From: Accessible Arts
[aarts@aarts.net.au]
Sent: Friday, 19 May 2000 13:00
To:
disabdis@hreoc.gov.au
Cc: pdca@ozemail.com.au
Subject:
<no subject>
Dear HREOC,
Re: Exemption Application from the
Olympic Road Traffic Authority
Accessible Arts (AArts) as the
peak NSW's based arts organisation working with people with disabilities
provides, on behalf of members and staff, the following response to the
exemption proposed by the Olympic Road Traffic Authority. As an
organisation that has contributed considerable time and effort to the
development of the cultural component of the Paralympics (Paralympics
Arts Festival) it is disappointing the Olympic Road Traffic Authority has
chosen to take this position. AArts encourages the HREOC to consider the
following when making a decision regarding the matter.
1.
The DDA has now been in existence since 1992 and Draft Accessible Transport
Standards were first approved by the Australian Transport Council as
'technically feasible' back in June 1996 - four years ago.
2. Some
State and Territory Governments have used those Standards as benchmarks and
have been purchasing only accessible buses since late 1994 early 95
3.
Why is it, given that NSW Dept of Transport knew in August 1994 that they
would be hosting the Olympics and paralympics, that they did not instigate a
similar purchasing policy as for example South Australia.
4. Since
late 1994, South Australia has purchased only accessible buses. Their total
fleet is 750 and they re-stock at approximately 50 new buses per year or 1
every week.
5. You don't have to be real smart to work out that the
total replacement of the fleet will take about 14 & 1/2 years or that in 4
years they will have approximately 200 accessible buses.
6. NSW has a
much bigger fleet I understand, so the number of buses purchased each year
would be greater than a small State like South Australia. Why is it that they
have not purchased more accessible buses? How many excuses have you heard
about the terrain being very difficult or not being sure about which ramps to
purchase, or calming devices preventing them from getting accessible buses??
7. I don't believe they have been genuinely trying to address
accessibility issues in transport and infrastructure to the full extent
possible. In fact, there has been considerable pressure from particular lobby
groups on the NSW Government to relax from the Transport Standards.
8.
This same lobby has also been the same isolated group which has opposed the
Accessible Transport Standards moving forward even though all States and
territories approved the Standards in April 1999. This same lobby has been
very active in Canberra with Ministers and senior public servants.
9.
8 years after the DDA, 4 years since the Transport Standards were approved by
the ATC as technically feasible and 12 months down the track since they were
'finally' approved by ATC, we do not Accessible Transport Standards in
Australia.
10. Our understanding is that all Federal government
Departments supported the Accessible Transport Standards moving forward except
1. Further, that this delay in one government Department is due to 1
individual who is linked back to the lobby group mentioned above.
11.
The disability community is getting more frustrated and angrier by the day as
these long and discriminatory delays hinder the long term development of a
fully accessible transport system for Australia.
12. An accessible
transport system is vital for our aging society where there continues to be a
proportional growth of our entire population with mobility disabilities.
13. If we don't plan to cater for this expansion (in the same way we
have done so with superannuation etc to promote self funded retirees),
transport operators are ignoring their biggest growth market in off-peak
travel and at the same time cause long term isolation and waste of
considerable human resources.
14. An accessible transport system is
essential if this Commonwealth government is serious about 'Welfare Reform'
and enabling the full participation of people with a disability in employment,
education and training and recreation.
Summary
If
the disability sector is being asked to comment on this proposed exemption for
the purpose of supporting this exemption, we believe there will be a very
negative response. Why should the disability sector support this embarrassing
situation where both the ORTA and the NSW government have demonstrated a lack
of real commitment to implementing accessible transport and infrastructure?
Why?
The NSW government have also stated at ATC meetings that they
would only support the DDA Transport Standards conditional to Commonwealth
funding. This is seen yet again as a low level commitment to accessible
transport. This one opportunity to showcase to the world via the Olympics, a
fairer, smarter and equitable transport system is now going to be lost.
The only way that the disability sector could be persuaded to support
the exemption would be for a real commitment by the NSW and Commonwealth
governments to accessible transport. That commitment could be
demonstrated by the immediate promulgation of the Accessible Transport
Standards in Federal parliament as they were approved by the Australian
Transport Council (ATC) on April 30, 1999.
I therefore, do not
support the granting of the exemption.
WE
WILL RIDE - AND WITHOUT COMPROMISE!