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2007 Election: YouTube Video of Policy Statements at the Disability Election Forum
Candidates from major political parties, including Jan McLucas (ALP), Mal Brough (Liberal), Lyn Allison (Democrat), Junelle Rhodes (Carers' Alliance), Rachel Siewert (Greens), and Annette Ellis (ALP), were invited to the AGM to share their thoughts on policy in the area of disability. Here's your chance to hear what they had to say...
There has been some media coverage of the Disability Election Forum held in conjunction with the AGM of the Association for Children with a Disability. The Association is encouraging people with disabilities and their families to write letters to the relevant editors in response to these articles so that the issues around disability will continue to be on the public agenda. Visit the Association for Children with a Disability website to learn more. If you are unfamiliar with writing letters to the editor, you can find some good guidelines at the OurCommunity website.
Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Forums
The Department of Human Services (DHS), Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) and the Victorian Council of Social Services (VCOSS) are offering a series of full-day forums in Melbourne and regional Victoria on the new Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities.
Topics will include:
- Human rights in the Victorian and international context;
- The Charter: mechanisms, legal and non-legal remedies, role of the VEOHRC;
- Responsibilities of public authorities;
- Strategies for building Charter readiness;
- Using the Charter for best practice, policy review, program delivery;
- Advocacy and the Charter: strategies for engagement.
Forums are aimed at staff in organisations responsible for management, policy development and implementation, and human resources and training. DHS-funded organisations, DHS staff, local government and statutory authorities will have priority registration. Registrations from non-DHS funded agencies will be accepted if places are available.
The forums are being held from August until November around Victoria. More information can be found in the attached document.
To register your interest in attending one of the forums, please call 03 9654 5050 or email vcoss@vcoss.org.au
Advocacy opportunity: Review of the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport
Submissions are being invited for the five-year review of the Australian Government's Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport, either at public hearings being held around Australia or via email until Friday 24 August.
Stakeholders are invited to lodge a submission addressing the review's terms of reference. Submissions will be guided by the review Issues Paper, which is available for download at the DDA Transport Review Website.
The Issues Paper sets out the key issues for this review, and provides questions for stakeholders to respond to in their submissions (and at public hearings).
- Each submission should be accompanied by the submission cover sheet (12 Kb rtf file) in which submitting individuals and organisations can provide personal and organisational details not for publication. For submissions received from individuals, all personal details, other than name and state or territory of residence, (e.g. home address, home phone number) will be removed from the text of the submission before it is made publicly available. This is to ensure compliance with privacy laws.
- Submissions will be accepted through to 5pm on August 24th 2007.
- All submissions will be treated as public documents and made available on this website unless the documents are clearly marked on the coversheet as being provided 'IN CONFIDENCE'.
- Submissions can be made in electronic, audio or printed format, however electronic format is preferred as this facilitates their publication on the website. The electronic version should be a text document (.txt, .rtf), a Microsoft Word document (.doc) or similar text format (NOT Adobe Portable Document File (.pdf) format) in order to make them accessible for people using assistive technology, e.g. screen readers.
A copy of the current Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport can be found at the Australian Government website here.
Linking people with communication or speech difficulties into telecommunications - CAUS
CAUS is a provider of services to people with disabilities. Its new national project links people with communication or speech difficulties into telecommunications. The project will involve meeting with people who experience communication or speech difficulties throughout Australia and identifying their telecommunication needs e.g. mobiles, national relay service, internet, telephones and any barriers preventing them from accessing these services. CAUS will promote and raise awareness about telecommunication to people who experience speech and communication difficulties and ensure that appropriate training and support exists to build confidence in using the technology provided. Focus groups will be held in each major city Australia-wide in early 2007 and questionnaires will be available to fill out. For more information, or to participate, visit www.caus.com.au or phone 03 9557 5551, rural: 1800 995 383 or email mwilliams@caus.com.au.
GSNV takes on Secretariat role in the AGA
There are more than 1000 genetic support groups in Australasia. The Australasian Genetic Alliance (AGA) facilitates networking between these groups, health professionals and patients and families to improve community and professional knowledge of genetic conditions, their impact and available services.
The Alliance has taken a lead advocacy role in representing members’ interests in national genetics issues. The AGA provides written and verbal submissions to Government and others in the field of genetics and participates with like bodies nationally to further represent Genetic Support Groups and their members.
The Australasian Genetic Alliance (AGA) is an alliance between genetic support and advocacy networks from around Australia and New Zealand. GSNV is one of the founding members of the Alliance and continues to be very active within the Alliance to represent people in Victoria affected by genetic conditions and their families.
