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Sunday May 19, 2013

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Government guidelines: Disabled toilets now 'accessible' toilets

Posted by: Neil Mitchell | 12 November, 2012 - 8:45 AM
Reporting it right - Media guidelines for portraying people with a disability

NEIL MITCHELL: Let’s start the week with Ted Baillieu’s burst of political correctness. I wonder what this has cost us.

It’s a glossy piece of work. A guide to how to be politically correct.

And here are some examples.

Elderly people are no longer elderly. They must be older people or seniors (And that is only when they are over 65...)

If you are talking about somebody who is deaf. You should use a capital ‘D’ when referring to a group. Why?

Because it is recognising a culturally unique and diverse group who use sign language.

So capital ‘D’ for deaf. I’m not kidding.

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There is more. Disabled toilets are to be no more...And disabled car parking or disabled entry areas.

All banned. All gone.

They must now be accessible toilets, accessible parking space and accessible entry.

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No more use of the word disabled. Which causes a bit of a problem.

You see under these guidelines they don’t want photographs of wheelchairs. That is too negative.

So if you are driving along and you see something called an accessible parking space, with no illustration of a wheelchair, what would you do?

‘Oh that’s good...it’s accessible’.... You would bloody well park there!

You are not be epileptic any more either, You are a person with epilepsy.

....Or autistic. Not autistic an y more. You are a person with autism.

These guidelines from the Baillieu government are under the headline ‘Reporting it right - Media guidelines for portraying people with a disability’.

And I know it is all well meaning

But it is rubbish. Social engineering. Mind games.

3AW Mornings with Neil Mitchell

Neil Mitchell Neil is one of Australia’s most experienced journalists with success in newspapers, radio and television. He was one of the youngest editors of a daily metropolitan newspaper, The Herald.

 

Blog comments Your Say

  • The term 'Accessible toilet' makes more sense any-way (disabled toilet has always sounded like its not working). It is accessible to all with a disability, whether they have a permanent disability or a temporary one, or have a small child in a pram.

    Raoul Monday 19 November, 2012 - 9:26 AM

  • Accessible toilets and car parks is actually correct language; the toilet is NOT disabled, it is accessible to those in wheelchairs. Although due to the amount of toilets that are vandalised many of them are 'disabled'.

    As far as disabled people, I know it may seem political correctness gone mad to many of you, but as someone with a disability it does impact you over the long term. I'm a person first, who is a woman, and I have a disability. Why people like the term person with a disability is because it allows them to be seen as a person and not just their disability. We are more than our disability.

    Joanne Wednesday 14 November, 2012 - 12:57 AM

  • I think these are very negative posts.
    I think people who have a disability have been put down for a very long time, they continue to struggle for their rights and want and deserve respect. If these measures help the community to think in this way, i support it.

    Kate Tuesday 13 November, 2012 - 10:54 AM

  • Of course, these guidelines need to be spatially enabled in accordance with the National Public toilet Initiative.
    www.toiletmap.gov.au

    Land Victoria and its parent DSE which are not interested in serving the public and produce such incompetent mapping that the NPIT relied on Google map.

    According to Land Vic and DSE, you need GPS, with nanometer accuracy in order to find a place to pee. Of course uber Toilet boss Ted, under the pee-planning guidance of the Worn-out planning adviser and the Minister Guy who fawkes planning, are basking in this excellent achievement of the spatially enabled extension of the pee planning guidelines developed by the expert input of spatial lobbyist ninjas whom favour the right hand.

    TF of LV Tuesday 13 November, 2012 - 9:43 AM

  • Now that the general public is being reclassified, can we think of PC terms for, say, fare evaders, politicians, taxi drivers, unionists, CEOs???

    MauriceXanthos Monday 12 November, 2012 - 9:07 PM

  • Hi Neal i am disabled and hae a sticker in regard to these changes is a load of crock. i have been around the public service for 20+ years the cost of these changes has not been raised thing of all the goverment documents that will have to be reprinted to comply with their own rules

    bill Monday 12 November, 2012 - 6:47 PM

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