Comments for Disability Rights Blog http://www.ahrcblog.com A project by the Australian Human Rights Commission Wed, 24 Aug 2011 04:14:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Comment on Articles on inadequate recognition of disability in Census by Kathleen Tozer http://www.ahrcblog.com/2011/08/10/articles-on-inadequate-recognition-of-disability-in-census/#comment-3066 Kathleen Tozer Wed, 24 Aug 2011 04:14:02 +0000 http://www.ahrcblog.com/?p=258#comment-3066 I believe that Stella Young and Craig Wallace are completely correct when they say that the Census has again missed the opportunity to gather information correctly about ALL people who identify as having a disability. I suffer from a disability myself but as it it is not a visual disability to a member of the public or future employer it certainly can effect my employment chances or an employers attitude toward me when I may state what that disability is, it also prevents me from driving which also cuts down my chances of employment. Although I am well qualified I have suffered discrimination in the past due to my disability. Education & awareness to all members of the public of ALL disabilities need to be established so the true numbers need to be available for this to happen so the correct channels can be put into place for this to be addressed. I believe that Stella Young and Craig Wallace are completely correct when they say that the Census has again missed the opportunity to gather information correctly about ALL people who identify as having a disability.
I suffer from a disability myself but as it it is not a visual disability to a member of the public or future employer it certainly can effect my employment chances or an employers attitude toward me when I may state what that disability is, it also prevents me from driving which also cuts down my chances of employment. Although I am well qualified I have suffered discrimination in the past due to my disability. Education & awareness to all members of the public of ALL disabilities need to be established so the true numbers need to be available for this to happen so the correct channels can be put into place for this to be addressed.

]]> Comment on COAG endorses NDIS by Jill Fowler http://www.ahrcblog.com/2011/08/22/coag-endorses-ndis/#comment-3027 Jill Fowler Mon, 22 Aug 2011 03:28:28 +0000 http://www.ahrcblog.com/?p=274#comment-3027 I would like to congratulate all of the men, women and children who have worked towards the revolution of disability funding and services through the Productivity Report, the consultations and the campaigning with EveryAustralianCounts. We all deserve to have access to rights based disability services, equipment and programs. Jill Fowler HC Harrison Consultants P/L I would like to congratulate all of the men, women and children who have worked towards the revolution of disability funding and services through the Productivity Report, the consultations and the campaigning with EveryAustralianCounts. We all deserve to have access to rights based disability services, equipment and programs.
Jill Fowler
HC Harrison Consultants P/L

]]> Comment on National Disability Strategy endorsed by Ray Bange http://www.ahrcblog.com/2011/02/14/national-disability-strategy-endorsed/#comment-2240 Ray Bange Sat, 11 Jun 2011 04:24:31 +0000 http://www.ahrcblog.com/?p=85#comment-2240 In raising the matter of closed captions for those of us who are hearing impaired with the AUSTAR company I was advised that ASTRA is the subscription television industry's peak body, and it has developed a Code of Practice which is available for view at www.astra.org.au. AUSTAR says it complies with the ASTRA Code, which includes reference to the industry's approach to closed captioning (section 2.4 of the ASTRA Code). Furthermore, they say ASTRA has agreed a captioning roll-out plan with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission which sets out the subscription television industry's commitment to the growth of closed captioning. Subscription television providers, including AUSTAR and our channels, are always looking to review and revise that plan for the years to come. My observation to AUSTAR was that there appear to be a number of programs that I have seen captioned but which do not appear to be broadcast as such. Could you please advise me of what the exact position is in relation to the "commitment" mentioned above and what statistics are available to show the extent of closed captioning broadcast by people such as AUSTAR. What exactly is the 'roll-out" schedule and is it being met? A commitment may be little more than a form of words and I'd also be interested in the rate of growth of closed captioning as a percentage of total broadcast time over a reasonable time period (say 5 years). Research into hearing impairment in Australia shows that the prevalence of hearing impairment increases steeply from about age 50 onwards and is more pronounced for males than females. Using different threshold levels will affect the perceived loss but widely accepted levels for hearing impairment(>25dBHTL) is of the order of 22% for the worse ear and approximately 17% for the better ear. This means that about one-fifth of the population have a level of impairment that is likely to be causing some speech discrimination difficulty. Above 70 years of age the proportion materially affected (impaired) under the same criteria leaps to well over 80%. Unfortunately that is now my situation as well. In my view there's a substantial proportion of the potential audience base that is being under-served if we do not optimise the use of closed captions, but I'd like to know the policy and actual practice situation before going further. Sincerely, Ray Bange M 0412 723 821 In raising the matter of closed captions for those of us who are hearing impaired with the AUSTAR company I was advised that ASTRA is the subscription television industry’s peak body, and it has developed a Code of Practice which is available for view at http://www.astra.org.au. AUSTAR says it complies with the ASTRA Code, which includes reference to the industry’s approach to closed captioning (section 2.4 of the ASTRA Code).
Furthermore, they say ASTRA has agreed a captioning roll-out plan with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission which sets out the subscription television industry’s commitment to the growth of closed captioning. Subscription television providers, including AUSTAR and our channels, are always looking to review and revise that plan for the years to come.
My observation to AUSTAR was that there appear to be a number of programs that I have seen captioned but which do not appear to be broadcast as such.

