Page 1710 - Week 06 - Thursday, 30 July 2020
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Land Management, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister for Urban Renewal) (10.55): I would like to echo the sentiments of my colleagues here in the chamber as we remember the life and celebrate the achievements of Sue Salthouse. Sue embodied a true sense of community. Her work was never about her; her focus was always on those around her.
Before beginning a lifetime of advocacy work, Sue was a language teacher, creating community connections and understandings of different lives. She was a mentor to many, especially during the decades she spent working in the disability sector. When Sue became a member of the disability community, the community became her family. She would spend the rest of her life fighting for people with a disability, with a focus on women with disabilities. Sue’s work was part of a long feminist tradition of community care and solidarity. She worked relentlessly to ensure that women with complex needs and vulnerabilities were recognised and cared for.
Sue fostered and grew a sense of community in her role with Women with Disabilities ACT. Sue was a proud and influential member of Women with Disabilities Australia, serving as the president of the board for five years. Her contributions in shaping the organisation and bringing it onto an international stage were recognised when she was awarded life membership in 2014. Sue was a co-chair of the ACT Disability Expert Panel, advising on the national disability insurance scheme, and was part of something that changed the lives of many people in the ACT and across Australia.
Sue’s work in advocacy and advising governments provided insight into what many Australians experience but rarely hear about. Sue was a brilliant representative of her community on the international stage, ensuring that specific needs and issues facing women with disabilities were recognised in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Her work in the sector was formalised with numerous appointments to boards and committees, advocating for the rights of the disabled, and recognised in countless awards. These awards include being the ACT Senior Citizen of the Year for 2014 and the Canberra Citizen of the Year for 2015. She was a tireless campaigner. Our conversations were always enjoyable and always about social justice and equity.
Those of us who were fortunate enough to know Sue will fondly remember her love for life and her determination that nothing would slow her down. Having her own custom-made motorcycle was proof of that determination. Her interests ranged from social justice issues to communications, and she was a woman with fierce intellect and extraordinary compassion.
We send our thoughts to all of those who loved Sue, especially her family, her friends, her sisters and her colleagues in the disability sector. Our Canberra community has lost a warrior and a friend. It is now up to us to carry out Sue’s important work by providing support for those who she fought hard to represent.
MS ORR (Yerrabi—Minister for Community Services and Facilities, Minister for Disability, Minister for Employment and Workplace Safety and Minister for Government Services and Procurement) (10.58): Madam Speaker, I rise today in
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