Presentation of Victorian
Local Government Accessible Communities Awards

Graeme Innes Deputy Disability Discrimination Commissioner Human Rights And Equal Opportunity Commission Melbourne 22 November 2002

Most of you here today would know that it is not trite to say that local
government is the closest level of government to our communities, and
as such plays a key role in building and reinforcing the fabric of those
communities.

My daughter Rachel is five. Our family uses and will continue to use
the many services of our local council. But can I, or other people with
disabilities, use those services? Is the information on child-care centres
available on a website which is accessible to me? Are the municipal offices
physically accessible so that I, and other people with mobility disabilities,
can lodge our building and development applications when we want to do
our renovations? Are there books in the library in alternative formats?
Can I walk along the footpaths without tripping, running into pavement
furniture, or being hit in the face with overhanging branches? Can my
friend who is deaf call the council for information using a TTY? And can
my friend who uses a wheelchair get in and out of the local swimming pool?

If your council claims to support and resource the whole community, these
are some of the questions you need to be able to answer.

May I begin today by acknowledging the original owners of the land on
which we meet. May I also acknowledge the Hon Bronwyn Pike - Minister
for Community Services and Housing; Cr Brad Matheson, President, Municipal
Association of Victoria; Keran Howe, Chair Disability Advisory Council
of Victoria; the Judging Panel for the Awards; the Winners of the Awards;
other council representatives here and guests.

Firstly, congratulations. From the results of the survey carried out
by the Municipal Association Victorian Councils are well on the way towards
lodging and implementing DDA Action Plans. Of the councils who responded
to the Association's survey, 58 % have lodged DDA action plans, and a
further 28 % will have lodged plans within 12 months. This means that
you are well on the way to supporting the participation of people with
disabilities- almost 20 % of the population - in your communities. This
is a day for celebration.

But it's not a day for complacency. Because the survey results also tell
us that there is still some way to go. So you need to be thinking about
innovative ways to keep going on this important task. I look forward to
the day when people with disabilities will be able to participate in all
facets of community life, and - because DDA complaints will no longer
need to be lodged - I and my colleagues will be out of a job. But I think
my mortgage is safe for some years yet.

I want today to look at two examples of how local government has played
an important role in achieving very practical human rights outcomes for
people with disabilities in Australia. First, I acknowledge the initiative
taken by the ALGA, and many local government authorities, particularly
in Victoria, to eliminate discrimination in service delivery through the
development of Action Plans. Secondly, I want to recognise the efforts
made by local governments in encouraging accessible communities through
the development approval and building permit processes.

In 1994/5 the ALGA established a project to develop a number of guides
and best practice manuals to assist local government to prepare Action
Plans under the DDA. The preparation and implementation of Action Plans
provides local government with an opportunity to:

• identify barriers that exist in their own services, and
• develop strategies to eliminate them over a period of time.

In doing this, a local government can, in a very practical way, address
one of its core goals - that of ensuring an inclusive community where
people with disabilities can participate on equal terms.

In most cases local government Action Plans have involved extensive local
consultation, and have been notable for recognition of the breadth of
roles which local government has in creating accessible and inclusive
communities:

• in ensuring accessibility of its own services and facilities;
• in playing a local leadership role in increasing awareness and acceptance
  of the needs of residents and visitors with disabilities;
• in its role in regulating building and development; and
• as provider or facilitator of services targeted to people with disabilities
  to enhance social participation.

Some local governments and communities have taken the opportunity to
go beyond the strict legal requirements of the DDA to explore issues like
ensuring that at least a proportion of private housing is built to be
adaptable to the needs of people with disabilities, and the Commission
welcomes that initiative. And speaking of welcomes, the Victorian government
have been instrumental in that process as well, recently releasing the
publication on adaptable housing, simply called Welcome, sponsored - among
others- by the Commission. For those not aware of this excellent publication,
details can be found on the access to premises page of our site.

