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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-05-03 Daily Xml
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DISABILITY ACCESS, PUBLIC TRANSPORT

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (14:59): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking questions of the minister representing the Minister for Transport Services about accessibility of public transport in Adelaide.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: On 5 April The Age carried a story about a blind Melbourne commuter who is taking action via the Equal Opportunity Commission against rail provider Metro due to lack of accessibility. She said she regularly misses the stop where she needs to alight due to a lack of clear internal train announcements and does not know which trains to climb aboard as the route direction of the train is not publicly announced. She regularly ends up in the wrong location, a problem that can easily be addressed with adequate broadcasting on trains and at train stations.

The story also mentions the case that the federal Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes, has raised no less than 52 times: complaints regarding unclear broadcasting against RailCorp in New South Wales, following poor services in that state. Meanwhile, a blind South Australian constituent has explained just how poor Adelaide public transport is at providing accessibility to its vision-impaired commuters, explaining that she regularly misses her train stop and relies on fellow commuters to let her know what train station she needs to alight at. Understandably, this causes her significant anxiety on what should be a simple commuter trip.

All of this comes on the back of concerns I have raised with the minister three times via questions in this parliament, with zero response. These previous questions all relate to Adelaide's rail network potentially being unsafe for vulnerable commuters such as children and people with intellectual disabilities or mobility difficulties. My questions to the minister are:

1. Is the minister concerned about both the safety and accessibility of her rail networks for vulnerable commuters?

2. Is she aware of the action being taken in Victoria against Victorian rail?

3. Is the minister aware of the large number of complaints the federal Disability Discrimination Commissioner has brought against RailCorp?

4. Does the minister know that vision-impaired commuters in South Australia are struggling to access the rail services that she presides over?

5. What initiative is the minister taking to improve accessibility in the state's public transport services so that all commuters can use them without stress and in a safe and convenient manner?

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (15:02): I thank the honourable member for her very important question, and also recognise the great work that the Hon. Ms Vincent does in the area of disability. I will refer this question to the Hon. Chloe Fox in another place and seek to have an answer as soon as possible.

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