From:	Robyn Beasley 
To:	disabdis
Subject:	Flag this message For your attention : Accessible Cinema - application 
to the Human Rights Commission

We wish to lodge against the Hoyts, Village, Greater Union & Reading for their 
exemption of captioning.  The reason is that we have been ignored for many years 
where all hearing people have accessed to all the media including radio and 
television full time.  We are not being treated as equal to all those who have access 
full time therefore we, deaf people, are struggling to get to explain to our children 
who wants to know about the movies, news, etc.
 
Any new releases should be given an equal access to deaf people, not one or two 
weeks later, which is not an equal access for us, Deaf people. We find this is more 
discriminating for deaf people and it will continue for many years if this will be 
exemption.  
 
We have been patient for too long to see the cinemas to develop the captioning as 
it was first established in early 2000’s and it gradually not given full access to deaf 
people.  We were told that captioning will be developing through the years but it 
has not reached over more than 50%, which is pretty outrageous.  We were told 
with promise that the captioning will be given approximately 70% by 2008 but it 
has not been reach yet.  Now the cinema is asking for exemption of developing 
captioning to 70% or more until what?  They are well-afford company who has 
made profit of more than million dollars a year.
 
We felt that we are being dictated by the cinemas of choosing the times and days 
for Deaf people to attend the movies.  The hearing people can chose their own 
times to attend since the movies run for a longer of period while deaf people have 
to make times. They do have families to attend.  Three times a week of screening 
is very much of insufficient for Deaf people and their families because of their 
commitments whereas hearing people can go in anytime of the day and hours etc.  
 
 
We don’t believe that the exemption should be accepted as we have had enough 
of being discrimination not only by this cinemas, but Education, social life and so 
on. 
 
 
Thank you,
 
The Beasley family
 

 
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