Enabling access
Disability Rights
Enabling access
Launch of disability awareness resources package: Enabling
Access: Disability Discrimination Awareness Training for Local Government.
| Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM, Acting Disability Discrimination Commissioner John Harvey Gallery, Salisbury, SA |
 |
Allow me to commence by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the
land on which we meet, the Kaurna people.
I also acknowledge distinguished guests, representatives of State and
local government, members of access advisory committees, and my colleague
Mr Mike Taggart who has been a central figure in the achievement we celebrate
today.
I am very happy to be able to be here to participate in the launching
of the package, Enabling Access: Disability Discrimination Awareness Training
for Local Government.
This package has been developed jointly by the five largest councils
in South Australia: Salisbury, Charles Sturt, Marion, Onkaparinga and
Tea Tree Gully.
I commend the five councils involved for their initiative. I also commend
the Local Government Association for their support provided through the
Local Government Research and Development Scheme
This is a package which I think will be very valuable in increasing awareness
of disability issues, and in promoting appropriate action based on that
awareness.
It is now over twenty years since the International Year for people with
disabilities. In some States, including here in South Australia, there
has been antidiscrimination legislation applying to disability since the
early 1980s. It is ten years next month since Australia's federal Disability
Discrimination Act entered into force.
In that time there have been thousands of disability discrimination complaints
dealt with, and thousands more instances of change towards greater equality
and participation for people with disabilities in our community.
But despite all this there remains a very strong need for increased awareness
of disability issues and how to address these issues.
Disability is so often overlooked or forgotten as part of the diversity
of our communities. This is a paradox because disability is very much
part of the ordinary experience of being human.
The statistics tell us that one in five Australians has a disability.
Of course, the proportion of us who have a disability increases as we
get older, and so the number of people with disabilities in the Australian
community is likely to increase further with ageing of our population.
The package points to the impact on community attitudes and awareness
of disability that came from segregation of people with disabilities from
the rest of the community for many years - separate education, housing,
transport, employment and so on.
Until recently for example it was common for students to go through the
education system without much experience of people with disabilities as
classmates.
This also meant that mainstream systems and services were not designed
with disability in mind, and knowledge and experience of disability was
often lacking for people designing and running those systems.
As we know, in recent decades there has been a move to recognise people
with disabilities as an integral part of the community.
Antidiscrimination laws are part of that recognition and these laws have
assisted in changing other important social structures.
I think it is well known by now that public transport systems for example
are moving towards accessibility on a state and national level instead
of leaving transport for people with disabilities to be dealt with by
segregated services.
Although there is debate in the community about the scale of progress
being achieved it is clear that education systems are becoming more inclusive
over time. Mainstream educational experience increasingly is including
some familiarity with people with disabilities as fellow students.
Closer to local government responsibilities, the building code is being
changed to accommodate people with disabilities in the design of mainstream
buildings like offices and shops, instead of disability access being an
"add-on" issue only considered in specialised facilities like
hospitals.
Some local governments and communities have taken the opportunity to
go beyond the strict legal requirements of the DDA to deal also with private
residential housing, to ensure that at least some housing is built to
be adaptable to the needs of people with disabilities.
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
more significant disabilities - in mobility, hearing, vision and so on
- as we get older.
For access and equality to be a reality in daily lives it needs to be
happening locally - where people actually live - not only at national
or state level.
For this reason I have been keen to appear at local government events
to recognise the positive response of local government across Australia
to the DDA.
I refer in particular to the take up of the voluntary Disability Action
Plan concept by local government.
Over seventy local governments around Australia have prepared Disability
Action Plans and provided them to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity
Commission.
In fact there are more Disability Action Plans registered from local
government than from all State and Commonwealth government departments
and agencies combined.
That is still far from including every local government. Here in South
Australia for example, for every local government area which has lodged
an Action Plan, there are still three which have not.
Across the border in Victoria, around 60% of local governments currently
have an Action Plan. The Municipal Association of Victoria expects that
this year the figure will reach 85%.
This is an area where I would be very glad to see some old fashioned
interstate rivalries develop. Perhaps we could have an action plan cup
awarded at the same time the cricket competitions are decided.
In saying that I do not mean to trivialise the effort and commitment
that goes into developing a worthwhile disability action plan.
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.
Achieving accessibility in this range of local government roles covers
many complex and technical issues. The issue of accessibility in the building
environment alone has taken years of work at the national level and is
still not complete. Other issues such as ensuring effective communications
access for people with sensory disabilities or intellectual disabilities
have their own complexities.
The starting points, though, for addressing these issues are matters
of awareness and attitude: Awareness that each local community does include
people with various disabilities; and an attitude that people with disabilities
have an equal right to participate in the community and that services
and systems will be changed to make this possible.
In conclusion let me repeat that this package will make an important
contribution to expanding access and opportunity and citizenship for people
with disabilities.
I congratulate all those involved in its production and I wish you well
in using it.
Thank you.