Accessibility Issues Tackled Sitting Down
28 November 2000
ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES TACKLED SITTING DOWN
What better way to understand access issues from a
disabled person’s perspective, then to approach them from a
wheelchair? Acting Mayor, Dr Bruce Hucker, will take to a
wheelchair on Sunday 3 December to gain a greater insight.
Joining him is fellow Partnerships Committee member,
comedian and disabled persons advocate, Philip Patston, and
together they will attempt a reconnaissance mission around
Auckland city to visit some of their favourite haunts.
Partnerships Committee chairperson, Councillor Maire
Leadbeater, will also accompany them to observe the degrees
of difficulty they may face while attempting everyday
activities.
“People with disabilities still feel excluded
from participating fully in the life of their city and their
Council,” Councillor Maire Leadbeater said. “This exercise
will help to open our eyes and give us first hand experience
of what it is like to be disabled,” she said.
The
exercise coincides with the International Day of Disabled
Persons. United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan,
has asked the world to, “reaffirm its resolve to build truly
accessible, caring and inclusive societies in the new
Millennium.”
Communities are being asked to focus on
raising awareness and promoting greater understanding on the
practical side of issues, when developing the access needs
of persons with disabilities.
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“It is
important for the Council to make an effort to understand
what other people have to face,” said Dr Hucker. “We need
to improve our understanding of the problems of
accessibility confronting disabled people. There is a strong
need for a continuing review of public and private buildings
in relation to this issue. This would enable us, as a
community, to become more inclusive and to ensure everyone
is able to enjoy equal access,” he said.
People will
meet on the ground floor of the Town Hall on Sunday 3
December at 2pm. From there they will tour parts of the
central business district.
“I really commend Auckland
City Council for showing their commitment to the issue of
access for disabled persons,” said Philip Patston. “On
Sunday we are only looking from a perspective of physical
access, which, for more than half a billion people
worldwide, is a prerequisite for enjoying equal
opportunities, and that is the message we are promoting,” he
said.
ENDS
For further information please
contact:
Councillor Maire Leadbeater
Chairperson,
Partnerships Committee.
3769098 or 025436957
and
Philip Patston
Tel: 3764837 or 025
749449