This will be an increasingly important issue as our population ages.
To state the obvious, all of us are increasingly likely to have one or
significant disabilities - in mobility, hearing, vision and so on - as
we get older.

There is no better example of an initiative to encourage and support
local governments in the development of Action Plans than the work of
the Municipal Association of Victoria which, with the support of the Victorian
Government Department of Human Services, has been running a number of
`Accessible Communities' projects.

As you know, one of the consequences is that nearly 60% of local government
authorities currently have an Action Plan, and by mid 2003 it is expected
that 85% will have developed one. This really is a very important achievement
- not just because of the inevitable increased accessibility of local
government, but also because of the community debate and awareness that
has been stimulated throughout the process of developing them. Of course,
having the plan is only the first step. Taking the action - which the
name Action Plan connotes - is the real step towards making the community
accessible. But once an issue has been considered; and the stakeholders
consulted and the solution found; it's a much easier issue to address.
And at the same time, the lodging of those Action Plans provides council
with some form of protection from DDA complaints, so that council can
implement the changes necessary in a planned and structured way.

The second very practical human rights area local government is involved
in is creating an accessible built environment through the development,
approval and building permit processes. As you will be aware, there are
inconsistencies between the current access provisions of the Building
Code of Australia (BCA) and the requirements of the DDA. They are hard
to define with certainty, because whilst the BCA sets out specific performance
requirements, the DDA has more general provisions prescribing that discrimination
against people with disabilities is unlawful. Because the objects of the
DDA are to eliminate such discrimination, the DDA goes further than the
BCA in a number of areas. These inconsistencies mean that when developers
receive approvals from local government to build, they cannot be sure
they are meeting their responsibilities under the DDA.

As a consequence, local government has been placed in a difficult position,
because In some circumstances, local government may be subject to a complaint
if they give approval to a development that is later subject to a successful
DDA complaint. This is known as Vicarious liability.

Many local government authorities have acted on the advice given by the
Commission to develop policies and procedures to manage this difficult
situation. This has led to significant improvements in new building access
and has minimised the chances of complaints against those local governments.

The good news is that the Australian Building Codes Board committee responsible
for the drafting work on a DDA Access to Premises Standard is close to
completing its work, and we expect to have a draft released for public
comment before the middle of next year. Those wanting to keep up to date
on developments should watch our web page regularly - or better still
register on our listserv also available on that page - which will automatically
inform you of when new items are placed on the page.

The Premises Standard will effectively adopt a revised BCA, and thereby
give surety to local government, developers and people with disabilities.
Once we have the Premises Standard, local government will have a vital
role to play in making it work, by ensuring all new buildings and new
building work meets the required level of access.

The adoption of the Premises Standard will be a time for extensive education
and information programs for designers, developers and approval bodies
such as local government. I am sure that local government in Victoria
will work with both regulatory bodies and the community to ensure a consistent
and effective application of the Premises Standard when completed. Hopefully,
the Disability Access Project will be there to assist councils as they
come to grips with these changes.

The Commission congratulates all of you. Not only on this awards ceremony,
but also on the broader initiative taken to encourage inclusive communities.

Think about two really important things that you have done in your lives
- one professional and one personal. For me, they are my participation
in the development of the DDA, some ten years ago now; and my participation
in the development and growth of my five-year-old daughter, which is very
much an ongoing process.

The recurrent conjunction of those two events is an ever-present reality
for me. As a policy-maker, I am very aware of the global impact that the
DDA has had on Australians with a disability and the Australian community
as a whole. Some of the changes - both social and infrastructural - have
been major. We only have to step outside of this hotel, and see the low-floor
trams running around Melbourne streets, to appreciate that.

However, as a parent with a disability, I'm very aware of the changes
at a micro level. Local government plays a key role in that process. So
the driver for me, and perhaps for you, in continuing with the work that
these awards celebrate, is all the mums and dads, adults and children,
men and women with disabilities, who can access council services. When
we have provided for the participation of all Australians, including Australians
with disabilities, to all facets of daily life, then we will have built
a truly whole and sustaining community.