Image: Susan Wallis (Interchange Illawarra Chairperson, Jake Pearson (Interchange Illawarra CEO, Dr Ben Gauntlett (Federal Disability Discrimination Commissioner) and Graham Lancaster AM (President of The Illawarra Connection)
At The Illawarra Connection’s August meeting, Susan and Jake were part of the audience having the pleasure of listening to the Federal Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Dr Ben Gauntlett, share his story of success, despite adversity.
Ben told everyone a bit about his life story where he enjoyed playing sports as a teenager until he suffered a life-changing event. He went on to receive a Rhodes Scholarship, and studied Law at both Oxford and NYU before returning to Australia. After working as a barrister for a number of years, Ben was appointed to the role of Disability Discrimination Commissioner for Australia in 2019.
Dr Gauntlett delivered three key messages on the night:
- A good disability policy is good for all of us.
- Employment of people with disability is good for our workplaces.
- We no longer need to ask why should I employ people with disabilities – we are now ready to learn how we can employ people with disabilities.
Thank you to the event sponsors on the evening, The Disability Trust.