Because the AGA has no funds of its own, duties are shared between all participating groups. The Secretariat rotates between member groups every two years.
From July 2007, the GSNV will take up the mantle of Secretariat to the AGA. This means GSNV will be the official contact point for the AGA. The AGA Co-Chairs from July will be GSNV’s Vice President and immediate-past President, Mr Tony Briffa, and our multi-talented Coordinator, Leah Lonsdale.
If you have something you would like raised at a National/Australasian level, you can contact Tony on (03) (03) 9315 8809, or Leah at GSNV on (03) 8341 6315.
Want to know more about the AGA? Visit www.australasiangeneticalliance.org.au
New guideline for making payphones more accessible to people with disabilities
A new industry guideline to ensure that payphones are accessible for people with disabilities has been developed by Communications Alliance and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC).
The Accessibility of Payphones Industry Guideline (G630:2006) sets benchmarks that can be used in the design, siting and installation of payphones.
The guideline states that payphones should be installed so they can be more easily accessed by people with wheelchairs or other mobility aids; they should have features including volume control so that people with hearing impairments can use the phone; and they should have other features such as keys that are recessed or concave, with clear lettering and/or numbering that allows easy use for people with vision impairments or other physical disabilities.
Communications Alliance, in collaboration with HREOC, brought together representatives from government, the payphone industry and the disability sector to develop a draft guideline, which was subsequently released for public comment. After consideration of the responses, the guideline was finalized and approved by the Communications Alliance board last Friday, 1 December.
Communications Alliance CEO Anne Hurley encouraged payphone manufacturers, installers and operators to use the guideline in their disability action plans as a new benchmark for payphone accessibility in Australia.
“Publication of this guideline represents a commitment to the development of industry-wide best practices for increasing the level of accessibility of payphones and thus to a narrowing of the digital divide,” Ms Hurley said.
Human Rights Commissioner and Commissioner responsible for Disability Discrimination, Graeme Innes, said there was a growing number of Australians with particular needs for whom communications equipment, including payphones, must be accessible.
“Although adoption of this guideline by the payphone industry is voluntary, we are encouraged by the cooperative spirit that has gone into its development and see this as an important achievement,” Mr Innes said.
The guideline can be viewed and downloaded from the Communications Alliance website.
Do you work full- or part-time while caring for someone with a disability? This website may be for you. While it’s based in NSW (making its services directory less relevant for Victorian readers), there’s lots of information on self-care, money matters, negotiating with employers, working with support services and all sorts of other goodies – as well as a dictionary of medical terms, personal stories, a newsletter, and information for employers. If you’re online, it’s certainly worth a look. Follow this link to read an extract from their Factsheet for Employers: Carers and Work.
UN General Assembly Adopts Groundbreaking Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities
On December 13, the UN General Assembly adopted the first new human rights treaty of the twenty-first century marking the culmination of nearly two decades of work on protecting and promoting the rights of persons with disabilities and a major shift in the way the world treats its 650 million disabled people.
The Convention was the most rapidly elaborated instrument ever, accomplished in just three years because of the dedication of its supporters, including a large segment of civil society who had lobbied heavily both in person and over the Internet, including with Governments.
Don MacKay (New Zealand), Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities, said that, theoretically there was no need for a new Convention as existing human rights instruments already applied to persons with disabilities in the same way they applied to everyone else. Unfortunately, however, that was not the reality. The Convention was a “benchmark for future standards and action”. The key would be effective implementation, which required coordinated action by disability organizations, cooperation among States and the mainstreaming of disabilities issues into development assistance programmes.
All delegations agreed that the Convention’s adoption ushered in an important paradigm shift towards recognizing disabled persons as rights holders and active members of society rather than objects of charity.
The Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities is founded on the principles of:
(a) Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one’s own choices, and independence of persons;
(b) Non-discrimination;
(c) Full and effective participation and inclusion in society;
(d) Respect for difference and acceptance of disability as part of human diversity and humanity;
(e) Equality of opportunity;
(f) Accessibility;
(g) Equality between men and women;
(h) Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities.
(quoted from Article 3 of the Convention)
Further articles of the convention include accessibility, equal recognition before the law, freedom of expression and access to information, liberty and security of the person, respect of privacy, living independently and being included in the community, education, health, work and employment, and adequate living and social protection standards. Follow this link to read the full text of the convention.
