Efforts are underway to make Parliament more accessible for people who live with disability, after a new position of Senior Accessibility Advisor was established.
Efforts are underway to make Parliament more accessible for people who live with disability, and not before time.
There's a long way to go but as a clear foot forward, a new position of Senior Accessibility Advisor at Parliament was established in October last year. The person appointed to the role is Stew Sexton.
His role is pan-disability focused, coming to grips with a diverse range including physical, neurological, visual or auditory disabilities, cognitive impairments, chronic pain and other conditions. The aim is to have a Parliament that's accessible for everybody that works in or visits Parliament, anyone who engages with its systems.
"We've gone from ground up, everything from toilets to kitchens, to meeting rooms, to quiet areas for people on the neuro-diversity spectrum," said Sexton, who has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair.
"Disability and accessibility comes down to the individual experience. And so one size doesn't necessarily fit all. So it's about talking to people, people that it does affect, and working through them."
One parliament staffer with a physical disability, hearing impairment and neurological condition spoke to The House about the barriers they had to overcome each day at work, echoing common challenges related by others on precinct who live with disability.
"There are many parts of parliament that have zero disability access. Which means some people can't get to meet some people in their offices. And for those that can (me) on bad days it makes just getting to work that much harder and more tiring," they said.
"For places that do have disability access, there are issues such as heavy doors that don't automatically open and require assistance if you are in a wheelchair or have crutches. Or the options are twice as long and so those with needs have to use more energy getting to locations around parliament and that makes it harder.
"For those with hearing issues, the bells are barely audible, and in the house when everyone is being rowdy it is next to impossible to hear the speaker. The mics and speakers also mean you can basically hear them twice and it can get overwhelming very quickly."
Complaints of the sensory overload of chamber proceedings are not unusual, and one wonders how many Members of Parliament themselves may be hiding their struggles within this environment. There are only as few as two or three MPs that self identify as being disabled people in this current batch…