APPLICATION FOR EXEMPTION BY THE CINEMAS REJECTED
28 April 2010
Action on Cinema Access welcomes the decision by the Australian Human Rights Commission to reject the application for Exemption from the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) by Hoyts Corporation, Greater Union Organisation, Village Cinemas and Reading Cinemas.
In explaining its reasons for the decision in an email to stakeholders the Commission stated that “…the Commission did not consider the application to represent sufficient progress…” Click here for full text
We applaud the stand that the Australian Human Rights Commission has made in supporting the right of people with a disability to be included in all cultural activities. Lack of captions and audio description in cinemas excludes millions of Australians from enjoying films.
Action on Cinema Access spokesperson Dean Barton-Smith states that: “This decision is a vindication for the many thousands of Deaf, hard of hearing, blind and vision impaired Australians, who along with their partners, family and supporters, have demonstrated their overwhelming opposition to this application.”
Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services Bill Shorten MP welcomed the decision by the AHRC, stating that 0.3% is not an acceptable level of access: “Requiring patrons with a hearing impairment to attend a Wednesday matinee during work hours should not be considered meaningful access.” Read more
In a year when the cinema industry is boasting record profits, this is simply not good enough.
Do not pass up this significant opportunity to have your say!
Send a message to the cinema industry that we want meaningful access to cinema – not just one film available at three screenings per week at only 35 cinemas around Australia.
What can you do?
If you believe, as we do, that the lack of Captioning and Audio Description in cinemas amounts to discrimination, now is the time to lodge your complaint and keep the pressure on the cinemas. Last year, 450 people wrote to the Commission complaining that the offer by the cinemas was not good enough. This year thousands of people participated in a nationwide campaign that told the cinemas that Inaccessible is Unacceptable!
Now we are urging people with a disability to lodge their disability discrimination complaint with the Commission.
Making a complaint of discrimination against your local cinema is easy and it’s free -
- Log on to the Australian Human Rights website at Australian Human Rights – Disability Rights
- Click on one of the following formats – In writing, Hard copy complaint form, Online complaint form OR By email – and write down the details of your complaint. (This takes less than 15 minutes)
If you need assistance with lodging your complaint, contact us and we’ll let you know where you can go for help. You can contact: Dean Barton-Smith at dbartonsmith@optusnet.com.au or Paul Madden on 0419 313 518
JOIN ACTION ON CINEMA ACCESS ON FACEBOOK! Click HERE
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NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT!
This is the only way the cinemas will understand that accessible cinema is our right.
INACCESSIBLE IS UNACCEPTABLE!
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Action on Cinema Access is an independent community group of deaf, hard of hearing, blind and vision impaired people and their supporters who recently put the cinema industry on notice with their nationwide protest against inaccessible cinema held in all capital cities on Saturday 13 February. With less than 0.3% of screenings nationally providing captioning and audio-description, protestors clearly signalled that this level of access is simply not good enough. Read more HERE
Arts Access Victoria proudly supports the Action on Cinema Access campaign.
