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Welcome to No: 42 of THE PDCN BULLETIN. This Bulletin goes out to PDCN members and others who wish to receive it regularly by email. Internet links are included throughout the bulletin for further reading. Please forward this bulletin to anyone you know would welcome it.

1. Were you able to get into your polling place to vote?

When you went to vote in the local government elections on the 13 September 2008 were you able to gain access to the building? If this was not your experience, and you went to vote in one of the following local government areas please contact Jordana Goodman at the Physical Disability Council of NSW and tell her about your experience.

Phone: 1800 688 831

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Local government areas: Bland, Blaney Shire, Bogan, Bombala, Boorowa, Bourke, Brewarrina, Burwood, Byron, Cabone Shire, Cowra, Dungag, Forbes, Glen Innes, Gloucester, Goulburn, Guyra, Junee, Kempsey, Lane Cove, Lithgow, Lockhart, Mulwaree, Muswellbroook, Narrandera, Narromine, Temora, Tunmut, Upper Lachlan, Walcha, Weddin, Wingecarribee, Yass

2. Does your doctor have an adjustable examination table?

Since 2003 there has been an increasing awareness of the need for adjustable examination tables in medical General Practices. When a GP (general practitioner) is unable to perform an appropriate examination because a patient cannot transfer onto an examination table, the patient receives poor quality and inequitable health care.

The Physical Disability Council of NSW (PDCN) understands that some GPs now use adjustable examination tables, but we do not know how common this is.

3. Submission: National Disability Strategy

As part of an ongoing commitment to the rights of people with disability, the Australian Government is developing a National Disability Strategy. To ensure the Strategy is practical and effective, the department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) developed a discussion paper to facilitate public discussion.

Our policy officer Jordana Goodman, on behalf of the Physical Disability Council of NSW (PDCN) prepared a response to this discussion paper. In brief: "The Physical Disability Council of NSW supports the adoption of a National Disability Strategy aiming to enhance community participation, whilst reducing the incidence of discrimination and poverty. Reforms to Government policies, programs and directives need to incorporate the following key principles:

• Promote social inclusion;
• Enhance self- determination;
• Non- discriminatory;
• Responsive to individual need;
• Age appropriate;
• Quality services;
• A coordinated whole of government approach recognising the many interconnecting components of peoples' lives; and an
• Understanding of the particular needs of children and women with disabilities."

To read this response in full, it is available on the PDCN website for download. Please click here to read.

4. Words Matter - 2nd Edition

As part of International Day of People with a Disability 2008, PDCN launched its second edition of the publication Words Matter. Copies of the new Words Matter Language Guide are now available on our website www.pdcnsw.org.au

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