Advocates attack organisers of disability summit for lack of inclusion

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This was published 9 years ago

Advocates attack organisers of disability summit for lack of inclusion

By Beau Donelly
Updated

Disability advocates have slammed the organisers of a national disability conference after a speaker was carried onto the stage — because it was not wheelchair accessible.

Attendees at the 2015 National Disability Summit said people with disabilities were actively excluded from participating in the event run by Informa Australia at Melbourne's Sheraton Hotel last week, including being relegated to tables around the edge and back of the room.

Deborah Haygarth being carried off stage by organisers at the National Disability Summit in Melbourne

Deborah Haygarth being carried off stage by organisers at the National Disability Summit in MelbourneCredit: Supplied

Disability activist Jax Jacki Brown said she was appalled when speaker Deborah Haygarth, who has multiple sclerosis, was forced to get out of her power wheelchair and was lifted up the stairs onto the stage.

"At first I thought they were going to pull a ramp out from somewhere … they obviously knew who she is and that she's a wheelchair user and they had invited her to speak," she said.

Disability advicate Jax Jacki Brown

Disability advicate Jax Jacki Brown

"When I saw her struggling and people getting on either side of her and then her walking rather slowly up onto the stage, I thought clearly there's going to be some acknowledgement of how this really isn't inclusion of people with disabilities. There wasn't.

"It's a massive oversight and more than that, it's direct exclusion."

Advocate Jarrod Marrinon said the lack of planning was very disappointing.

Mr Marrinon, also a wheelchair user, said that at the end of the session Ms Haygarth was left waiting awkwardly for someone to help her leave the stage.

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"It's just not good enough for 2015 and it's not good enough for a disability conference," he said.

"I found the whole event very segregating between able bodied people and people with disabilities."

Attendees also said the handful of people with disabilities who attended the conference were directed to the edges of room, while more than 100 other conference goers had a place in the centre of the venue.

Ms Brown said she was left "infuriated and disheartened" after attending the event.

"When I arrived on the first day and went to join everyone else one of the organisers came up to me and said they had special tables for us at the side and towards the back and I said I didn't want to be over to the side and made a fuss and pushed my way in to where I wanted to be.

"I think they would say it's an access issue or a safety issue but I think the fact that they've done this and they also haven't provided access to the stage, and didn't make any effort to try and include or facilitate the attendance of people with disabilities, speaks to the fact that they don't really want us there."

People have taken to social media to blast the event, outraged there was no ramp to the stage and angry only 12 concession tickets had been made available to participants with disabilities.

Disability discrimination commissioner Susan Ryan said on social media that she had written to the organisers of the conference regarding the accessibility issues.

Informa Australia has not responded to a request for comment.

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