International Day of People with Disability 2008

Breakfast meeting, High Court of Australia, Canberra

Commissioner Graeme Innes

I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet today.

On 16 December 1992, the General Assembly of the United Nations appealed to Governments around the world to observe 3 December of each year as International Day of people with disability. This is a day to celebrate abilities of people with disability all over the world. The aim of observing this day each year is also to increase awareness, and understanding, of disability issues and the gains to be derived from the integration of people with disability in every aspect of life. The nomination and celebration of this day is an important tool in promoting the rights of people with a disability.

But an international day, on its own, is not going to redress the discrimination which Australians with disability face throughout our community on a day-to-day basis. Whilst things have improved a lot during the last few decades, the view expressed by the first Disability Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Hastings that we swim in a sea of discrimination is still true.

So, the international day should not only be a celebration, but an opportunity for us to pause and look both at what has been achieved, and what is still left to do. That will be the flavour of my speech today.

2008 has been a fascinating year- the first year of a new federal government, which was elected- amongst other things- on a platform of making human rights more top of mind, and re-engagement with the United Nations and multi-lateral international negotiation processes. So, what has been achieved during the year for people with disability? It's almost the end of the school year, so let's have a look at the report card. It's too long since I was at school, but my eleven-year-old daughter tells me that the marking system for the Kids Choice Awards, on Nikolodian, is as good a scoring system as any. Awards are given through the provision of large balloons or blimps- three for excellent, one for ok, and none if you've failed the test. Serious lack of success is met by being covered in slime. So let's see how many blimps float into the high court today, and how much slime the cleaners will have to deal with.

One of the governments major achievements- as part of its re-engagement with the UN- was the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities- in record time- just over a year after its opening for signature. This was a direction which the previous government had been taking, but the Rudd government certainly ensured a positive result occurred quickly. Australia was one of the first, and is still one of the very few, developed nations to ratify the Convention. And to top that off, we not only nominated an expert for the treaty body to monitor the Convention, but had Professor Ron McCallum- one of Australia's foremost authorities on industrial law, and a person with a disability - elected. That's a three blimp effort if ever I've seen one.

The Convention provides Australia, and all other ratifying countries, with the opportunity to use it framework and contents as the foundation for goal-setting towards full equality and inclusion for people with disability. And the Convention, with its built-in monitoring mechanism, provides an ideal foundation for a National Disability Strategy. I was about to phone Parliamentary Secretary Bill Shorten and point this out to him when Australia ratified, but he called me first to say that this was the way the government was going. I congratulated him at the time, and my views have not changed. The consultation has begun on the strategy, and people with disability across the country have been expressing their views on a combined strategy for Commonwealth, State and Local government. We have to wait and see what the content is like, but the signs are promising. One blimp, with more to come I hope.

Continuing with the Convention, and its capacity to promote and protect the rights of people with disability here and internationally, Parliamentary Secretary Bob McMullan scores one blimp for moving disability to the top of the AusAID heap. There are approximately 650 million people with disability around the world - 10 % of the population – who are the poorest of the poor, and it's pleasing to see that our aid dollars may go some way to address that. However, his two other blimps are currently laying in the corner waiting to be blown up, as he missed a wonderful opportunity. In the year that we ratified the disability Convention, we had the chance to use it as the basis for the AusAID strategy. We could have used our aid dollars to encourage recipient countries to ratify the convention, and use it as the benchmark for their progress in the disability area. Instead, the strategy barely refers to the Convention, and reinforces charity-welfare mentality, rather than equal rights for people with disability.

Earlier in the year, the Australian Government began work on a national disability employment strategy. Consultations took place, and many associated reviews were initiated, but the community has been left in the dark about what is happening. We may see some announcements soon which advance that progress. Unemployment levels for people with disability in Australia are still unacceptably high, given the reduction in unemployment during the last decade, so we have some way to go. Half a blimp so far for commencing this important work, but opportunities to improve.

The review of media access- availability of captions and audio description- on free tv, pay tv, cinemas and DVDS, was an initiative of the previous government, which this government continued. There has been solid progress in this area by Free TV and Pay TV, with pressure from the Commission and a range of community organisations. Cinemas and DVD producers are moving, but have been slower out of the blocks. However, Pay and Free TV are still well behind performance levels in other equivalent countries. It is hoped that the government review will use encouragement, incentives, and regulation - or the suggestion of it, to bring us to parity with the US, Canada and the UK. The consultation has been completed, and we await next steps. Again, one blimp, but perhaps more to come.

