Australia’s Media and People with Disabilities: The Human Right to Self Expression and Changing Hearts and Minds

08/09/2006

by Fiona Smith
Chairperson
Equal Opportunity Commission Victoria
Launch of Disability Media Inc

I‘d like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we meet on today- the people of the Kulin nation. I pay my respects to their elders and their customs and wish to acknowledge their continuing spiritual connection to this land. We are of course in the heartland of urban Kooriedom – with so many indigenous Victorians living in the City of Darebin.

I feel privileged to be asked to help launch Disability Media Inc. With its launch today we are celebrating an Australian first. While the people involved have been around for some time, this marks a new beginning with a bold agenda. I understand many of the people behind Disability Media Inc have been involved with Channel 31’s “No Limits” program, made by and for people with disabilities. I remember the first time I watched Channel 31’s “No Limits” program – what a shot of electric excitement! People with disabilities doing media, covering news, giving opinions, being outrageous, being funny and, most of all, doing it for themselves. It is staggering to realise that although Australia celebrates 50 years of television this year, it is only since 2003 that on one night a week on Melbourne’s Channel 31 we have been able to witness people with disabilities as broadcasters and presenters.

No Limits is now watched throughout Australia and later this year it will put to air its 100th program– Congratulations.

The importance of No Limits groundbreaking work in Australia was confirmed by Geoff Adams-Spink, (BBC journalist ) when he spoke about the UK’s BBC Producers Guidelines which contain sound advice about media responses to disability issues:

“Unless there is a very good reason preventing someone from communicating with you, disabled people usually want to speak for themselves”

“Often disabled people complain that when the media spotlight falls on them, it’s as though the journalist is talking about a far away country of which they know little”.

This last quote tells us, Disability Media Inc’s mission is an ambitious one. It’s about changing hearts and minds.

Disability Media Inc’s launch today recognises four vital things:

1. That, when it comes to media in all its forms – print, radio, television, film, on-line media - and Australians with disabilities, “nothing about us without us” should rule.

Equally, it will guide us and all media organisations with some basic principles. Some of these key principles are:

No assumptions and generalisations when it comes to putting together a story, a fact or report about disability

Focus on people first, disability second, third or fourth,

Disability is one of the parts – not the whole person

Avoid thinking about “brave heroes” or “pitiable victims”

2. Media plays a vital role in how Australians with disabilities are currently regarded. We know we need a cultural revolution in this regard if we are to shift perceptions of what is possible in the workplace and in the community; ensure human rights are respected and include people in all the opportunities our community has to offer. Disability Media Inc recognises the importance of why those in the media are often described as the fourth pillar of our system of government in ensuring a common language, as well as shedding light where darkness may prevail.

3. As recognised in Victoria’s newly enacted Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities, every citizen has a right not to be discriminated against and to freedom of expression. These are only two of the many rights recognised under the Charter. The Charter will commence operation at the beginning of 2007 and require all Victorian state and local government public authorities to comply with the civil and political rights it enshrines in legislation and in all they do. I encourage you all to go to the Commission’s website to learn more about the Charter and how it can be used to strengthen your advocacy for justice: www.eoc.vic.gov.au.

All media ultimately provides us with a lens on how we relate to each other. This is the same territory that the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities defines in relation to Victorians and our government bodies.

4. That leadership is needed in all the forms of Australia’s media, if we are to achieve change for people with disabilities. Just as No Limits has already done, the Commission has no doubt Disability Media Inc will give courage to others to change things we once may have regarded as impossible.

When Sarah Barton (groundbreaking producer of the No Limits program ) approached me to be part of this exciting launch, her words hit a chord with me. She wrote that Disability Media Inc would be

“… developing a range of programs and initiatives that will result in audiences experiencing stories of disability that span the breadth of space between the clichés of inspirational hero and tragic hero”

So, what is this “space we need to fill”?

Well the space relates to around 4 million Australians. With that many people, you’d think ‘disability’ would be more visible. Why isn’t it? If I can quote Geoff Adams-Spink again:

“Fear is probably the emotion most commonly associated with other people’s attitudes to disability”

The consequence of this is that ‘disability’ and people with disabilities are rendered invisible.

As social beings we define ourselves in terms of our relationships with other people and our interactions with the world. These help us define our roles, to figure out who we are. It gives us an identity, it gives us meaning, a sense of purpose and community. But as Disability Media Inc recognises, if you’re invisible it’s a struggle to develop a healthy sense of self. It’s also a struggle to develop a sense of belonging within a community if the community doesn’t see or hear you, think about you or want to get to you.

While conflict resolution through conciliation is one of the mainstays of the work of the Commission, helping Victorians with disabilities achieve this ‘visibility’ and inclusion is our fundamental objective.

All of us need organisations like Disability Media Inc to be well supported and successful if we are to tackle barriers to employment opportunities for people with a disability. At present, people with disabilities seeking employment or those in employment face significant barriers when they consider disclosing their disability –“What will happen?” “ Will I not be hired?” “Will I get the sack?”

Unfortunately, employees and job seekers with disabilities are sometimes excluded from consideration for jobs because of preconceptions about their abilities. This type of discrimination forces many employees and job seekers to decide against disclosing their disability to employers. In a workplace with a culture of fear or prejudice, people with disabilities fear repercussions. By contrast, employers who encourage diversity and open communication can expect a healthier, more productive workforce.

Disability Media Inc can play an important role in helping change hearts and minds when it comes to people with disabilities and their rights as citizens and employees.

In the coming months the Commission will publish Best Practice Guidelines for Employers and the Recruitment Industry on Disclosure of Disability. We look forward to working with your organisation to help publicise these.

I want to finish by giving you some brief profiles of three prominent people involved in the media in Britain. If Disability Media Inc can have the success we all hope for it over the next five years, I’m confident we will be celebrating similar achievements in Australia. Before I do so, let me first apologise to the fantastic women with disabilities who are emerging leaders in Australia’s media – some of whom are here today – because my profiles are of men with disabilities.

Frank Gardener – is Britain’s most recognisable journalist with a disability after being shot at 6 times in Saudi Arabia when he was the BBC’s full time Gulf correspondent. He now uses a wheelchair and is a great campaigner for the “Hacked Off Campaign” to get more people with disabilities into journalism.
Peter White – who has over 30 years journalistic experience and is a well respected presenter on BBC Radio. Peter is blind and was the driving force in persuading the BBC controllers that the Paralympics should be part of mainstream sports coverage.
Ade Adepitan – is an international wheelchair dancer and basketballer who is also making a living presenting holiday and children’s programs. Ade describes himself as “An ordinary lad who likes to have fun”.

It is with great pleasure that I wish all involved in Disability Media Inc to go forward and have fun!