From: Jennifer Muir [jenny_muir@imagofilms.com]

Sent: Wednesday, 24 May 2000 16:11

To: disabdis@hreoc.gov.au

Subject: PETITION

 

 

 

Below is a document developed in response to an application for

exemption to the

Disability Discrimination Act (1992) ) (known as the DDA) by the Olympic

Road

Transport Authority.  This application has been made to the Human Rights

and Equal

Opportunities Commission and essentially means that any accessible buses

already in

existence in other states (about 150 in Brisbane alone) will be sent to

Sydney during the

8 week period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sept/October to

transport the

tourists and visitors to Sydney, while people with disabilities in the

others states have

had no alternate  arrangements made for them!

 

We strongly object to this proposed exemption and call on all people

with disabilities,

their families and supporters across the world as well as organisations

working for and

supporting people with disabilities to forward this protest document in

their own

names, to let HREOC know that we do not want this to happen, we do not

want to

lose what little transport options we have because of the short

sightedness and lack of

proper planning by the Olympic Committees, nor do we want to protect

those who will

not provide for our needs, so that the Olympic Road Traffic Authority

doesn't get egg

on its face during the forthcoming events!  This should have been

thought about and

planned for, many years ago, rather than expecting the disability

community to go

without transport in other areas of Australia during this time.

 

Register your displeasure by sending this document under your own name

to

disabdis@hreoc.gov.au

 

The Exemption Application by ORTA - reasons why we do not support an

exemption:

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 an 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 nfrastructure? Why?

 

The New South Wales (NSW) government have also stated at Australian

Transport

Council 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.

 

The world is watching you, Australia

 

I  therefore, do not support the granting of the exemption.

 

Anthony Davison