Vision Australia welcomes disability package
24 July 2010
Vision Australia urges bi-partisan support for the recent announcement regarding the disability community.
The blindness and low vision community will strongly support the announcement by Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities, Mr Bill Shorten, MP, to commit $1M to improve accessibility through making available alternatives to print. This step forward will be achieved through improving access to digital content via the public library network across Australia.
"Increased government investment is critical in this area for Australians as they age and, in many cases, lose their vision. It is also critical for those adults and children with print disabilities," stated Vision Australia CEO, Mr Gerard Menses.
Also welcomed was today's $3M initiative to help people with disability become leaders in business, the community and government through mentoring and leadership development.
"Vision Australia's research shows that people with blindness and low vision have unemployment rates of 63% and that support is needed to break through the barriers preventing equality in employment. We welcome this initiative to provide intensive leadership support for people with a disability, including matching them with a mentor in their field of interest. In fact, it is exactly this sort of programme that can improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities," added Mr Menses.
Mr Menses congratulated Mr Shorten and said he looked forward to seeing the detail on the initiatives.
"There will always be more to do but this is a great step forward. Every step along the way is welcomed," said Mr Menses.