Absence of People with Disability in Representative Government Capacity
Community attitudes are seen as a significant barrier to entry into government.631 Whilst there appears to be more opportunities at local government levels, there is an apparent lack of representation of people with disability in major political parties, particularly at state and federal level.632
There are very few members of parliament who have a disability or have been elected on a disability platform. Kelly Vincent from the ‘Dignity for Disability’ party was elected in 2010 to the South Australian Legislative Council, and became the first person who uses a wheelchair to be elected into the South Australian Parliament and the first Australian Parliamentarian to be elected on a disability platform. Graham John Edwards, a double amputee, was a member of the Commonwealth House of Representatives from 1998 to 2007.
