I acknowledge we meet on the lands of the Wurundjeri people. I pay my respects to their elders, past and present, and I extend that respect to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are here. I’d like to acknowledge some of the politicians who are here. My colleague and friend, the Victorian Minister for Disability, Lizzie Blandthorn. I’d also like to acknowledge we’ve got Georgie Crozier here and Brad Roswell and of course, Keith Wolahan, Federal Member for Menzies, and we’ve got counsellors here as well. I’ve often thought that if you lost a politician in the bush and you want to find them, that’s the first question, all you have to do is just put some guide dogs in a clearing and we would find you.
I also just need to get this off my chest straight away. I waved goodbye to my British Bulldog as I was coming here, and I felt vaguely bad because I didn’t want to sort of cheat on my bulldog, but I do love guide dogs too. Listen, you’re all distinguished people, but I’d like to give a shout out to my friend John Gosling, who’s been one of not just Nicky’s mentors, but one of my mentors, in understanding so many issues to do with disability and returning home from the Vietnam War and then becoming a guide dog trainer, and then to become President of the World Guide Dog Trainers Association. I think this organisation is lucky to have people of his calibre, and some of the other senior people who’ve been mentioned here today.
I was just saying with David, looking at the footage of the old buildings, they were ready for an overhaul. I think I first came down here when I was a school student at Xavier College. I do some community work with the kids at the Saint Paul’s School for the blind and in the swimming pool, but I also got to come down here and see guide dogs then, and really, the fact that this has been reimagined into a world class facility, this is setting new standards for accessibility, inclusivity, independence. It’s an Australian first. Much like the NDIS, which I’m fortunate to be responsible for as the Minister, guide dogs support independence, choice and control. Guide dogs, as you know, have been some of the earliest tools to enable choice and control. Choice about how a person can participate in society, how they can access education, gain employment, able to travel anywhere at any time. I’m a history buff, so I’m always curious about the path which has got us to today. And it was, I think, Nelson Coon, who was the reference librarian at the Perkins School for the Blind at Massachusetts, said that for many centuries, blind men have discovered in the dog, not only a friend, but a guide and a helper. Perhaps they’re the way finders for people. A beautifully accepted support for people with disability that’s become, I think, a fabric in our society for inclusion. It’s incredible to think that the first guide dog school that I’m aware of was established more than 100 years ago, in the middle of the First World War, in 1916, in Germany. The German doctor Gerhard Stalling was walking the grounds of a veteran’s hospital with his German Shepherd, he was on brand, he was walking with a man who had lost his vision. The doctor was called away for a moment, so he left his dog with the man to keep him company. When he came back, he could see that the dog was trying to help the man. Then in 1929, American dog breeder Dorothy Eustis trained the first American guide dog, Buddy, to help a man who had lost both eyes in two separate incidents. The man said the dog allowed him to become independent again. They then established the first guide dog school in the United States called The Seeing Eye. I think it was after the Second World War in 1951, the concept of guide dogs reached Australia when Arnold Cook returned to Perth with his black Labrador, Dreena. Arnold was a young West Australian who had lost their sight at the age of 18. While studying in England, he became familiar with guide dogs and was matched with Dreena. He said he couldn’t live without her. Dreena was Australia’s first ever guide dog, and Arnold went on to establish what we know as today, Guide Dogs Australia.
