Accessible? You’re Joking! | Scoop News

It’s hard to depend on and survive in a system that
isn’t built to cater for your physical needs. Our
provisions implemented to ensure equitable access for
disabled peoples have only shown themselves to be political
checkmarks to acclaim the title: ‘helper of the
disabled’ that in a practical sense, has little to no real
world impact. It’s been quite demonstrable that this is
the case with the Accessibility Bill only working to
establish a committee that has no legal powers but
only provides recommendations to the minister for
disabilities. These will then be passed on to the House Of
Representatives as a ‘measure of awareness’ and
knowledge base for all the accessibility barriers facing
disabled people. However, the lack of any structural measure
of undeviating accountability that will address the growing
accessibility problem has presented the government’s
processes regarding accessibility as far too opaque –
shrouding them in a cloud of mystery brings the character
and integrity of the proposed bill into question.

25%
of the New Zealand population identify as having a
disability and this has resulted in our nation statistically
ranking amongst the topmost, globally, for disability
prevalence within the community. As of January the 8th 2019,
I became one of these individuals. Recently becoming a part
of this group has opened my eyes to not only see and
experience the constant marginalisation disabled peoples
encounter on a daily basis, but it’s also unshielded me to
the fact that as a nation nearest the forefront of the OECD,
we simply aren’t making a substantive enough effort to
meet the needs and cater for the justly deserved rights of
the voiceless who often struggle to help
themselves.

To begin with, one of the most pressing
issues for wheelchair users today is the lack of frequently
accessible and available public transportation. Of
course, buses do exist and an increasing majority
have 1 or 2 wheelchair provisions(per bus), but knowing the
regularity with which buses suddenly become unavailable for
certain routes and sometimes cancel their trips altogether;
it’s unreasonable to expect a wheelchair user to solely
trust in the highly variable mode of transport. This then
brings one to the plethora of issues regarding wheelchair
accessible taxis. On a short excursion down to Wellington, I
unexpectedly had all 9 of my wheelchair taxi trips
canceled(literally less than 12 hours before I was due to
land) with the taxi agent claiming the services had all been
booked out. This resulted in a taxi lottery where I rang
several mobility taxis to check availability with all but 1
declining. With wheelchair taxis proving almost impossible
to book, I was practically stuck in my hotel throughout most
of my trip as one of NZ’s largest taxi operators(which
somehow only had a handful of active mobility vans) was
already stretched thin in Wellington. With largely
inadequate mobility transport provisions seen not only in
Auckland, but also our capital city, it wouldn’t be
surprising to discover the state of mobility transport
worsens throughout other parts of the nation as
well.

We profess to be innovative, forward thinking
and ‘kind’ but what are we showing through our blatant
oversight and disregard towards physically disabled peoples?
The exact opposite.

If only the dreadful dilemmas of
disabled people ended there. Sincerely speaking, they simply
do not. In virtually every aspect of life for a ‘normal’
walking individual that has no limiting or debilitating
physical handicaps, there are challenges faced by
paraplegics in wheelchairs, the elderly pushing their bulky
walking frames and those using other sets of wheels to
travel sidewalks within our various
communities.

Currently, as a year 13 student in
highschool, I’m faced with the exhilarating opportunity of
choosing a future career path before applying for a
university that I feel will best aid me in achieving my
career aspirations. Unfortunately, the choice for me isn’t
so clear cut. I hate to say it, but my career choice solely
depends on the accessibility of the universities I apply to.
This is not an over-dramatization of the truth or even a
falsified reality – it’s unambinguously a major factor
many physically impaired individuals must consider prior to
choosing a tertiary institution for further education. Now,
without naming and shaming certain organisations, it’s
essentIal to note that terrain(particularly for wheelchairs)
is a major determinant of a facility’s accessibility. Many
steep slopes and rocky/uneven surfaces could easily reduce
the independence of a first-year uni student who coupled
with the stressful workload faced by all students, now
has to effectively and simultaneously manage transport in a
dangerous environment which could ultimately see the student
miss their lectures and course classes or worse still, end
up in hospital from a preventable wheelchair-related
accident.

Section 14 of the Bill of Rights Act affirms
the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to
seek, receive, and impart information and opinions of any
kind in any form. University access is included in this
right. Access to any form of education is included in
this right and it is exclusively an ablist’s mentality
that would intentionally barre or refuse to debarre the
blockades faced by the physically impaired when considering
a tertiary education.

As equal members of society,
disabled individuals ought to be provided with equal
opportunities across the entire education system so
that we too can receive the knowledge required to contribute
meaningfully towards a more forward thinking, innovative and
equitable
society.

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