Could you please advise me of what the exact position is in relation to the “commitment” mentioned above and what statistics are available to show the extent of closed captioning broadcast by people such as AUSTAR. What exactly is the ‘roll-out” schedule and is it being met?

A commitment may be little more than a form of words and I’d also be interested in the rate of growth of closed captioning as a percentage of total broadcast time over a reasonable time period (say 5 years).

Research into hearing impairment in Australia shows that the prevalence of hearing impairment increases steeply from about age 50 onwards and is more pronounced for males than females. Using different threshold levels will affect the perceived loss but widely accepted levels for hearing impairment(>25dBHTL) is of the order of 22% for the worse ear and approximately 17% for the better ear. This means that about one-fifth of the population have a level of impairment that is likely to be causing some speech discrimination difficulty.

Above 70 years of age the proportion materially affected (impaired) under the same criteria leaps to well over 80%. Unfortunately that is now my situation as well.

In my view there’s a substantial proportion of the potential audience base that is being
under-served if we do not optimise the use of closed captions, but I’d like to know the policy and actual practice situation before going further.
Sincerely,
Ray Bange
M 0412 723 821

]]> Comment on Discrimination law review news by Peter Viney http://www.ahrcblog.com/2011/05/13/discrimination-law-review-news/#comment-2222 Peter Viney Tue, 07 Jun 2011 05:53:32 +0000 http://www.ahrcblog.com/?p=190#comment-2222 The new law should enable the Commission to investigate and make legally enforceable determinations in respect of breaches of discrimination laws. The Commission would then be required to defend its decisions before the courts if required. This is similar to other arrangements relating to workplace safety etc. A legally sanctioned conciliation process should also be included prior to the determination stage. The reason for this suggestion is that in practice it can cost many tens of thousands of dollars to litigate a matter (a figure of $60K was mentioned in the recent case of a former Woodside executive to resolve a sex discrimination matter). For many people with a disability this denies them the practical potential to exercise their rights. The proposed arrangements would ensure that discrimination rights existed in practice for all Australians. The new law should enable the Commission to investigate and make legally enforceable determinations in respect of breaches of discrimination laws. The Commission would then be required to defend its decisions before the courts if required. This is similar to other arrangements relating to workplace safety etc. A legally sanctioned conciliation process should also be included prior to the determination stage.

The reason for this suggestion is that in practice it can cost many tens of thousands of dollars to litigate a matter (a figure of $60K was mentioned in the recent case of a former Woodside executive to resolve a sex discrimination matter). For many people with a disability this denies them the practical potential to exercise their rights. The proposed arrangements would ensure that discrimination rights existed in practice for all Australians.

]]> Comment on Premises standards update by Jill Fowler http://www.ahrcblog.com/2011/01/24/premises-standards-update/#comment-1388 Jill Fowler Fri, 25 Mar 2011 03:53:06 +0000 http://www.ahrcblog.com/?p=77#comment-1388 AHRC always makes me feel that this is a serious topic and I rely on the Disability Rights pages to inform me and keep me up to date. It's a valuable resource and makes my job easier. I'm able to use this website as an information source for clients and others in the community who are interested in Access to Premises. Information is easy to read and understand. Disability Rights unit does a great job! Thanks! AHRC always makes me feel that this is a serious topic and I rely on the Disability Rights pages to inform me and keep me up to date. It’s a valuable resource and makes my job easier. I’m able to use this website as an information source for clients and others in the community who are interested in Access to Premises. Information is easy to read and understand. Disability Rights unit does a great job! Thanks!

]]> Comment on Education standards review by editor http://www.ahrcblog.com/2010/12/22/education-standards-review/#comment-1029 editor Wed, 23 Feb 2011 04:40:28 +0000 http://www.ahrcblog.com/?p=65#comment-1029 Please note, the closing date for submissions to the Disability Standards for Education Review has been extended to Thursday 21 April 2011. For more information about the review, please go to the Review webpage www.deewr.gov.au/DSEReview Please note, the closing date for submissions to the Disability Standards for Education
Review has been extended to Thursday 21 April 2011.