Now, when you think about it, today is an accomplishment. It’s built on the shoulders, though, of accomplishments. Guide dogs have worked with airlines, shopping centres, hospitality venues about the rights and the importance of a handler and their guide dog being able to move without barriers through the community. They are at the forefront of this purpose that we continue to seek for all Australians. Guide Dogs Australia and Guide Dogs Victoria have been world leaders for a very long time. From the development of the breeds, through to training, through to tertiary qualification for the instructors, but then also expanding into the path of accessibility and wayfinding and liveability more than just through the guide dogs themselves. So here we are today again, further leadership. A 70-year-old, nearly 70-year-old guide dog campus has been reimagined through co-design and experience. Reimagined into a state-of-the-art century campus strengthening and growing vision loss supports for blind and low vision community members. These amenities are going to provide a whole new set of services for people with vision loss. It is so much more now than a guide dog school. We are now in a unique, never before created environment that provides an opportunity where people with low vision and blindness can learn and connect. The facility not only sets new standards in safe and inclusive spaces, it’s an example for where all organisations should be, co-designed each step of the way with the very people it serves. And I’m pleased to see so many benefits to this vital redevelopment, job creation, the enhanced facilities. The fact that this, in its first year, is expected to support more than 2000 individuals. Empowering people to fulfill their potential. New programs, including well-being and employment. Supporting individuals on a journey towards independence but strengthening the bond between them and their guide dogs.
I love that Guide Dogs Victoria is already collaborating and has been for a long time with other organisations. Vision 2020, the peak body for eye health, co-located at this site. I think there is a wonderful connection between what Guide Dogs Victoria are doing and what our Commonwealth Government is doing. We understand that the NDIS is changing people’s lives for the better. Just think about this briefly, 2% of people on the Scheme are people with low vision or are low vision impaired participants. That is actually 10,309 at the moment. But the total payments last year that participants in this category received was $448 million in supports. So the average package is about $43,000. 11 years ago, this support did not exist. So, Government works with associations and organisations like Guide Dogs to provide choice and control, and support assistance animals. Since 2016, 2759 assistance animals have been funded by the NDIS. It makes you wonder how it was all done beforehand. In the last year, Guide Dogs Victoria themselves have supported more than 500 participants with nearly $3 million paid in supports. So, the animals trained here are more than just cute puppies to pat and play with. They’re more than just companions. They’re vital supports for many Australians and should be recognised as such.
The Commonwealth Government remains entirely committed to working with all guide dog organisations in Australia. We want to help cut red tape. We want to ensure that people eligible for assistance can get one in a straightforward and timely way. And just as a sort of shout out to my friends in the state opposition, opposition is not always fun. But I know that when I met with Karen Hayes and John Gosling, when they came to see me as Opposition Leader between 2016 and 2019, I thought this was a good initiative. And as an opposition, we promised to help support it. The then member for Kooyong, Josh Frydenberg, wasn’t sure after 2019 he would still be the Member, so he, I think, elegantly matched the offer. He didn’t necessarily expect to have to honour it, but we would. Now, full credit to Josh, they honoured it. But this was genuinely Commonwealth support built from both sides of politics. The rest of the result perhaps, was not so good. But of course, this is on top of the marvellous support of the Victorian Government as well, and the remarkable donors and supporters. There is a growing demand for services and this seeks to meet it. I think that projects like this show that we can all work together to help fulfil people’s potential. The agency which I run is part of the Guide Dog Advisory Group, which we established when I became Minister. We’re working to better support participants seeking the inclusion of a guide dog in their plans.
I think in the wake of the Disability Royal Commission, it is imperative that we create spaces that are not only accessible but are safe and are also empowered. From the early days of discovering the innovation of guide dog, this guide dog organisation has been empowering people to live a life without limits, a life that is independent. The sensory campus, I think, it sets an example not only for what’s been accomplished here, but what the rest of us should seek and demand from the rest of our community in the way that we support people. This will be a sanctuary where people will build independence with personalisation and pride. It’s not just a facility. I think that this is a beacon of what this country can do when we choose to include all people, regardless of initial circumstance and disadvantage. This centre, for me, is part of the Australian commitment to make sure that all of us, regardless of our birth and sharps of faith, share in the potential they have and therefore the potential of the country. I’m looking forward to the surrounding community visiting, exploring this place. I praise Guide Dogs Victoria, I congratulate the current leadership under Nicky Long. This will just go from strength to strength. Thank you for letting me share with you.
