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