Supporting persons with disabilities to seek higher office
Member for Gosford Ms Liesl Tesch has returned from at the 66th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference in Accra, Ghana, with renewed determination to advocate for people with disabilities.
"I look forward to continuing to pursue the importance of including people with disabilities at all levels of society, including parliaments across the Commonwealth," she said.
"Throughout the Commonwealth work is being undertaken towards improving the physical accessibility of Parliaments, procuring assistive technology, as well as supporting persons with disabilities to seek higher office.
"These initiatives in the area of accessibility of parliaments are being undertaken as part of the Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities Capital Investment Fund.
"I'm thrilled to be working in close partnership with other parliamentarians in Commonwealth countries to help them up their game to ensure people with disabilities have a better quality of life.
"During my time in Ghana, it was an incredible honour to spend time among a united group of parliamentarians with disability within the Commonwealth, such as Laura Kanushu MP (Uganda), Senator Isaiah D Jacob (Malaysia) and The Hon Wetangula Timothy Wanyonyi (Kenya).
"We were so very fortunate to be given the opportunity to tour the Accra Rehabilitation Centre and to network with Commonwealth peers as well as attend workshops on topics such as Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians."
Ms Tesch, who attended as the Australian Regional Champion for Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities, said it was an honour to represent people with disability.
"It was a genuine privilege to be able to represent the NSW Parliament.
"When I became a parliamentarian six years ago, physical access to parliament was a significant challenge.
"Positive progress has been made in this area in the years since, although there is still more work to do.
"I'm working to ensure that parliaments across Australia are accessible, so new members of parliament with disability do not have to face the same barriers I had to face - and they can get on with the job immediately after they are elected."
SOURCE:
Media release, 31 Oct 2023
Liesl Tesch, Member for Gosford