Access on the agenda
Paper delivered by Elizabeth Hastings Disability Discrimination Commissioner 1993-97 at the Creating Accessible Communities Conference Fremantle, 12 November 1996
Paper delivered by Elizabeth Hastings Disability Discrimination Commissioner 1993-97 at the Creating Accessible Communities Conference Fremantle, 12 November 1996
Firstly I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we stand and by so doing remind ourselves that Australia's cultural traditions stretch back many thousands of years. The acknowledgement also expresses our aspiration for a just and inclusive Australia for all.
I am very pleased to be here tonight at the Rural Ageing Seminar dinner. Thank you, to Dame Roma and the Rural Ageing Seminar Reference Group, for inviting me to attend an event that (for once) takes place where it counts - in rural South Australia.
Ladies and Gentlemen I am very pleased to be at the Catholic Independent Schools Employment Relations Committee Conference. Occasions such as this one allow me, as President of the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, to share with a very influential group my thoughts about how we can all better manage the complexity and diversity of today’s working environments.
I would like to begin by acknowledging the Elders and Traditional Owners of Darwin, the Larrakia People, and to thank them for the opportunity to visit this beautiful part of the country. After that very heartfelt welcome to country, I feel very privileged to be here this morning.
I begin by paying my respects to the Ngunnawal peoples, the traditional owners of this land. I pay my respects to your elders, past, present and future.
Good evening distinguished guest, ladies and gentleman. Friends, I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet today, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nations.
We are on Aboriginal land – and as a mark of respect to the traditional owners of this country – I want to recognise their culture and their law because they are integral to what we now call Coogee.
I would like to welcome you all to Parliament House this morning and thank you for coming along. I would like to acknowledge that we are meeting on Ngunnawal land, and I pay my respects to the Ngunnawal People as represented here by Matilda House.
I wrote the title for this presentation almost a year ago when I was first asked to give it. I came back to it two weeks ago to write the actual paper and thought "what does this mean?"
Probably most of us here are parents, and we all have dreams for our children. One of my dreams for my 18-year-old son and his girl friend is that they will be able to participate in society in the same way as everyone else.
In the United States, 54 years ago today, Rosa Parks was arrested. Rosa Parks was a black woman, arrested for refusing to sit at the back of a bus. It's appalling to think this occurred. It's even more appalling that 54 years later in Australia, many people with disability can't even get on the bus.
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.
Thanks for the opportunity to speak to this conference today. You are embarking on this topic, in my view, at just the right time. Unemployment is the lowest it has been for over a decade. Our economy is strong and needing more employees, and our population is ageing, reducing the relative size of the workforce. In coming years, there will be fewer of us to support more of us, so as many people as possible need to be working and paying taxes rather than receiving welfare benefits. What better time to introduce employees with disabilities in larger numbers.
Thank you for the opportunity to meet today. I want to take a few minutes to run through some current areas of work which may be of particular interest to you.
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