|
|
|
|
CONTENTS
ORTA and the Administrative Appeals DecisionThe Olympic Road and Traffic Authority (ORTA) has agreed to variations to its HREOC exemption following legal action by the Physical Disability Council of NSW. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal in Sydney decided (7 August) on a set of "Consent Orders" which vary the terms of the initial exemption to the DDA granted by HREOC. This is a victory for people with disability in NSW and a victory for common sense. ORTA and Bus 2000 may try to tell the world that nothing significant has happened or that they had always intended to do what the Consent Orders require of them, but it's pretty clear that by lodging the appeal we have managed to :
It is important that people with disability keep a close watch on the bus operators contracted by Bus 2000 to provide Olympic or Paralympic services since any breach of the AAT conditions negates the HREOC exemption. Please Email Dougie Herd pdcnsw@pdcnsw.org.au if any bus operators are not abiding by the conditions set out below. The result has not been a complete victory but PDCN believes that lodging the appeal and securing conditions has been worthwhile. The decision tells us how far we still have to go before the argument about barrier-free transport is won. PDCN thanks Kate Eastman who represented us at the AAT with the support of the staff at the Disability Discrimination Legal Centre NSW. We also thank People with Disabilities NSW who gave invaluable advice, support and a very helpful second opinion. . Conditions A. An accessible low floor bus supplied to or procured by ORTA and Bus 2000 Limited will not be sourced from those areas where: B. That ORTA and Bus 2000 Limited work with private and public bus operators from whom the accessible buses are sourced where there are regular users of those buses who have a mobility disability, to identify appropriate means of assisting those persons to access alternative transport services. C. That ORTA ensure that private and public operators from whom accessible buses are sourced where there are regular users of those buses, notify their customers of any proposed reduction in accessible bus services currently provided by them. So the state of play across Australia with respect to the ORTA exemption is as follows: ACT withdrew from the original application for exemption The decision of the NSW Attorney General’s Office is not yet known. PADP UpdateA delegation of Disability Sector representatives (John Moxon and Dougie Herd of PDCN, Diane Campbell of the Northcott Society and Wendy Harris of Paraquad NSW) participated in the PADP Advisory Committee Reference Group meeting at NSW Health on 9 August to discuss key details of our proposals to revise the eligibility criteria for PADP. We are hopeful that we are making progress towards the goal of a fairer PADP. At the meeting Alex Goodwin, Acting Director of NSW Health’s Policy Division confirmed that:
The key components of the changes they indicated they accept are
According to NSW Health Department modelling, the number of children eligible for support from PADP will double and the number of adults will increase between 20% and 30%. Last Wednesday’s meeting concentrated on: Low cost items. We have agreed that there be (essentially) no change to current policy. This means that PADP does not supply goods costing less than $100. Where an applicant has a need for a series of items each of which cost under $100 the applicant will contribute a maximum of $100 towards the combined costs of all items in any financial year. The requirement to pay $100 can / will be waived in cases of severe financial hardship. A paper on determining the basis for identifying high priority applicants for high cost items to set out a framework for managing the new eligibility criteria i.e. "how" to implement the new arrangements rather than "whether or not" to have new arrangements. More details later. Compensable applicants. We agreed that the current policy should remain, with slight amendment to take account of people whose compensation agreement / payment occurred a very long time ago (i.e. before the more realistic / needs based compensation schemes for some people today). Equipment list. More work on refining the basis on which lists are agreed, amended and used will be carried out (once the eligibility criteria discussion is done and dusted). No one should count any chickens before they're hatched, but we may be closer to a satisfactory result on PADP eligibility than we feared in July. Watch this space for the latest news. Wheelchair Accessible Taxis – CONFIDENTIAL Survey of usersThe Department of Transport has launched a survey of users of wheelchair accessible taxis in an attempt to compile statistically valid information about the experiences and views of people with disability. We have been told that some people who have been approached by the Department of Transport to take part in a telephone survey, have been reluctant to get involved. We understand this reluctance. We realise that people may be concerned that if they tell the truth about their experiences as wheelchair accessible taxis – often very bad experiences – they’ll be identified as trouble-makers or complainers. The disability sector representatives on the Wheelchair Accessible Taxi committee established by the Department of Transport have been told that responses to the survey will be 100%, cast-iron guaranteed, without a shadow of a doubt confidential. They have been told that no taxi operator will ever be allowed to know what any individual respondent said about his or her experiences. Given the guarantees that have been offered, if you have been asked to participate, we urge you to do so. We need hard data to back up the anecdotal evidence of how poor wheelchair accessible taxi services truly are. The survey, we believe, is an essential part of gathering that data. Information and Advocacy Services during Olympics and Paralympics
OPDAS plans to
OPDAS is open from 9:00am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday until 30 November 2000 and for extended hours during the actual period of the Games. Four Corners - A Disabilty ReportIf you believe that it is time for an
expose of what has been happening to disability policy over
the last few years, then there is something you can do about
it. On its Web site As Kevin Byrne wrote on the OZADVOCACY mailing list recently: "the gains we made are fast receding. It is beyond time that we do something about it." To remind readers about the last two years, we quote Sue Egan, Chief Executive Officer of the Physical Disability Council of Australia, who wrote the following on the OZADVOCACY list: "For too long the disability sector has sat back, patiently waiting for our society and government to recognise that we have rights - only to receive portions of equality, inclusion and participation when it doesn't cost anything! These 'favours' are doled out by governments who tell us to "be grateful for what you get, don't make a fuss, don't draw attention to your disability!" Draft Disability Standards for Education - ConsultationThe DDA Standards Project encourages people with a disability, parents and associates of people with a disability, advocates and anyone else interested in Education and students with a disability to attend a consultation on the Draft Disability Standards for Education. The Sydney consultation will be on Thursday 31st August, 11:00am - 2:00pm at 'Y on the Park Hotel and Conference Centre', YWCA Mary Jane Barker Rooms, 5 – 11 Wentworth Ave, Sydney. (Bring along your lunchbag). The purpose of the consultation is to Inform the disability sector of the detail of the Draft Standards; discuss the possible implications; and to listen to what the disability sector thinks of the draft Standards. If endorsed by the disability sector and Education providers, the Standards will replace the Disability Discrimination Act and shape the provision of education for students with a disability in the future because they will outline the Rights of Students with a disability and the Obligations of Education Providers. The major question is "will they strengthen or weaken the Rights of students with a disability in their current form?" Please RSVP 1800033660 TTY 03 95211200 to give an idea of numbers, but particularly to let them know of any support needs you might have. Without timely advice regarding support requirements, there is no guarantee that they will be available at the consultation. If you want to receive the Draft
Standards or read a position paper developed by the DDA
Project, Email ddasp@ozemail.com.au
or visit the web site Action Plan Register on HREOC Web SiteHREOC maintains a register of Action Plan on its Web site
This page together with
Welfare Reform ReportThe final report of the Welfare Reform Reference Committee is expected to be released this week. We will try to have an eBulletin sent out as soon possible next week.
Dougie Herd, PDCN Executive
Officer Tel: (02) 9552 1606; 1 800 688 831
PDC NSW Inc is funded by the NSW Government's Ageing and Disability Department. Views expressed by PDC NSW Inc are not necessarily endorsed by the NSW Government.
Bulletin Index | Our Publications |
|
||||
|
©PDCN,
Physical Disability Council of NSW
• 184 Glebe Point
Road, GLEBE NSW 2037 Australia |
|||||||
