How Local Communities can Address Issues of Disability
Disability Rights
How Local Communities can
Address Issues of Disability
| Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM, Acting Disability Discrimination Commissioner Workshop session |
 |
Introduction
In my presentation today I want to focus on the Commission's work with
Local Government and the effect the Disability Discrimination Act has
had on how they go about their business.
In particular I want to look at how many Local Government authorities
have taken the initiative to create change using the objectives of the
DDA as a foundation on which to build more inclusive communities.
I also want to give a little more information on the Access to Premises
Standard I discussed at yesterdays plenary session and make some suggestions
about Local Government participation in the upcoming public consultation
period.
Promoting awareness and compliance
Apart from the responsibility to receive and attempt to conciliate complaints
of discrimination the Commission has a number of other functions including:
- To promote an understanding and acceptance of, and compliance with
the DDA - To undertake research and education programs designed to promote the
objects of the DDA, and - To prepare material such as guidelines to assist individuals and organisations
to avoid discriminating
I and my predecessors have had to make decisions about how to use the
limited resources available to us to address these responsibilities.
In the first couple of years of the DDA a substantial part of the Commission's
work and budget was dedicated to a community information and education
campaign.
This was aimed at people with a disability and at organisations with
responsibilities under the legislation and was clearly a necessary priority
in the early years of the DDA.
Over the years the Commission has continued to promote awareness and
compliance through participation in many formal and informal educational
events, conferences, public forums, workshops and consultations.
In addition, there is significant community education and awareness activity
on rights and responsibilities undertaken by disability community groups,
State and Territory anti-discrimination bodies, industry and government
organisations and in particular through the network of Disability Discrimination
Legal Services.
A shift in focus
The focus has, however, shifted from education and awareness to participating
very practically in identifying solutions to the many barriers to participation
people with disabilities experience.
This shift reflects my view that while attitudinal change is an important
aspect of achieving the objectives of the DDA equal weight must be given
to making practical changes that ensure people with disabilities can actually
participate in all aspects of our community.
If people with disabilities
- cannot get on a bus to go to work;
- cannot exercise their responsibilities as citizens because the polling
booth is inaccessible; - cannot access information about cultural and sporting events because
it is only available in print; - cannot attend the local school because there is no accessible toilet
the chances of community attitudinal change are much reduced.
I fully accept that there is a big difference between being 'present'
in the community and being a 'part' of the community.
However, if people with disabilities cannot even be present there is
little likelihood of real attitudinal change towards a more welcoming
and inclusive community.
Finding solutions
Our priority over the past few years has been to participate in processes
that deliver practical meaning to the objects of the DDA.
The Commission has
- produced advisory notes or guidelines in a number of areas covered
by the DDA: access to premises, insurance, public transport, and world
wide web access - worked intensively on the development of Disability Standards on public
transport, employment, education and access to premises, and - undertaken public inquiries resulting in outcomes such as a national
captioned cinema program, significantly improved TV captioning and a
range of electronic banking industry standards.
In a sense our participating in this very practical work means that we
can contribute to finding solutions to equip local communities with the
tools to do the right thing.
Working with Local Government
The Commission has had close relationships with Local Government from
the very early days of the DDA and considerable effort has been put into
providing information and guidance at a local and national level.
Perhaps the greatest assistance has been in the area of Action Plans
and on matters to do with access to the built environment.
In 1994/5 the Australian Local Government Association (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.
The existence of the DDA and the provision for the development of Action
Plans has been used by Local Government staff, Councillors and community
members as a foundation on which to build creative and well planned strategies.
I and my staff have lost track of the number of times people associated
with Local Government have told us how they have used the DDA to create
new agendas within their organisations.
Among the earliest Action Plans submitted to the Commission in 1996 were
those from Rockdale and Fairfield in NSW, Kingborough in Tasmania, Canning
in WA and Redland here in Queensland.
Some Action Plans have been developed in response to complaints against
Councils as part of a conciliated agreement.
Most, however, have been developed by Local Governments who have seen
them as an opportunity to systematically address one of their core goals
- that of ensuring an inclusive community where people with disabilities
can participate on equal terms.
Examples of achievements
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 (MAV), with the support of the Victorian
Government Department of Human Services.
MAV has been running a number of `Accessible Communities' projects and
one of the consequences is that nearly 60% of Local Government authorities
currently have an Action Plan.
By late 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.
Among the factors identified by MAV as contributing to progress are:
- Increasing awareness in the community of the Disability Discrimination
Act and an increasing willingness of people affected by disability to
lobby local councils. - Greater understanding that as the current generation ages it will
have higher expectations of councils with respect to accessibility than
previous generations, and - General trend towards recognising and valuing diversity in local communities
Individual initiatives
On a smaller scale, but no less important, are the initiatives from many
individual Local Government authorities who have found ways to address
disability issues through the development of specific education and awareness
material or by integrating disability issues into mainstream projects.
For example, I was very happy recently to be able to participate in the
launching of a package, Enabling Access: Disability Discrimination Awareness
Training for Local Government.
This package was developed jointly by the five largest councils in South
Australia: Salisbury, Charles Sturt, Marion, Onkaparinga and Tea Tree
Gully with support from the Local Government Association.
This package will be very valuable in increasing awareness of disability
issues, and in promoting appropriate action based on that awareness.
Finally just one more example, that of Marrickville Council in NSW.
Marrickville Council has established a unique Social Capital Committee
to look at ways of strengthening community ties and connections, invigorating
community life and harnessing the interest of citizens in building their
community.
Among the projects being undertaken is a "belonging" project
to strengthen connections between citizens.
The 'Belonging in Marrickville' project aims to:
- document the experience of belonging in the Marrickville local government
area; - identify the community's vision for the future;
- increase social cohesion through developing a 'sense of belonging'
in the area; and - broaden knowledge of attitudes and feelings about community safety.
More recently the belonging project has seen the establishment of a 'Community
Leadership for belonging' program. Together with the assistance of the
Centre for Popular Education at the University of Technology Sydney, the
program engages local residents.
Both established and emerging leaders are assisted with the skills to
work with their own communities and form partnerships with others to improve
life in the local area.
Considerable effort is being made by Marrickville in this and other projects
to ensure that people with disabilities contribute to and benefit from
this work.
There are many other initiatives taking place throughout Australia and
it would be of great value I think if they could be collected together
and recorded on a web site for others to learn from.
An accessible built environment
The second very practical area the Commission has been involved in with
Local Government is that of access to the built environment.
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.
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.
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 before the
end of this year.
A formal public comment period will take place for three months from
February next year.
In preparation for the public comment period on the proposed Premises
Standard Local Government may wish to consider:
1. Ensuring your community is aware of the timetable for the public comment
period.
2. Ensuring resources are allocated in your organisations work plan to
consider the proposals.
3. Running a series or articles and updates in your newsletters, association
magazines and webpages in the build up to the public comment period.
4. Identifying a small group of people in co-operation with other authorities
to focus on this issue. For example, a Local Government Association might
consider establishing a small expert group to identify issues of concern
to its members and co-ordinate a response.
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.
Let me conclude by saying that the Commission very much sees itself as
part of the "solution" to the difficulties experienced by local
communities trying to create an inclusive and sustainable community and
we will continue to work alongside Local Governments to find ways of doing
it better.
Can I finish by recommending you regularly look at the Commissions web
page for updates and further information on all the issues I have discussed
today. www.humanrights.gov.au