South Australia Appoints Special Minister For Autism In Australian-First
Ensuring autism community is represented
The Advertiser
Assistant Minister to Premier Peter Malinauskas, Emily Bourke, has been appointed as Assistant Minister for Autism in a landmark Australian-first.
In the new role, Bourke will have the sole responsibility of implementing autism-specific policies and ensuring the autism community is heard and represented.
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Malinauskas said Bourke’s appointment was part of a government-led effort to have autism viewed as an opportunity rather than disability.
“My ambition is that South Australia is the national leader when it comes to people who are from the neurodiverse community, we want to be a policy leader when it comes to engaging with people who have autism,” he said.
“One of the virtues of governments of our size is we do have the capacity to lead in these types of policy areas.”
Bourke will establish the Autism, Education Advisory Group – comprised of people with autism, parents with lived experiences, experts, and unions – to ensure the policies are supported through consultation.
Bourke admitted she did not have lived experience with autism but said the government had heard the years of advocacy by the autism community.
A $28.8 million investment will be overseen by Bourke to appoint an autism lead teacher in primary schools. increasing the number of autism-specialised staff in preschools and work with service providers to offer early intervention services in children’s centres.
Malinauskas said Bourke’s role will go further than children and schools, with a new State Autism Strategy to operate with the State Disability Plan.
It will require all government agencies to enrol into a free autism-friendly charter.
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