DisABILITY column for 1st August DISABILITY ACCESS NEWS - AUGUST 2000
In 1996 - 1997, with a great deal of help from my family, I founded the GBS and CIDP Support Network of Queensland Inc. A hard working committee based in Mossman now runs the group. They recently accessed $8,400 dollars from the Gaming Machine Fund. Brian Norris presented a special bed to the Mossman Hospital and it was my greatest pleasure to be asked to donate one of these electric beds and a special wheelchair to the Atherton Hospital. The staff and patients rave over them. Well done to all involved. There is also a National GBS Network now.
Jill Palmer, a member of the Queensland Consumer Advisory Group, has requested more information on mental disabilities in this column. More than pleased to comply!
I've had a lot of calls to discuss the new Regional Disability Council. Good news! The Cairns region will now be getting it's own Council. This means our area will have a full quota of representatives instead of sharing a Council with Townsville.
The Disability Network meeting in Cairns is on 8th August. Ph 40316009.
A group of women with disabilities in Victoria got together and wrote a book of short stories of their life experiences. What a good idea! I have two takers, anyone else interested in participating?
The Tableland Advocacy Development Group meets monthly in Atherton. All welcome. Phone Angie on 40912460.
The free Retinopathy Screening Unit will be at the Atherton Hospital 2 - 4 August. They will be in Chillagoe, Dimbulah, Malanda, Mareeba, Ravenshoe and Herberton. This is a painless procedure to test for diabetes. Phone your hospital or clinic to make an appointment.
Mr Rod Welford MLA tells me that "The Strategic Framework for Disability 2000 - 2005 was endorsed in 1999. This provides a strong foundation for planning, policy and service development across all Queensland Government Departments to meet the needs of people with disabilities." This means all Departments should have a disability policy and this should include fundamental issues such as physical access. When they adopt "best practice" instead of providing "minimum standards" we'll see a useable product.
Parking in a disability bay will cost you $60 in Brisbane. Their Council has pocketed over $22 million in fines since 1997.
Anyone wanting disability related information in this column Ph 4096 5684, Fax 4095 1184. Email gobie@cyberwizards.com.au
DisABILITY column for 8st August
A photographer will be coming to FNQ next week to take shots of people with disabilities accessing tourist outlets and icons of each area. These photos will be used for advertising purposes throughout Australia. Like to be involved? Phone me on 4096 5684.
Spoke with the Cairns City Council regarding access for cyclists, wheelchairs and gophers. They now have an expanded understanding of the problems we experience and a renewed dedication to providing access throughout the Cairns region.
Lenore Evans from the Cairns Bicycle Users Group writes, "A basic human right is the right to freedom of movement. Roads are the facility by which people move from place to place using any mode of transport they choose. This includes wheelchairs and gophers, tricycles and bikes. Road shoulders provide a safe alternative where footpaths do not exist. A balanced approach to bicycle and wheelchair transport on and off road is much needed in the North, especially across the Tableland where there is very little dedication to bicycle access. This is part of the integrated transport plan, documented in the FNQ Regional Plan that the Premier launched in Cairns on 25th July."
The Tableland Advocacy Discussion Group will meet at the Guide hall, Robert Street, Atherton on Thursday 10th at 9am. All welcome. Phone 4091 2460.
Is someone interested in starting a Bike Ed strategy up here? It's a free service through the Road Safety initiative and teaches our kids on bikes their road safety rules.
It has been brought to our attention that, "The aged care facility to be built on the Atherton side of Malanda will not, at present, afford residents the opportunity of accessing Malanda Township in their wheelchairs or gophers." Independence is so important to people with disabilities. I've written to the Eacham Shire Council.
The Eacham Shire Scouts made a valuable contribution to our community when they went on a wheelchair access tour of Malanda recently. They will write an essay on their experiences, and give it to the Council, on how they felt about not being able to do very much from a wheelchair in their hometown.
Robyn Gobert's DisABILITY column for 15th August
People are alert to disability related matters. A lady asked me to take a look at the equipment mounted on the wall up in the corner of the disability toilets in a Cairns shopping Centre. It had a date and time display and what she suspected to be a lens. No, it wasn't a camera to catch drug users, just a timed deodorant dispenser. Good to know folk are watching.
Mr Kevin Cocks, Executive Director of Queensland Advocacy Incorporated has stated that approximately 8,000 people with disabilities are living in privately run Hostels throughout Queensland and some live in appalling conditions. A Statewide network of community groups has demanded the Government hold a public inquiry into a situation in which there is often "gross neglect, scandalous health and safety conditions and unbridled abuse." Minister Anna Blight has rejected the call for an inquiry, saying that although she recognised the problem, any money should be used for service delivery and that the Government was aware of the problems and working on it.
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