Serena Ovens' advocacy for people with disability

Today Abigail spoke about the incredible advocacy of Serena Ovens, who is stepping down from role of CEO of PDCN.

Abigail said: 

I move:

(1)That this House notes the wide-reaching and lasting impact that Serena Ovens had in her role as CEO of the Physical Disability Council of NSW for over eight and a half years, a driving change is that it has improved the lives of countless people with physical disability, including:

(a)leading the fight to secure critical funding for disability advocacy in New South Wales when it was under threat;

(b)orchestrating the successful "Stand By Me" coalition of disability organisations that secured vital funding for disability advocacy and re-affirmed the fundamental importance of independent disability advocacy as a human right;

(c)achieving 24-hour step-free access to the pedestrian walkway of the Sydney Harbour Bridge;

(d)securing the introduction of an ethical protocol through NSW Health, for the allocation of intensive care unit resources for people with disability during pandemics; and

(e)fighting to achieve numerous wins for physical and digital accessibility requirements including the development of the New South Wales healthcare passport app, accessibility features in the Park'n'Pay app, online disability ticket bookings with Ticketek and more.

(2)That this House thank Ms Ovens for her passionate and dedicated advocacy for people with disability, and wishes her all the best in her new role and future endeavours.

 

Read the full Hansard transcript here.

Join 50,941 other supporters in taking action