For more information about the review, please go to the Review webpage http://www.deewr.gov.au/DSEReview

]]> Comment on Help us improve our communication by editor http://www.ahrcblog.com/2010/12/22/help-us-improve-our-communication/#comment-958 editor Tue, 15 Feb 2011 22:33:58 +0000 http://www.ahrcblog.com/?p=63#comment-958 Thanks Bob, yes we have come to the same view. The issue we were concerned about wasn't the time here to do the email alerts, it was that we wanted to know that the alerts were something people still wanted i.e. that we hadn't become spammers without meaning to! Thanks Bob, yes we have come to the same view. The issue we were concerned about wasn’t the time here to do the email alerts, it was that we wanted to know that the alerts were something people still wanted i.e. that we hadn’t become spammers without meaning to!

]]> Comment on Help us improve our communication by Bob Triming http://www.ahrcblog.com/2010/12/22/help-us-improve-our-communication/#comment-956 Bob Triming Tue, 15 Feb 2011 18:01:07 +0000 http://www.ahrcblog.com/?p=63#comment-956 I prefer the alerts to this blog on the disability rights update email list and feel it should be continued. Being a volunteer for 5 different organisations with two of those being a local and a regional Access Committee I am busy and find these reminders in this list most convenient. Besides - surely it does'nt take much to include. I prefer the alerts to this blog on the disability rights update email list and feel it should be continued.

Being a volunteer for 5 different organisations with two of those being a local and a regional Access Committee I am busy and find these reminders in this list most convenient.

Besides – surely it does’nt take much to include.

]]> Comment on National Disability Strategy endorsed by Tweets that mention National Disability Strategy endorsed | Disability Rights Blog -- Topsy.com http://www.ahrcblog.com/2011/02/14/national-disability-strategy-endorsed/#comment-948 Tweets that mention National Disability Strategy endorsed | Disability Rights Blog -- Topsy.com Mon, 14 Feb 2011 22:00:33 +0000 http://www.ahrcblog.com/?p=85#comment-948 [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Joseph Ortenzi, Ruth Ellison. Ruth Ellison said: Australian National Disability Strategy endorsed by Council of Australian Governments http://bit.ly/haHKZh #accessibility #a11y [...] [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Joseph Ortenzi, Ruth Ellison. Ruth Ellison said: Australian National Disability Strategy endorsed by Council of Australian Governments http://bit.ly/haHKZh #accessibility #a11y [...]

]]> Comment on Help us improve our communication by Michael Taggart http://www.ahrcblog.com/2010/12/22/help-us-improve-our-communication/#comment-324 Michael Taggart Wed, 22 Dec 2010 05:07:38 +0000 http://www.ahrcblog.com/?p=63#comment-324 I must have missed the DR Updates about new blog postings. I really like getting notice of such blog postings and I think this would be done best by having a subject line such as: New blog posting - feedback on disability rights communication..." so I know that it is a new blog and if there is space a brief description although that is not essential. I also like the idea of "topic specific" items as part of my role as Access Officer is to distribute information to relevant managers. This would be convenient for me but if it makes life dificult for other reders I am happy to deal with a "jumbo" blog. One question you didn't ask but which I think is important is how to best notify readers of say the last month's (3 months? six months? years?) conciliation outcomes and court decisions. I use a JAWS 12 screen reader so that may be part of the picture about this issue. I am interested in decisions and conciliations relating to local government and find it slow to go through the website links. Could some sort of digest or abstract be provided with a link to the full report? Tracking case law and conciliated outcomes is important for local government access and inclusion staff. I must have missed the DR Updates about new blog postings. I really like getting notice of such blog postings and I think this would be done best by having a subject line such as: New blog posting – feedback on disability rights communication…” so I know that it is a new blog and if there is space a brief description although that is not essential. I also like the idea of “topic specific” items as part of my role as Access Officer is to distribute information to relevant managers. This would be convenient for me but if it makes life dificult for other reders I am happy to deal with a “jumbo” blog.

One question you didn’t ask but which I think is important is how to best notify readers of say the last month’s (3 months? six months? years?) conciliation outcomes and court decisions. I use a JAWS 12 screen reader so that may be part of the picture about this issue. I am interested in decisions and conciliations relating to local government and find it slow to go through the website links. Could some sort of digest or abstract be provided with a link to the full report? Tracking case law and conciliated outcomes is important for local government access and inclusion staff.

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