From: Desirée Laz [dlaz@cansa.net.au] Sent: Monday, 7 December 2009 12:31 PM To: disabdis Subject: Cinema Access Draft To whom it may concern, We are writing to voice our objection to the recent application made by Village Roadshow, Greater Union, Hoyts and Reading Cinemas requesting exemption from the Disability Discrimination Act for a period of two and a half years. The request from these major corporations for exemption is at odds the Federal Government’s Media Access Discussion Report, the Cultural Ministers Council National Arts and Disability Strategy and Article 30 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. With nearly 4 million Australians who have hearing or vision impairments along with an aging population, technological solutions to access such as captioning and audio description for cinema is a priority to ensure the rights of all Australians (regardless of impairment) to full participation and enjoyment of our community’s cultural life. We strongly oppose the application by these cinemas and urge the Commission to reject this application for exemption. Yours sincerely Disability & Arts Transition Team (DATT) Community Arts Network SA Inc 234A Sturt St (enter off Arthur St) ADELAIDE SA 5000 T: + 61 (8) 8231 0900 F: + 61 (8) 8231 0977 E: dlaz@cansa.net.au SA Country Freecall: 1800 245 678 Website: www.cansa.net.au National Website: www.ccd.net disabdis@humanrights.gov.au