Well it's the new year & the seasonal recess has ended.
There are a few fronts we are still working on so a brief news letter to
discuss
It is with sadness that I announce that Elina Dalziel has resigned for
personal reasons. I would like to publically thank her for her energy &
diligence over the past few years. She will be missed from her role on the
committee & I wish her the best for the future.
The main areas we have been active inarea as follows
1. Access to the new RSB South - We have had a few meetings with
Onkaparinga Council, Dept Planning Transport & Infrastructure, RSB (Mobility
& orientation, New CEO & Government Liaison Tony Starkie) as to improving
independent access to the site. Things are under way in this regard so
rather than email be with some experiences I will keep you posted as to
enhancements.
2. BCA National - we are progressing in discussions with the National
office to overcome some of the outstanding problems we have faced over the
last 2-3 years. We hope to have a phone conference on Thursday to progress
dialogue so will brief you on this after this discussion. I am very aware
that some have been suggesting we move to the Geelong model but would
encourage the new National CEO & Leadership to attempt to bring about a
healing & progress in restoring the once member driven organization.
3. Aust Post - there is a move to progress the transition to a
paperless mail system especially with the rise in postal services & a cut
back on postal delivery. Some of you may be aware of the Aust Post web site
& the service being offered as per Digital mailbox. I have been having
dialogue with Aust post as to training that may assist vision impaired
people navigate through the service & I attach the results as to U-Tube
tutorials that have been released to assist
a. Australia Post's MyPost Digital Mailbox: Introduction and Overview
b. Australia Post's MyPost Digital Mailbox: Paying Bills and Storing
Documents
c. Australia Post's MyPost Digital Mailbox: Setting up payment
options
d. Australia Post's MyPost Digital Mailbox: Connecting to a Provider
e. MyPost Digital Mailbox
4. Cyclists on Footpaths - concerns have been coming in as to close
shaves & the police inability to do anything unless a collision occurs. I
have been continuing to have dialogue with various politicians as well as
the Pedestrian Council of Australia. There are 2 Peer Review journal
articles from overseas where it has been shown that where a pedestrian if
hit by a cyclist there is a 33 & 34 (respectively in the articles) chance of
the pedestrian having a traumatic Brain Injury of varied severity. Certainly
the Pedestrian Council of Australia have been promoting a maximus speed on
footpaths or shared tracks of 10Kph as beyond that speed the incidence of
injury to the pedestrian increases significantly. The vehicle registration
funded Life Long Support scheme does not support pedestrian injuries as
cyclists are not registered & the onus is on the identifying the cyclist &
personal litigation & hopefully the persons home insurance indemnity
insurance will cover public liability. However, in saying that we contacted
a few companies last year & this is not a given or certain as one may need
to prove negligence under Duty of Care.
5. There have been a few cases of taxi drivers being unhappy with or
discriminating against Guide Dogs & these are being dealt with through the
official channels. I experienced this first hand yesterday & reached a
compromise that the dog travel on the rear seat on a towel I placed on the
seat.
6. Trams - from my role on the Premiers Access & Social Inclusion Plan
Committee (Disability Rep) there is a move to explore better placement &
more buttons to enable notification to the driver that you wish to get off
at the next stop. Currently they are located at the door & I believe at the
disability seat. The issue is that often there is standing room only & you
find the disability seats are occupied by others (often without disability)
7. Government phone options - once again at the above committee I
raised the issue that as we age there is a decline in high frequency hearing
& the recorded option message needs to be at a pace re can take in what is
offered with each option & in a mid range voice. I am interested in hearing
any issues people are having. This was accepted & I await implementation.
8. I am aware that centrelink is posing many challenges as to access &
navigation - as this is a National issue I am happy to pass on any
complaints or issues to the national Office Advocacy staff.
9. There has been a number of complaints as to dogs off the leash
attacking or pestering Guide Dogs. Where I receive such comments I have
passed the information on to the salient council to assist the salient
inspector undertaking random or not regular checks. Sadly I experienced this
first hand just prior to Christmas when my sighted assistance came with me
for a walk & between Marino & Brighton Jetty my guide dog was attacked but
thankfully not injured 5 times. One chap was very aggressive when I asked
him to control his dog & others responded by thinking the experience was
funny. The Holdfast Bay Council responded to my complaint by stating they
would encourage the inspector to be more vigilant of unleashed dogs on
footpath areas.
10. BCA National is working on the information as to the NDIS & My Aged
Care. There are many areas of concern as some will have seen on bulletin
boards. Major concerns in the circles I revolve in is the loss of services,
cost of services & financial unsustainability as the Australian population
ages. As to how much will progress until the next Federal election is over
is uncertain. Recent correspondence from the ATO as to costs of government
departments showed that Aust Debt estimates are $390 Billion with the prior
year being $319 billion & interest on loans being $13.5 Billion. The
breakdown of expenditure for services was most informative. The greatest
cost was welfare $1293 Billion of which close to 50% was for aged care & 20%
for disability. Health came in second at $609 Billion or 50% of the welfare
expenditure by way of comparison. Then defence, education were tabled in
significantly lower amounts. Add to this unfunded liabilities & the aging
population - Gulp - not an easy job to plan & balance the books.
