Motivation Australia Motion Carried
18/11/2015
Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. K.L. Vincent:
That this council—
1. Notes the contribution that Australian non-government organisations make to improving the welfare and quality of life of disadvantaged people living in less resource d settings in developing countries, including our new neighbours such as the small island nations in the Pacific region;
2. Notes the South Australian non-government organisation, Motivation Australia, works in partnership with local organisations in the Asia-Pacific region and rural and remote Australia to improve the quality of life of people with mobility disabilities in the Asia-Pacific region;
3. Notes that over 100 million people globally have a mobility disability. Currently it is estimated that only 5 per c ent to 15 per cent of people who require mobility equipment can access it. Across the small island nations in the Pacific region there are more than 150,000 people in need of a mobility device, with this number set t o rise due to the diabetes epidemic. There is a heavy reliance on inappropriate and donated equipment and a desperate lack of rehabilitation staff and services; and
4. Notes and commends Motivation Australia’s work, increasing access to mobility devices to enable people with a mobility disability to be active, contributing participants within their family, community and broader society.
(Continued from 25 March 2015.)
The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA: I rise on behalf of the government in support of this motion moved by the honourable member. Motivation Australia is a not-for-profit disability and development organisation registered in South Australia in February 2007. They are one of few development organisations working within the mobility device sector globally, and the only development organisation working in this field in the Asia-Pacific region. Motivation Australia strives to enhance the wellbeing and quality of life for people living with mobility disabilities.
Their rights-based and inclusive approach brings together local organisations and builds on the knowledge of established clinical and technical personnel. Training is provided in the skills and systems necessary, allowing these organisations to stand on their own, increasing their capacity to provide much needed services to their local communities. These essential services are provided in several Asia-Pacific countries, including Ethiopia, Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Thailand, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu.
Motivation Australia also provides services in remote communities in central Australia. The Department for Communities and Social Inclusion’s statewide equipment program services the equipment and home modification needs of clients of Disability SA and Disability and Domiciliary Care Services, working closely with Australian non-government organisations.
The department has also been working closely with the National Disability Insurance Agency to transition clients to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). During the trial period, Domiciliary Equipment Services continues to provide equipment services to NDIS participants as part of the overall contribution from South Australia. The department’s comprehensive prescriber education program provides training in high-risk areas such as wheelchair prescription, complex seating, pressure management in beds and chairs, communication and access technology and home modifications.
The training is also available to clinicians from external agencies who prescribe equipment or home modifications on behalf of the equipment program. The services provided by Motivation Australia and other non-government organisations enhancing the quality of life of people living with disability are commendable. The provision of mobility devices and other disability equipment assists those living with a disability, especially those in developing countries where there are limited resources and knowledge, to contribute to family life and participate in their local communities. I commend the motion to the house.
The Hon. S.G. WADE: I rise to indicate the support of the Liberal team for this motion. I thank the Hon. Kelly Vincent for bringing the motion to the council and commend her for her work personally as an ambassador for Motivation Australia. The motion notes the contribution of all Australian non-government organisations which endeavour to improve the welfare of the world’s needy people. It focuses on the importance of mobility services for the many developing countries in our region, and in particular the work of Motivation Australia.
Motivation Australia has a core mission of enhancing the quality of life for people with mobility disabilities in the Asia-Pacific region. The organisation pursues this goal by providing people with disability in disadvantaged communities with mobility devices such as wheelchairs, supportive sitting, prosthetics, orthotics and other aids. These services are particularly important in developing countries, where mobility challenges are often greater than they may be here. These countries often do not have the resources to invest in making their rural, urban and built environment more physically accessible.
As a Liberal, I am highly supportive of initiatives which promote opportunities and freedoms of people across the diversity of our community. Providing individuals with mobility issues with appropriate mobility devices supports them to engage fully with their community and provides them with opportunities to participate in the workplace. This is important not only for individuals who experience mobility issues, but also for their families or carers who with the effective provision of mobility services are more likely to have time and resources to engage in activities beyond carer support.
Providing people in developing countries with the mobility they need to enter into productive work is one of the best ways we can help to increase opportunities and reduce poverty in developing countries. Motivation Australia is guided by principles of cost effectiveness, gender equity and local partnership. I would like to highlight the importance of local partnerships in particular, as they empower people in local communities to be involved in the planning and implementation of community programs.
Giving local people ownership of projects in their own community will help ensure that the projects are sustainable, culturally sensitive and tailored to local needs.
This model of community-driven development is also adopted in work undertaken within Australia. Motivation Australia is engaged with the First Peoples Disability Network to promote disability services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in remote communities. Motivation Australia advocates for a community-driven approach, which aims to create whole-of-community development.
