Rayna,

We've got Singer @ Princeton, NJ for a stay. To think Einstein lived there.

Guess everything's relative.  G

Good to read you.

Steve



>From: Rayna Lamb <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: Today
>Date: Sun, 4 Mar 2001 21:19:15 +0800
>
>Well, Mag, I have finally got around to answering your question.  I
>really should be studying, but it is 35 degrees celcius at 7pm here
>and I just can't be bothered!!
>
>I can only speak for Western Australia as far as access goes, I
>haven't been to any of the other states since I moved to Australia.
>Accessibility of footpaths vary depending on the suburb.  In the newer
>suburbs on the outskirts of Perth everything is all brick paved,
>smooth and wonderful to drive on, there are curb cuts everywhere.  But
>in the older inner suburbs of the city, where I live, the footpaths
>are shocking, the paving slabs in a lot of areas are broken, or move
>with time, and it makes life very bumpy, hell on my back, and I lost
>an entire set of ball bearings out of the front left wheel of my
>scooter last year, due to the shocking state of the footpaths where I
>live.  There are also a lot less curb cuts, and the ones there are are
>steep, and often stop half an inch from the road.
>Shopping centres are all mostly accessible (if you don't mind crowds -
>and I do!), but a lot of shops and businesses are still inaccessible,
>it is an ongoing battle to convince them of the benefits of being
>accessible to everyone.  Most public buildings are accessible, I have
>yet to come across an inaccessible library (yahoo!!), and the majority
>of govt. departments are accessible.  A lot of primary and secondary
>schools are NOT accessible, and things don't look like improving.  The
>universities are better.
>The newer train lines are all accessible, with platforms that are
>level with the train floors, but the older train lines, like the one
>I'm on, have still got a way to go, I have to book a passenger service
>attentant with portable ramps for the train an hour before I go
>anywhere on the train.  They are gradually phasing in accessible
>buses, but it is taking a long time, and because the bus system has
>been privatised, it is very difficult to find out which buses routes
>are accessible.  There are some shuttlebus routes that are accessible
>24/7 though.  We have an accessible taxi system using Maxi taxis, but
>there are not enough, and you have to book several hours ahead to get
>one at the time you want.  But eligible people get taxi subsidies of
>up to 75% off their taxi fares.  They have this in all states.
>There used to be a scheme that would help PWD in purchasing cars, but
>it was cancelled a year or so ago.  There are disability parking bays
>in most areas, but some able-bodied people are clearly illiterate
>(poor darlings!!!) and park in them as well.
>Each state has something called a Home and Community Care system,
>subsidised by the government, which provides various assistance to
>disabled and aged in their homes, it is a user pays system on a
>sliding scale of fees (used to be free under the previous government,
>but then then the Liberals got in, and they are NOT at all liberal
>with the cash and support to PWD).  I get by on two hours of home help
>a fortnight plus meals on wheels.  I should probably have more help
>just to take the strain off slightly, but I think I'm very lucky to be
>so physically independent.  It is very difficult for people with high
>support needs to get the help they need (unless they are independently
>wealthy!) and too many are reduced to living in government run nursing
>homes and hostels, too many of which are in an APPALLING condition.
>Funding for the disability sector is always the first to go when the
>govt. is making cutbacks.
>Finding work is difficult (tried for 6 years and only ended up with
>two nervous breakdowns, suicide attempts and hospital stays), even for
>people with mild to moderate disabilities such as myself.  And it is
>getting worse.
>There is the Disability Support Pension, which is just enough to get
>by on, and a few other goverment funded assistance schemes, but they
>are always being cut back on.
>And the Disability Discrimination Act is a toothless tiger.  More
>loopholes than a circus act.
>Australia's human rights record as far as PWD are concerned is awful.
>Criminals get treated better.
>The general attitude to PWD is the same as in the UK and US.  Cure
>them, kill them (sorry - euthanase them!), prevent them from being
>born or keep them out of sight!  After all the infamous `ethicist'
>Peter Singer is Australian.  So our lives and basic rights are always
>at risk.
>But the weather here is fabulous!!!
>
>Rayna
>
>On Wed, Feb 21, 2001 at 12:11:17AM -0500, Magenta Raine wrote:
>     Rayna,
>     tell us how things are over there for people with disabilities. Are
>the
>     streets accessible for chairs, etc.?
>
>     do you have personal care assistants?
>
>     Mag

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