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Hall of Fame: Interview with Frank Hall-Bentick

Interview by Penny Dodds

Frank Hall-Bentick has a life-long disability. His outstanding efforts have contributed to improving human rights for people with a disability.
He lives in Melbourne and has been involved in disability empowerment for the last thirty years. During this time he has been employed in the Equal Opportunity Unit of the Australian Public Service Board, as Coordinator of Disability Resources Centre and as a Disability Officer at Centrelink.

Since 1981, the International Year of Disabled Persons, Frank has been at the forefront of disability rights in local, state, national, regional and world organizations, founding and leading many of these groups. For the last fifteen years he has worked closely with the United Nations in Bangkok as Resource Person and invited Expert. More recently he has been an active member of the International Disability Caucus and its work on the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities in both Bangkok and New York.

During this time has received a number of Awards including

1992 – International Plaque awarded for distinguished and unstinting service in the cause People with Disabilities in the Asia Pacific Region,
2001 – Australian Centenary of Federation Award for long and outstanding service to disability organisations and People with Disabilities.

Frank continues to be involved in International, Regional, National and Local disability organisations and advisory committees.

Visit his website at http://home.connexus.net.au/~fhallbentick.

Frank, it is known that you love Aussie Rules Football. What team do you barrack for?

Fitzroy, now the Brisbane Lions. I lived in Fitzroy from ’56 to ’58 close to the old Brunswick Street Oval.

Why are you passionate about the issues surrounding disability? Who or what inspired you?

A sense of justice…I started school in 1959 at Altona Primary School and then in 1964 I boarded at the Yooralla schools at Balwyn, Mt Eliza and Carlton which was a very regimented, institutional system.

Throughout my working life I have assisted a lot of people with employment issues and become passionate about the wider issues surrounding disability.

From 1975 to 1984 I worked for the Australian Public Service with the Equal Employment Opportunity & Recruitment Sections. After 9 years I resigned to work as the Coordinator of the Disability Resources Centre from 1984 to 1993, and in September 2008 I retired after 15 years as Disability Officer at the Department of Social Security and Centrelink at Sunshine.

How did you become involved with the International Disability Convention Caucus?

Since 1984 I have been involved with international advocacy through the organisation ‘Disabled People’s International’. In 2003 I went to New York to a 2nd meeting of the UN Adhoc meeting to develop the Disability Convention. Lots of people with disabilities and our organisations attended to make sure the voices of people were heard by Governments in developing the convention. From 2003 to 2006 there was a lot of momentum and great development in the convention, in New York, in Regional Forums and through the internet and the ongoing work of the International Disability Caucus.

Why did we need a treaty to protect and promote the rights of people with disabilities?

Historically services (for people with disabilities) were based on a charity model, with services going to a privileged few. Even now, the majority of people with disabilities continue to be excluded from the education and employment sector, and other essential services. Because of this we need a legal basis for people to have protection of their human rights. The Convention will protect ‘human rights’ of people with disabilities and will allow people to get support they need for social inclusion, to have employment with real wages, to have family and to buy property. The treaty needs to be implemented in each country around the world, mandated under law nationally and internationally.

In a few sentences, how would you describe the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities?

It gives Australia a mandate to apply consistent disability policy across Australia. It gives a framework that the Federal Government can build on.

Has Australia ratified the Convention? And what does this mean?

The Convention was ratified on July 17th 2008. From this date the Federal Government must review its laws and implement new policies in line with the Convention. For example, the New Disability Strategy needs to ensure that it is based on the Human Rights framework of the Convention.

Take the highly publicised recent case of Dr Moeller. For Australia to discriminate on immigration on the basis of assumed cost factors of his son's disability would be a breach of the Disability Discrimination Act and the Convention, but at present federal immigration laws are exempt from compliance with the DDA. The Government need this exemption to protect Australia from any extra costs. Now that the Convention has been ratified this exemption could be challenged at the United Nations;

The Convention's optional protocol will be the mechanism to address violations of human rights through formal complaints processes. The United Nations Convention will allow for an independent panel of 12 people from all over the world to hear complaints to make sure that ‘human rights’ are being addressed.

What does the Convention mean for the “average” person with a disability? What can we expect now that we couldn’t before?

The Convention now gives the average person with a disability a direct link with the United Nations and other people with disabilities from every small corner around the world. No longer will abuse and discrimination of people with disabilities be hidden from the world.

If you could change one (or two) things in the world what would it be?

To meet ET!

To fund all the disability organisations that need funding.

However we do appreciate things more because we struggle for them! People need something bigger to struggle for; people with goals are happier….things won’t change overnight and the only way is to keep going and keep advocating.

Frank Hall-Bentnick

For more information on anything you’ve read here, please contact Penny or Leah in the GSNV office on (03) 8341-6315.