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Friday May 24, 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

  • Is there a politically correct way to say "The lunatics are running the asylum"?

    Surely They Jest Monday 12 November, 2012 - 11:53 AM

  • What next.We wont be able to call children children anymore. This world has gone mad.

    caroleccc Monday 12 November, 2012 - 10:19 AM

  • What we need to keep in mind is that some overpaid flog, deeply ensconsed in the bowels(bowels being the appropriate word)of Spring St.is churning out this type of intellect insulting shite,while undoubtedly being praised for their tax payer funded choice of weasel words.

    jgl Melb Monday 12 November, 2012 - 10:14 AM

  • An accessible toilet is one which is there when you need it. If it is not there, it is not accessible. What a load of crap!

    David T. Monday 12 November, 2012 - 9:44 AM

  • Not a politician anymore, just a person with other people's money.

    Eddie Monday 12 November, 2012 - 9:13 AM

  • Neil, just another example of having too many layers of Government. The cost of changing all those simple non invasive, well understood, universal, wheelchair signs for "PC words" should be spent on hospitals, programs for disabled etc. Whilst Ted fiddles...................

    stuart Monday 12 November, 2012 - 9:11 AM

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