Turning a deaf ear to emergency services for hearing impaired - 19 October 2009

As part of National Week of Deaf People NSW, Greens MLC Ian Cohen is calling upon state and federal agencies to initiate reforms to make current emergency services accessible to people with hearing and speech impediments.

“Australia currently has two emergency call numbers, Triple Zero (000) and 106, the latter intended for the hearing and speech impaired to be dialled from a land line. Calls to 106 are made from either a teletypewriter or a computer modem and can’t be made from a mobile phone,” says Mr Cohen.

“A deaf woman was rescued in a Victorian forest last month by sending a text message to her auto-recovery service in Western Australia. The woman’s car became bogged when she was camping and she was unable to call triple 0 for help because triple 0 provides no access for deaf people using mobile phones. This highlights the appalling situation in Australia where deaf people have no direct access to emergency services outside their homes.”

“Current emergency services in NSW also have no provision for the hearing and speech impaired to access emergency assistance outside of their homes via SMS text messages. The Commonwealth regulator of the Emergency Call Service and the Australian Communications and Media Authority have refused to reform emergency services, despite five years of fervent lobbying by NSW Fire Brigades and all other emergency services across Australia,”

“Key state and federal agencies are undeniably turning a deaf ear to the emergency service needs of Australia’s hearing and speech impaired population. This should be considered a breach of the Disability Discrimination Act.”

“Emergency text messaging to 106 will vastly improve accessibility for the hearing and speech impaired community in emergency situations when they are away from their homes.”

“The rights of the hearing impaired are being further eroded by local government’s refusing to install hearing loops in local council chambers, using “unjustifiable economic hardship” as a paltry excuse.”

“Under the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992 it is illegal for councils to discriminate against a person on the basis of their hearing disability, and yet some local governments decline to grant the hearing impaired their right to access information and participate in local government.”

“National Week of Deaf People is great opportunity for local government and emergency services to ensure people with hearing impairments have the same rights of access and participation as the rest of the community. In emergency service situations it actually is a matter of life and death.”