Jw AUSTRALIA,,^

PRIME MINISTER

FOR MEDIA SUNDAY, 8 NOVEMBER 1981

ELECTORATE TALK

On a visit to South Australia at the weekend I was privileged  to open a new swimming pool for the handicapped at Minda Homes  in Adelaide.  This pool will both serve therapeutic purposes  and provide an avenue for recreation. The opportunities  for rehabilitation offered by the Minda swimming pool are  an example of the contribution being made throughout Australia  by individuals, voluntary agencies, organisations and  governments in an effort to assist handicapped and disabled  Australians to realise their fullest potential in this, the

International Year of Disabled Persons.  -

The Government has played a substantial part in encouraging  and supporting these initiatives,  for the Government's Liberal  philosophy is one of concern for the well-being and fullest  development of all people in our society. Commonwealth  Government financial support for disabled and handicapped  persons amounts to $1.1 billion this financial year. Even

though governments and the community are doing much more than  was the case, there are still unfulfilled needs,  and  much yet remains to be done.

However, the 39% real increase in expenditure that has taken  place since the 1975 Labor Budget illustrates the real and  sympathetic commitment of this Government to the well-being  of handicapped and disabled persons. A wide range of programmes

are being funded by the Government, including invalid pensions,  sheltered employment allowances, handicapped children's .  - benefits, subsidies to non-profit organisations and local  government bodies which provide facilities for physically

and intellectually handicapped people, and assistance for the  production and publication of Braille and audio books for the  print handicapped.

The International Year for Disabled Persons is not just a  "one-off" exercise. Its impact will be of more lasting value .   in helping to achieve greater understanding and more 'practical  responses to the needs of handicapped people, and so far as

the Government is concerned, our commitment to the cause of  disabled persons will be a continuing one. -

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There is growing support for less paternalistic or protective  services, so that disabled people will have a greater  measure of control over their own lives, and more freedom  to pursue their own lives and interests in surroundings

as normal as possible. I am confident that this progressive  and responsible view will increasingly prevail from now on -  and while further consolidation will be needed, I see this  as a major achievement of the International. Year for  Disabled Persons.

The Government shares the view which is growing in the  community that disabled people should be encouraged to develop  their capacities to the fullest extent, that they should be  enabled wherever possible and desirable, to live by themselves,  or with their families, and to use community facilities as ' do the rest of us. Today,  there is a widespread desire to

see disabled people being encouraged to accept the challenges  of everyday living to the fullest extent of their abilities. To enjoy a meaningful home life and participate in all .  social,  creative or recreational activities is a right to  which all people are entitled.

I believe that when a disabled person is prepared to live  independently and wants to do so, that ought to be encouraged. The community must be prepared to meet each case on an  individual basis - for without this response, the theme of

the International Year for Disabled Persons - "full participation  and equality" - will remain unfulfilled.

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