Related to our previous post on the Access to Cinemas Protest Rally, Action on Cinema Access have released the following statement:
“ACTION ON CINEMA ACCESS is a newly-formed community group of concerned citizens who are working together to improve access to cinema for people with a disability. ACTION ON CINEMA ACCESS is supported by a number of community organizations.
Millions of Australians are being denied the opportunity to go to the cinema because more than 99% of screenings are inaccessible. These sessions are inaccessible because the cinemas do not provide captioning or audio description.
Less than 0.3% of all screenings at public cinemas are accessible to people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or vision impaired.
Recently, Village, Greater Union, Hoyts and Reading cinemas applied for exemption from the Disability Discrimination Act for two and a half years. If the exemption is granted, cinemas will get away with providing a minimal amount of captioning and audio description in only 105 out of 41,370 screenings per week.
This is not good enough!
Federal legislation requires cinemas not to discriminate against people with a disability. The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) has been law for 18 years. Why has the cinema industry done so little in 18 years? Why has the cinema industry not complied with requirements of the DDA, the law?
People with sensory disabilities are being excluded from enjoying films that everyone else in the community can enjoy.
Young people miss out on sharing popular and current cinema culture with their friends and families.
Older Australians who are losing their sight and hearing cannot continue to enjoy the cinema. Everyone else expects to be able to go to a film of their choice, cinema of their choice, at a session of their choice.
People with a disability do not wish to be marginalised by being offered screenings at times when nobody else wants to go to the cinema. Everyone wants to go to the cinema with friends or family at convenient times. We all expect freedom of choice, spontaneity, convenience and flexibility when we go to the cinema.
all films, all cinemas, all sessions.
We expect that people with sensory impairments are offered the same entertainment opportunities as everyone else. A fair go for everybody when it comes to enjoying going to the cinema!
The community fully expects that businesses, particularly successful businesses, do not discriminate on the basis of a person’s disability when selling a product.
The federal government last year ratified the UN Declaration of the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities but what does this mean in practice?
450 people and community organisations responded in opposition to the application by the cinema chains for an exemption from the DDA 1992 demanding the following:
- Full compliance with the legislation
- Ensuring that people with sensory impairments have the same level of choice as the rest of the community
- Ensuring that all sessions of all films at all cinemas are accessible to Everyone
With 2009 Box Office takings of $1.09 billion, a 15% increase from the previous year, cost should not be a reason for failing to provide access.”
For more information you can contact spokesperson Dean Barton-Smith at dbartonsmith@optusnet.com.au, Paul Madden on 0419 313 518 or call Arts Access Victoria on (03) 9699 8299.
Further information can be found on the Action on Cinema Access Facebook page.
