An Exclusive Update from CEO Stuart Schonell
Late May through to late June, my wife and I and a few friends visited Italy, France and Germany. I posted every few days on Advocacy WA’s facebook page about accessibility on the trip. Europeans were very friendly and helpful in all countries (apart from one instance at Hugel winery’s cellar door in Riquewihr where they refused to put the ramp out, apparently it was heavy!). For those with mobility issues here is a breakdown for visiting those countries:
- Train travel in all countries was fantastic. You must book special assistance when you first get in-country so they can get you on and off trains with steps. This was an easy process which we did at the first station we visited (for all future trips). Staff were all very friendly and helpful. Most trains within cities had a flat entry, it was only the long distance trains that had steps.
- Cobble stone paths and roads were a pain. I took a chair with 5 inch castors and could not have done all the kms we travelled on 4 inch castors. Next time I will take my freewheel even though this adds significantly to luggage.
- Take a small foldable toilet frame – I used this over some toilets and to take a shower when there was nothing else available or if the shower chair looked unsteady (happened a lot, for example one shower stool was only 30cm off the ground and was not much bigger than a frisbee). The frame was aluminium and only weighed a few kgs.
- When visiting cathedrals and other tourist sites, go straight to the front of the line. Every place we visited rushed us straight through. The European’s have a different take on disability and are very accommodating.
- Parking – take your acrod pass. It is supposed to be universal and we used it when we hired a car. We did not receive any parking fines.
- Public toilets – big cities had them, in smaller towns they were harder to find and sometimes were locked requiring a MLAK type key. Probably able to get one if we investigated it before we left. Shopping centres, train stations and carparks are a good bet.
- Restaurants – often had a step and sometimes an accessible toilet. Call in advance. More lax rules about what is an accessible toilet however I could get into all toilets that they said were accessible. Staff at restaurants could not be more helpful and at a couple of restaurants I had 2 or 3 staff members helping me up the front step.
- Flights – had a great experience with Qatar. Staff were fantastic.
- Berlin – probably the least accessible place we visited. The curbs were a pain as they did not ramp them at crosswalks/traffic lights. Other towns in Germany were very accessible though – not sure why Berlin wasn’t.
- Where did we go – Rome, Tuscany (based in Cortona), Frankfurt, Colmar, Freiburg, Rheda, Gütersloh, Berlin.
On to more serious business. The disability sector is very concerned about falling government funding. Some advocacy organisations have closed due to lack of funding, and not-for-profit NDIS providers are mostly running at losses. If providers continue to be underfunded they will pull out of regional, rural and remote towns, leaving people living with disability without services in those towns. I encourage people to write to or call their local state and commonwealth ministers and ask questions as to why this is happening. Country people are once again being let down by governments purely focussed on the big cities. Speak up for your rights!