Finally, I would like to touch on the importance of utilising a holistic approach as we seek to improve health and disability issues in communities. The increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and stroke, has created increasing demands for mobility services. The latest ABS health survey indicates that 5.4 per cent of Australians aged 18 years or older have diabetes, more than double the prevalence just two decades ago.
In the Pacific Islands this figure has reached as high as 47 per cent in some countries. Diabetes is known to lead to mobility issues and physical impairment, and is undoubtedly placing increased demands on the need for mobility devices in the Pacific Islands. Where possible, prevention is better than cure. It is important that we encourage and support preventive health initiatives in countries so that as much as possible we reduce the proportion of people at risk of developing health issues that may lead to mobility impairment.
Preventive health, acute care and mobility assistance should all form part of a holistic approach in supporting the development of our developing neighbours. I commend the part that Motivation Australia plays and their dedication to providing community-based solutions to mobility issues in the Asia-Pacific region, and I commend the motion to the council.
The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: I will say a few brief words to sum up the debate and thank the speakers to the motion, the Hon. Mr Wade and the Hon. Mr Gazzola, for indicating their support and also other members who have indicated their support without necessarily wishing to make a contribution.
As the speakers have rightly pointed out, the work of Motivation Australia is absolutely vital for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it is estimated that over 100 million people globally have a disability impacting on their mobility, and that currently only between five and 15 per cent of people all over the world who require a wheelchair due to their disability or impairment have ready access to a wheelchair.
Motivation Australia works tirelessly to close this huge gap, which has an enormous impact on people’s quality of life but also on their ability to participate socially and economically in their communities, by providing mobility aids—wheelchairs, scooters, gophers, and so on—in areas throughout the Asia-Pacific, as well as in rural and remote Australia, including, as I understand it, the APY lands.
In fact, just a few weeks ago when I attended the Disability, Ageing and Lifestyle Expo, Disability Recreation and Sport (DRS) was there doing a display of some of the services they have available for people with disabilities to participate in sport. I got to sit in one of the special sports wheelchairs they have there. They were telling me that they were provided through Motivation Australia at a much lower cost than would otherwise have been possible.
Motivation Australia is working in a variety of areas to improve access to community, but also a variety of life experiences for people with disabilities, and I am very proud to be an ambassador for them for those reasons. As has been pointed out, often people in rural and remote or geographically disadvantaged areas rely on equipment that is donated with the best of intentions but often is not suited to the terrain on which it is going to be used.
Often it is donated from areas such as right here in metropolitan Adelaide, and therefore the mobility aids, be they wheelchairs, scooters or whatever, are not suited to the terrain. They might have inadequate wheels that work perfectly well functionally and are quite suited to the terrain here in the CBD but they will not necessarily suit the needs of someone living in the APY lands, Fiji or Kiribati, for example.
As the Hon. Mr Wade pointed out, it is important to support small community organisations who are filling the gaps but are not necessarily funded or provided by government. One of the areas that I think Motivation Australia is doing some fantastic work in that I am very proud of is the area of not only providing the equipment but providing peer training and mentoring so that people can actually learn how to use the device or the equipment to the best of its potential.
Motivation Australia actually allows volunteers who have disabilities themselves to go over to the area, be it remote Australia or somewhere else in the Asia-Pacific, to provide training on how best to use the mobility aid so that the person actually gets the best benefit out of it rather than having a bunch of us sending over our old equipment and feeling warm and fuzzy in ourselves when that equipment may not be in fact reaching the outcome that we would wish it to.
Certainly, Motivation Australia is closing a lot of gaps for people who are disadvantaged in many areas throughout the Asia-Pacific. As the Hon. Mr Wade pointed out, they are also working in areas that are not strictly in the Asia-Pacific. In fact, my partner Nick and I, this weekend just gone, actually attended a Motivation Australia event raising funds for a peer-led organisation for women with disabilities in Tigray, Ethiopia.
The Hon. Mr Wade is quite right: my geography is not particular strong. That is not strictly in the Asia-Pacific but, again, I think that just goes to show how dedicated the workers and volunteers at Motivation Australia are that they are willing to expand beyond the strict scope of their work to fund where the genuine need exists.
It was a fantastic event where the passion and the expertise of the people working with
Motivation were clearly demonstrated. In fact, I was sitting just one table in front of a man who is actually a professional occupational therapist. He was quick to tell me that my wheelchair was overly complicated and Nick that his was overly simple, so the passion and expertise are definitely never off the clock. They are always on duty and looking out for the people they are working to service and provide for.
With those few brief words, I will sum up and just say that Motivation Australia is clearly doing extremely important, vital work for people who are disadvantaged, and they do so with very little funding. I would encourage any member here, if anything that has been said has piqued your interest, to please feel free to join us at the fundraising events that will be held throughout the coming year. I thank all members for their support.
Motion carried.
