From:
Jeremy.Muir@ntu.edu.au
Sent:
Friday, 19 May 2000 11:51
To:
disabdis@hreoc.gov.au
Subject:
ORTA
I
will be attending the Olympics! I use a
wheelchair for mobility! I will be
using
public transport as requested if not demanded, by SOCOG! I support no
exemptions!
Exemption
Application by ORTA Individual Comment
I support the following comments and submit my
comment regarding the
proposed
exemption to the Olympic Road Traffic Authority.
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!
Jeremy
Muir
Student
Facilitator, Equity & Projects
Equity
& Student Access
NTU
Casuarina
Campus
Darwin
NT 0909
Ph
08 89466288
Fax
08 89466654