From:	FSP Australia [freedom.socialist.party@ozemail.com.au]
Sent:	Monday, 30 November 2009 9:12 PM
To:	disabdis
Cc:	ed@artsaccessaustralia.org
Subject:	No exemption from the DDA for cinemas

Freedom Socialist Party
Australian Section, PO Box 266, West 
Brunswick VIC 3055  
Phone/fax: 03-9388-0063 
 
30 November 2009 
 
Dear Human Rights Commissioner 
 
The Australian Section of the Freedom Socialist 
Party objects strenuously to the recent application 
made by Village Roadshow, Greater Union, Hoyts 
and Reading Cinemas requesting an exemption 
from the Disability Discrimination Act for a period 
of two and a half years.  
  
If accepted the exemption means that Australians 
who are deaf or hearing impaired, blind or vision 
impaired stand to lose their right to complain about 
the lack of provision of captioning and audio 
description at any of the 125 cinemas (1182 
screens) owned by these four exhibitors. If the 
exemption is granted cinemas will provide 
captioning and audio description for a minimum of 
three screenings a week in 35 cinemas. That 
equates to .3 % of the estimated 40,000 films they 
screen each week.  
 
If this were to occur it would severely reduce 
access to the cinema for people with disabilities. 
 
We believe these big corporations should not be 
exempt from the act and must be compelled to 
provide full access to all patrons.  
 
We urge you to toss out this appalling exemption 
requests which is in direct contradiction of the 
spirit of the Act.  
 
Yours sincerely 
Alison Thorne 
Melbourne Branch Organiser 
Freedom Socialist Party 
www.socialism.com