From:	christine
Sent:	Wednesday, 25 November 2009 3:20 PM
To:	disabdis
Subject:	objection to cinemas seeking exemption from Disability Discrimination 
	Act

Please register my objection to all cinemas and businesses wanting exemption from the Disability 
Discrimination Act for any period of time.   
 
I object for all people with disabilities, especially my friend who, for privacy concerns, I'll call 
Sue. Sue, who has been blind since birth, is one of our Forgotten Australians, institutionalised at 
birth until her 18th birthday. Sue received no formal education, instead working from an early 
age stuffing mattresses and later working in the institution's commercial laundry.   
 
Sue applied for and received the Companion Card last year, and it is difficult to estimate the 
enormous difference it has made to her. This year we've used the card to attend opera, 
Shakespeare, musicals, plays, etc. offering audio description.  
 
Sue loves attending the cinema for entertainment and also relies on it for social conversation with 
family and friends. Really, up to September this year, I hadn't thought too much about this last 
point but then I overheard an off-the-cuff conversation between Sue & her friends who are all 
severely visually disabled with some form of physical disability as well.  
 
The group's comments centred around the difficulties of maintaining social relationships with 
family members, friends and associates of all ages without the means of reading the latest best 
selling novels and seeing the latest cinema releases. People who had lost their sight as adults 
spoke of isolation, loneliness and an intense, disabling sense of being out of the social loop 
because of having little to contribute. Sue added poignantly that the effects of being sidelined 
like this can set off disturbing flashbacks to her time in institutional care.  
 
Sue and I live outside Melbourne so it takes considerable planning and effort to come into the 
city then out to Carlton to attend the only accessible cinema currently offering some audio 
described movies. Because of Sue's disabilities she cannot attend this cinema by herself, so she 
would have much greater autonomy when more cinema complexes in the CBD and outer suburbs 
offer audio described movies.  
 
Therefore I object strenuously to media corporations such as Village Roadshow, Greater Union, 
Hoyts and, I presume, Reading Cinemas seeking relief from meeting the obligations set out in our 
Disability Discrimination Act, especially as they are well situated to absorb the expense as a cost 
of doing business.   
 
I suggest they withdraw this application as it does nothing for their brands and gives lie to 
meeting their corporate responsibility. 
 
Yours faithfully 
Christine Badawy 
Victoria