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In some ways I think I have been asked to teach my grandmother to suck eggs (though I am sure my own venerable forebear did no such thing!). I would say that there is no industry more skilled in the art of disability discrimination than the insurance and superannuation industry. Before you decide I am irretrievably biased against your work let me explain that, of course, I understand such discrimination is the basis of your enterprise.

With respect and gratitude I acknowledge that we sit on the lands of the Wuradjuri people of the Kulin nation.  Thank you for your generous welcome to country for all of us.

In so doing however I am confronted with the classic dilemma of many, namely what fresh insight can I bring to bear on this subject that has not already been canvassed.

I begin by paying my respects to the Larrakia peoples, the traditional owners of the land where we gather today. I pay my respects to your elders, to the ancestors and to those who have come before us.

Firstly, HREOC is charged with: "promoting an understanding and acceptance of human rights in Australia". Young people obviously form a very, very important part of that task.

Last year a blind colleague of mine decided he needed a pet dog to be company for him and his teenage daughter. After checking various pet rescue websites and talking to various people, he found an 18-month-old German Shepherd / red Cattle dog cross that this bloke was giving away. He even brought the dog over in his car.

Lecture Theatre 9, University of Tasmania, Newnham Campus, Newnham Drive, Launceston CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY Acknowledgements Traditional owners: Panninher and the Leterrermairrener People. Moderator: Professor Richard Eccleston, Director of the Institute for the Study of Social Change, University of Tasmania. Panellists: Rodney Croome AM, Very Reverend Richard Humphrey (Dean of St David’s ...

I would like to thank the Victorian Healthcare Association for inviting me to speak today. I hope that the Congress has been stimulating and has provided all of you with both an understanding of the problems facing healthcare in Australia, and some sense of optimism for what can be achieved to improve the health outcomes for all Australians.

I am delighted to have been invited to speak to you tonight on the Eve of International Women's Day, as so many of you are at the eve of being women yourselves, whether international or not. I can tell you, from my own experience, that being a woman kind of creeps up on you: one minute you're a girl, or an adolescent (whatever that may really be), and the next you are a woman!

It is a very great honour for me to be invited to give this third lecture in commemoration of the great Aboriginal mathematician and scientist, David Unaipon.

Thank you, Bob, for that generous introduction and warm welcome. And thank you to G&T for hosting this event. I am so pleased to be able to join you this evening for this year’s Vincent Fairfax Speaker Series. I thought I might never make it – for the last two days I have had the privilege of being on-board the warship HMAS Sydney as it undertook war exercises offshore – part of my defence review. As my staff gradually hit the decks one after the other with sea sickness, I wondered whether arranging the sea visit to coincide with tonight’s event was a smart move.

I hope that you are not expecting from me a speech full of stirring rhetoric, to inspire you before you settle into detailed and practical discussions throughout the rest of this conference.

I am very happy to be here today. Not just because South Australia was my home for some years, as many of you know, but to recognise initiatives here in social justice and access for people with disabilities. There is a tradition here of innovative action for disability rights.