Housing Demonstration Project Launch of The Summer Foundation Apartments

I acknowledge the traditional owners of this land.

I first met Patricia when I was doing some service work for my church. A group of us visited disadvantaged people in Glebe in Sydney, helping with some gardening, lawn-mowing and general community interaction.

Patricia had a degenerative disability, and lived in Department Of Housing accommodation. She has used a wheelchair for the last few years. It was a beautiful sunny day outside, but we talked in her kitchen while my friends from church worked in her garden. She told me she didn't leave the house much, and had only gone out a couple of times this year- it was September.

The house was not easily accessible, with six steps at the back, and a portable ramp which had to be deployed at the front. "Patricia only has to ask, and someone will put down the ramp," said the disability worker who briefed me.

I got the problem straight away. As a person with a disability, asking people to do things for me is something I have to do every day, and it’s one of the toughest things I have to do. She didn't like to ask people to put out the ramp, so she didn't go out.

Every time I go there now I just put out the ramp as a matter of course - I don't mind if she doesn't go out, but I don't want her to have to ask.

Most Australians would agree that Aged Care Accommodation is not an appropriate place to accommodate teenagers and young adults. Most Australians would not know that this is exactly where we do accommodate many young Australians with disability who have high support needs. Hence, the importance of the ongoing campaign to change this situation.

But if we are going to be successful in resourcing young people with high support needs to move out of nursing homes we need to create places for them to live. This apartment demonstrates that this challenge can be overcome.

The five year National Younger People in Residential Aged Care initiative, which finished in 2006, demonstrated that the lives of young people were significantly improved when they moved to age appropriate, community based housing.

In 2008, Australia ratified the UN Convention on the rights of people with disability. The Convention sets out, amongst other rights, the right of all people with disability to live in the community with choices equal to others. But we need to turn that right into a reality.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a substantial step towards doing this. It will provide funding for the support that people with disability need to live in the community. The problem will then become the dearth of accessible and affordable housing in Australia.

This apartment is a step towards creating that reality, and a real example of what can be done to change the situation. I am sure that it has been designed with input from young people with high support needs. It is critical that this group is actively engaged in such design. This will inform the developers of such facilities on the most effective ways to address this challenge.

Housing for people with disability is still the responsibility of public and community housing. The NDIS is a significant step towards addressing the disadvantage experienced by people with disability in Australia. But substantial change is still required in other systems such as housing, health, education and employment.

The housing sector needs to get ready to meet the needs of young people in nursing homes, and the tens of thousands of other people with disability who will have funding for support, but no housing to live in. This apartment will assist the sector to achieve that readiness.

I congratulate the developers of this initiative, and encourage the housing sector to make the best use of this excellent resource.

I am very pleased to open the apartment.