11. Taxi Vouchers - I will be raising the NSW scheme enhancements at the
next Access & Social Inclusion Committee as SA is falling further & further
behind as there has been no CPI increase for I believe at least a decade
now. I attach below the salient aspects that are being looked into for your
interest in my discussions with a few politicians that I have close liaison
with. I attach below the issues that members have raised with me & the
Initiative NSW has undertaken & congratulated by Vision Australia. I am
unsure if BCA National can support a review to match this in SA if not all
States as for many Vision Impaired people a taxi is a need rather than an
option.
My arguments to politician contacts I have is as follows
. Can I lease bring to your attention the move that has occurred
in NSW to assist the vision impaired community with accessible taxi
transport. SA has not had any fare assistance now for approx. 10 years
despite taxi fares going up. If you are dependent on Taxi vouchers ($20 cap
& max 80 vouchers per 6 months) then there are some significant issues. The
criteria for taxi vouchers for vision impairment is legal blindness (acuity
< 6/60 or fields less than 10 degrees or a combination so does not
necessarily imply no light perception)
Scenario 1
. Lets say you are blessed to have some work & the Taxi fare is
$40.00 meaning you only pay $20 or $40 to & from work
. Lets say you work 5 days a week - that's $200 out of pocket in
Taxi fares
. That's also 10 vouchers per week which would last for 8 weeks
meaning you have to pay 18 weeks at full payment of $400 per week given the
above scenario - what's the incentive to try to stay in the workforce which
a significant vision impairment exists
There is an urgent case to consider equity for those who have such an
impairment as public transport is often insufficient to get from A to B
Scenario 2
. The dependence of Taxi use to access your community for
shopping, appointments, social activities & doing so three times a week.
Weather conditions also impact on the dependency to use taxi services.
. The Blind pension is in the order of $860 per fortnight
. 3 journeys by taxi equates to 6 taxi bookings (to & fro) equates
to 13 weeks assistance by use of the voucher system then you have to pay the
amount out of your assets or Blind Pension (which does not go far when out
of that you still have to pay essential costs & continually rising utility &
government costs with less concessional assistance).
Please can you explore ways in which the SA government may be lobbied for
enhancements to improved access & social inclusion via the taxi voucher
system parallel to what NSW has undertaken. They have increased the subsidy
from $30 to $60 so a much better respectful system that we currently
experience in SA.
I would also like to see a paperless system as filling out vouchers can be
quite problematic & if dependent on the taxi driver to assist then this is
open to fraudulent activity potential.
Vision Australia Media Release :- Increase in taxi subsidy improves
independence for people who are blind 18 December 2015 NSW government
initiative
http://www.visionaustralia.org/about-us/news-and-media/latest-news/news/2015
/12/18/increase-in-taxi-subsidy-improves-independence-for-people-who-are-bli
nd
For people who are blind or have significant vision loss, taxis are a
non-optional cost of independence. They provide a crucial link to
maintaining employment, gaining an education, and participating in
recreational, sporting and other community activities.
Today, Vision Australia congratulates the Baird Government o n a long
awaited increase to the Taxi Transport Subsidy Scheme (TTSS). The subsidy
increase will make taxis more affordable and subsequently increase
independence for people who are blind.
This is the first time the NSW subsidy has been increased in over 15 years
and during that time there have been multiple taxi fare increases.
As part of the NSW Government's response to the Point to Point Transport
Review Minister Contance has announced that the Government will raise the
Taxi Transport Subsidy Scheme (TTSS) cap from $30 to $60 to improve
affordability for customers.
The Taxi Transport Subsidy Scheme (TTSS) provides support to people with a
disability to access vital services and appointments, thereby facilitating
independent living. The service is indispensable i n rural and remote
communities where public transport options are extremely limited.
Future reforms must include replacing paper vouchers with an electronic card
payment system to improve ease of use, cut waste, and reduce potential for
fraud. And the TTSS should be expanded to other point to point transport
modes such as Uber.
Michael Simpson, Vision Australia's General Manager of NSW Client Services
and Accessible Information Services, who has been blind for 40-years, said:
"People who are blind or have low vision are unable to drive and often rely
on taxis for their independence."
"This announcement is fantastic news for our community and the result of a
long campaign."
Vision Australia advocated strongly for this increase and in the lead up to
this year's NSW election Vision Australia recommended a rise to the subsidy
should be an election priority and it was a key point in our submission to
the Point to Point Transport review.
All the best & I will keep you informed of the important advocacy work being
undertaken by BCA Adelaide Branch. Please share with those who do not have
access to email as we don't have funding to send out in alternative formats
& don't get any financial assistance from Head office who also have their
own cost constraints.
David
Dr David Squirrell
* Blind Citizens Australia (Adelaide Branch) President
* Access & Social Inclusion Plan (SA Govt) Committee
* BCA National Policy Development Committee
