Page 1008 - Week 03 - Thursday, 23 March 2017
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bands playing, choirs singing and demonstrations from martial arts groups, so it should be a very interactive and fun-filled day on Saturday.
MS CODY: Minister, how can each of us get involved in achieving change that empowers people with disability to participate and reach their full potential as equal and valued citizens?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Ms Cody for her supplementary question. I have seen Ms Cody at a number of disability sports events, including at Sailability, and other activities.
The ACT government is committed to ensuring people with disability are given every opportunity to participate in the community. That is because we recognise and value all Canberrans as part of our unique city. One way in which we are doing this is through INVOLVE, the ACT’s commitment to the national disability strategy. INVOLVE aims to mobilise all areas of our community to act together for change.
INVOLVE offers Canberrans the opportunity to make a commitment to make our city more inclusive for Canberrans of all abilities. For example, the National Multicultural Festival team pledged to ensure that the festival was more inclusive of people with disability and took practical steps to ensure that getting around the festival was easier, as I have mentioned before in this place.
Another way we can demonstrate what an inclusive community we have in Canberra is simply to recognise and acknowledge the actions of individual Canberrans and clubs who take a stand. For example, not this coming Saturday but the one after, on 1 April, the annual FEVER football carnival takes place at Tuggeranong United. FEVER, or Football for EVERyone, was founded by young Canberran football enthusiast Claire Falls after she was diagnosed with low vision in 2013. Claire found ways to continue to play the game of football and, through FEVER, raises the awareness of disability issues in football and in sport more broadly.
I encourage people to follow Claire’s example, or to explore the INVOLVE website at www.involvecbr.com.au, and consider how they can make the Canberra community even more inclusive.
Mr Barr: As frustrating as it is to end this party, I ask that all further questions be placed on the notice paper so that we can go on to talk about the importance of renewal in the Woden town centre.
Supplementary answers to questions without notice
Bimberi Youth Justice Centre—staffing
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I took a question on notice earlier today about the number of young people who were at the Bimberi Youth Justice Centre at the time of an incident on 6 May last year. There were four young people in the centre. For the information of members, there were, in terms of staff, two unit managers, two team leaders, six youth workers and three staff attending buddy shifts. On the oval, at the time of the incident—contrary to public reports—there were three young people. With
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