Siblings Australia Needs your Help
We have been advised that Siblings Australia will be forced to close in the New Year unless immediate funding is secured. At the November meeting last week, the Siblings Australia Board of Management reluctantly agreed that steps must be taken to wind down the organisation. Their Office Manager is now on indefinite unpaid leave and, from the start of the New Year, the Director, Kate Strohm, will be working voluntarily, with some others, to manage critical tasks and continue to seek funding. Their limited remaining funds can then be stretched to cover rent, phone and insurance commitments for a few additional months in 2007.
In the hope that you appreciate and understand the importance of the role played by Siblings Australia, in supporting siblings of children with special needs, we appeal to you for help to lobby key government ministers and to alert the public to the impending loss of this crucial organisation.
Here's what you can do:
-
Read the attached document and forward it to people you know by email, notice board, newsletter or website, etc
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Write a letter of support for Siblings Australia ( see sample) to your local Member of Parliament and the Commonwealth Ministers for Families and Communities, Health, and Education ( see email addresses). Please cc us so we can keep track of responses.
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Write a letter of support to the Editors of the major national and state newspapers, particularly the Australian and, if you have other media contacts, tell them about our situation
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If we once again become viable, please consider becoming involved with Siblings Australia as member (individual or organisation details from our office), or providing a tax-deductible donation
It will be a shameful waste if governments and the community do not harness the experience and expertise developed by Siblings Australia over the last 7 years. With your support, we can ensure siblings stop falling through the gap.
Research project - Questionnaire for parents/carers who are working full-time & caring for a child with chronic illness/disability.
Are you working full-time and caring for a disabled or chronically ill child? If so, your participation in a University of Western Sydney national survey would be appreciated. Its aim is to identify your needs and provide valuable information to plan better support services for you.
Your participation will involve completing a questionnaire and returning it in a reply-paid envelope that will be provided. It will take about 25-40 minutes of your time and your confidentiality and anonymity will be maintained. Questionnaires can be obtained from Ajesh George on 02 9845 0422, or completed online at www.workingandcaring.org. For further information about this study, please call: Professor Lesley Wilkes on 02 4734 3181, Email: mcmanua@wahs.nsw.gov.au
Draft UN Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities
Negotiators drafting a United Nations convention to ‘promote,
protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights
and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to
promote respect for their inherent dignity’ have reached agreement
on a text to be put forward to the UN General Assembly this year.
The principles of the Convention (quoted from Article 1) are:
(a) Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including
the freedom to make one’s own choices, and independence of
persons;
(b) Non-discrimination;
(c) Full and effective participation and inclusion in society;
(d) Respect for difference and acceptance of disability as part
of human diversity and humanity;
(e) Equality of opportunity;
(f) Accessibility;
(g) Equality between men and women;
(h) Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities
and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve
their identities.
Other articles of the convention include accessibility, equal
recognition before the law, freedom of expression and access to
information, liberty and security of the person, respect of privacy,
living independently and being included in the community, education,
health, work and employment, and adequate standards of living and
social protection. The full text of the convention can be found
at http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/ahc8adart.htm,
and is well worth a read.
Further articles can be found on the People
with Disabilities website and on the UN
website.
Coalition for Disability Rights
The Coalition for Disability Rights brings together people with
disabilities, families, carers, advocacy bodies, peak bodies and
disability support provider organisations to work together for a
fairer deal for people with disabilities and their families. With
the State Election approaching, the Coalition has put together a
Call to Political Parties, and is calling for all participating
political parties make commitments in the areas of Children and
Young People, Community Living, Life Activities, Respite Services,
Aids and Equipment, Investing in inclusion and inclusive communities,
Investing in sustainability and modernisation of disability supports,
Health, Supporting Citizenship, and Whole of Government.
Interested? Want to get involved? Download
the Call to Political Parties, or check out their Campaign
Kit for ideas about politicians to email, chat shows to phone
in to, newspapers to write to - and what to say in your emails,
phone calls and letters!
Victorian State Election - a Who's
Who of parties and policies
With the State Election approaching, we have been scanning the
websites of the participating political parties for policies relating
to genetics, health, carers, education for special needs children,
and anything else that might be of interest to our members. The
GSNV does not endorse any political parties - but we do endorse
informed and educated voting! With this in mind, we have prepared
a list of all the political parties participating in the upcoming
election, with links to their websites and policy pages. We've also
prepared 'sneak previews' of some of their policies, extracted from
their policy documents.
We have tried to be evenhanded in representing the individual parties,
by quoting directly from the most relevant policy statements - but
we encourage you to visit the websites - or your local politicians!
- to get the complete picture.
Visit the GSNV's Election
Special Feature
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