From:	Olympia Tzanoudakis 
To:	disabdis
Subject:	access to cinemas

Importance:	High

 
To whom it may concern,
 
 
I wish to voice my strongest objection to the request by Village Roadshow,Greater 
Union, Hoyts and Reading Cinemas  for an exemption from the Disability 
Discrimination Act for a period of two and a half years,  so that they may not provide  
captioning and other accessible aids for people who need these to access the 
cinemas.
 
If this exemption is granted, it would mean that a great number of people with vision 
impairment or who are deaf or hard of hearing would not be able to go to the cinema. 
This is a basic right and should be protected. Why should they not have the same right 
to attend the cinema as the rest of the community?
 
I believe, the decision by the cinema group to apply for this exemption is naive and  
has the potential to damage their reputation. Please do not legalise this discrimination.
 
Regards,
 
 
 
Olympia Tzanoudakis
Advocacy and Community Inclusion Worker
Community Learning and Living
Therapy - Independence - Empowerment
Yooralla