May 23, 2011
In the lead-up to its three-day Adelaide conference in May, disability and development organisation Motivation Australia’s staff and volunteers have spent two weeks in remote communities to learn more about the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wheelchair users.
They were joined by the First People’s Disability Network, a new national peak organisation for ATSI people with disabilities and their families. The group met with communities in Alice Springs, Nhulunbuy, Groote Eylant in the Northern Territory and Bamaga, Thursday Island, in Queensland.
The two groups have convened the National Mobility Solutions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island People at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre from May 23 to 25.
Motivation Australia Chief Executive Officer, Kylie Mines, said it would be the first conference of its kind in Australia and she hoped it would have real benefits for wheelchair provision and services to ATSI people with disabilities living in remote communities.
Ms Mines said some of the specific problems for remote-community wheelchair users included: difficulty finding wheelchairs that last in the often harsh local environmental conditions; high turnover of relevant professionals in remote communities and lack of training for users and their families in proper wheelchair maintenance and care, so that when problems occur, users can be left for months without a wheelchair.
“Most wheelchairs are difficult to move over rough and sandy terrain, making independent mobility extremely difficult and many breakdown quickly as a result,’’ she said.
“Some suppliers offer ‘bush’ chairs which are basic wheelchairs with toughened frames and while these may survive rough terrain, a beefed up frame does not equal appropriate technology.
“We want to empower these groups to advocate for wheelchair services which meet their physical, environmental, cultural and lifestyle needs.
“We want to better understand why existing wheelchair provision is not adequately meeting their needs at the moment and we want to be able to offer effective and practical solutions to improve wheelchair provision.’’
The conference will draw together relevant stakeholders including ATSI people with disabilities, service providers, rehabilitation professionals and Government representatives.
They will develop recommendations to Government and non-government service providers to improve the way wheelchair and relevant services are provided to remote ATSI communities in future.
Motivation Australia is a not-for-profit disability and development organisation that works in partnership with local organisations to enhance the quality of life of people with mobility disabilities in the Asia Pacific Region. Our vision is of a world that promotes everyone’s right to mobility and inclusion.
News editor’s note: Mobility Solutions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island People will be held from May 23 – 25 at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, North Tce, Adelaide.
FURTHER INFORMATION: Please contact Motivation Australia CEO, Kylie Mines on (08) 8556 6703 or Damian Griffis, First Peoples Disability Network CEO on (02) 9319 1422
ISSUED BY HUGHES PUBLIC RELATIONS: Please contact Mark Williams on (08) 8412 4100