An Access to Premises Standard is something which the disability field has been waiting for for a long time. And yesterday, the government delivered. the Premises Standards represent the most important development in the design and construction of accessible buildings ever to have taken place in Australia. They address access issues such as signage, circulation space in lifts and accessible toilets, the number of wheelchair spaces in theatres, and the use of tactile warning indicators on stairways and ramps. They will be mirrored in the Building Codee of Australia, providing clarity and certainty for people with disability and the building industry. they will be considered by a parliamentary committee, and hopefully become law mid next year. Again, three blimps. But as my colleague Bill Shorten knows, we can't stop at standards- we need to look at universal design for housing as our population ages, and access to public spaces, play equipment, and fit-out and furniture inside buildings. Bill has already started this ball rolling.

Discrimination against people with disability seeking permanent residence in Australia is like death and taxes- always with us. So much so, that immigration legislation is specifically exempt from the DDA. So the refusal by the Department of Immigration of permanent residence for Dr Moeller- the Horsham doctor whose son Lucas has Down syndrome, was just another example of continued discrimination. But, although I, the disability community, and the community of Horsham, have been taking pot-shots at the Minister Senator Evans’ blimp regarding this issue, he has come through with an excellent result. Not only has he granted Dr Moeller and his family permanent residence, he made the decision in hours rather than months, and he has agreed to have a parliamentary committee review the immigration health rules. Two blimps, and a third on the horizon if we get a non-discriminatory policy in this area.

We've been scanning the horizon for the appearance of reforms to the DDA since the Productivity Commission report back in 2004. And yesterday this blimp arrived, when the Attorney-General tabled the amending Bill. He has also said that there will be processes in the future to harmonise Federal and State protection against discrimination in this and other areas.

Finally, let's turn to two areas of disappointment.

Firstly, we welcomed the Australian Governments establishment of the National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children. Its task is to develop a National Plan in this area. we were astounded that a woman with disability was not appointed to the Council, given the higher rate of violence against women with disability, the higher risk of violence, the fewer pathways to safety, and the scarcity of appropriate services to protect and support women and girls with disability experiencing violence. If women had not been appointed to this council there would have been outrage. Yet 20% of women- those with disabilities- are not represented. This could mean that the national plan will not adequately address disability issues- we'll have to wait and see. No blimps, and the slime bucket sees it's first action for the day.

Lastly, employment of people with disabilities in the Australian Public Service. I can't better the words of Parliamentary Secretary Bill Shorten- it's a national disgrace.

The number of people with disability employed in the APS has halved in the last decade, and the state of the service report released last week confirms that in the last two years this downward trend is continuing - it dropped a further five basis points. If government wants to send a message to employers that it is serious about the issue of emplpoyment of people with disability, and the inclusion of people with disability in sociaty, it has to lead by example. And it must do so by active strategies which Departments are required to implement- not by recommendations which very few put into affect. Again, no blimps and a big bucket of slime.

If I may briefly stray from the Government's record, can I talk about Channel Nine and captioning. No blimp for them, just the mean-spirited award. Earlier in the year, they and other channels gained the plaudits of the Commission for exceeding the 70% captioning levels of programmes between 6 am and midnight required by the Commission's previous exemptions. However, as soon as the new exemption was granted, requiring gradual progress to 85%, they stopped captioning a range of programmes. While overall they would probably maintain the annual average of 70% for this year, their actions are not in keeping with my expectations of broadcasters. If well-known and well-liked programmes were cut mid-series, Australian viewers would rightly complain. But Channel Nine says it's ok to cut them for people who are deaf or hearing impaired? well, no it's not! I understand that Channel Nine has got that message loud and clear, and that the captions are coming back on-stream. But they still cop a bucket of slime.

Well, it's been a busy year, but overall the government can take its holidays with a positive report card, and the promise of more good results in 2009. We don't have social inclusion yet, but the signs are good.

We can all play a part in the inclusion process: By including people with disabilities, as we do other members of our community, as part of our lives, at school, work or in community and sporting activities; By working with disability advocacy organisations to achieve positive change; or By supporting the many areas in which all levels of Government and private enterprise are facilitating change.

People with disability are not heroes, and are not victims. We are agents of our own destiny, seeking an equal place in the Australian community.

Thanks for the chance to speak with you today, and share your breakfast on this international occasion.