertook war exercises offshore – part of my defence review. As my staff gradually hit the decks one after the other with sea sickness, I wondered whether arranging the sea visit to coincide with tonight’s event was a smart move.
Diversity in Health is a conference about health. Multicultural Mental Health Australia is a multicultural health service. Vision Australia deals with issues and needs of people with print disability. What have these services and issues got to do with human rights, and why am I launching them? I'd like to reflect on these questions, and strongly argue that there is a fundamental connection between health and human rights.
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