Western Australia is calling for help and ideas from the state’s councils to encourage more people with disability to run for local government.
The state government has invited councillors who are living with a disability to take part in a roundtable in November to share ideas on how to increase diversity in local government and attract and retain people with a disability.
The roundtable will be held on November 2 and will focus on issues including the barriers that exist for people with disability and how to address them, and how to attract people with disability to run for council.
Better representation
Local government minister John Carey says more than 4.5 per cent of the state’s population lives with a disability and it’s vital that councils represent the people they serve.
The WA disability strategy suggests the figure may be much higher than that, stating that “in Western Australia, one in five people (or 411,500 people) have a disability.”
“We know that people with disability are not represented enough on our councils,” Mr Carey said.
“This roundtable will get the discussion started on how we increase participation and representation on WA’s councils”
Mr Carey says he’s met with representatives from the sector and there’s recognition that there are barriers for councillors who may be living with a disability, as well as for people living with a disability who might want to run for council.
Disability strategy
Disability services minister Don Punch said under the state’s disability strategy the government is aiming to increase the number of people with disability employed by local government by up to five per cent over the next three years.
“The strategy also aims to develop the leadership skills of people with disability, so they can become influential ambassadors for their communities,” Mr Punch said.
“People with disability have a lot to offer in leadership roles and I look forward to seeing more people with disability on local councils in the future, where their valuable knowledge and lived experience will help to shape their communities.”
The state’s peak body for local government, WALGA, says the state’s councils have in place policies and processes to promote and increase access and participation of people with disability in the community.
WALGA also has a partnership with a network of eight WA Disability Enterprises (WADEs) to encourage procurement of products and services across land management, cleaning, graphic design and fire equipment servicing.
More then 20 local councils have commercial contracts with WADEs.
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