Using A Law To Change Our Lives

The twentieth anniversary of the Disability Discrimination Act will be celebrated on Friday 1 March with the launch of twenty short films by Governor-General, Ms Quentin Bryce AC CVO, at Admiralty House.

Called Twenty Years:Twenty Stories, the Australian Human Rights Commission, in partnership with the Sydney Community Foundation, have made films showing how people have used this law to change their lives, and the lives of others.

Going to school, catching a bus, watching a movie or entering a building are things we do every day. But some of us have had to fight hard to be able to do them, Commissioner Innes said.

The Disability Discrimination Act provides Australians with disability - and their relatives or associates - with the chance to pursue a complaint if they are treated less favourably than other people in a range of areas of public life.

The purpose of these twenty short films is to show that the biggest barrier Australians with a disability face, is not disability itself but negative attitudes towards disability. They illustrate that people with disability can make rich contributions to society if barriers in our schools, universities, buildings and retail stores are removed.

"We want the portrayal of the DDA to be real. So not all of the stories you'll see are positive," said Commissioner Innes.

One story is of Marlon Noble, a man left in prison for ten years but never convicted of a crime;
Another is of Mark Hopper, a strong advocate for access in his community.

"Back in 1992, when I wanted to go to a coffee shop, I couldn't cross the road safely in my wheelchair. I rang the council and within 6 months they put in curbed ramping, there was a real negative vibe about change back then, but I persevered and now it's paying off because accessibility is standard in most places," said Mark Hopper.

Other films include that of promising young runner Sekou Kanneh who just wanted an equal chance to win, and of Scarlett Finney; denied enrolment at school because of her disability.

"They couldn't justify putting money towards building ramps just for one student, I wanted to stop them or other schools from preventing any student like me from attending the school of their choice," said Scarlett Finney.

The 20 stories will be available at http://www.humanrights.gov.au/twentystories/index.html from 6:15 PM.

Media contact: Neena Mairata (02) 9284 9862 or 0417 957 525

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