Complaints about disability discrimination still dominate in Tasmania, says outgoing Commissioner Robin Banks

COMPLAINTS about discrimination against people with disabilities dominated issues raised with the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner last year.

Tasmania's Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Robin Banks says disability discrimination complaints continue to be the most common received by her office.

COMPLAINTS about discrimination against people with disabilities dominated issues raised with Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Commissioner last year, the office’s annual report reveals.

There were 68 complaints about discrimination against people on the basis of disability last year, followed by 22 on the basis of gender and 19 on the basis of race.

Most complaints were over the provision of goods and services, followed about employment issues.

Commissioner Robin Banks said complaints about disability discrimination reflected a wider problem with education and awareness.

“We are still struggling to cut through to make the changes in our society to make sure people have equality of opportunity in work in life and in life opportunities,” she said.

“Tasmania has a higher rate of disabilities than any other state ... we really have work harder at this.”

She said in many cases people were afraid to employ disabled people, something which could often be overcome with communication, planning and preparation.

“I think people think it’s really hard, and it’s actually not. People sometimes fear putting themselves in a position of having to deal with disabled people.

“Many people in senior roles would have grown up without having ever met a person with disabilities.

“It will change, but we need to change faster.”

People sometimes fear putting themselves in a position of having to deal with disabled people. It will change, but we need to change faster.

Ms Banks said racially-motivated behaviour like egg throwing and abusive comments were still everyday occurrences for some members of the Tasmanian community.

“There’s still a group who think it’s OK to target difference in this way and I think it’s still more prevalent than we’re hearing through reports,” she said.

Other examples of issues reported to the Commission during the year were:

A year seven student who was abused for wearing a headscarf;

A man wandering the streets of Hobart wearing Nazi regalia;

A group of young students racially abused by a drunk on a bus;

A student who was called an “Asian dog”;

A woman who was racially abused by a motorist while walking down the street; and

A general practitioner who repeatedly described a shop assistant as “a spastic”.

Among complaints resolved by the Commission was a complaint by a recently-released prisoner who was refused service by a shopkeeper in a rural general store, which changed its policy after being informed of the law.

And an 18-year-old who was refused a venue booking for a party was successful in overturning a policy which appeared to discriminate on the basis of age.

Ms Banks finishes up as Commissioner at the end of January after six years in the role.

Originally published as Complaints about disability discrimination still dominate in Tasmania, says outgoing Commissioner Robin Banks