From:	Sandra Hoopmann 
Sent:	Monday, 7 December 2009 4:46 PM
To:	disabdis
Subject:	Cinema Access Cutback on Captioning

Dear Commissioner of Human Rights,
 
As a Deaf patron, I object vehemently to the proposed exemption by  Greater Union, Hoyts, Village 
Roadshow, and Reading cinemas.  
 
In Adelaide, we have only ONE cinema, Hoyts, showing subtitled movies once or twice a week.  Rarely are 
newly-release movies captioned till much later.  Also, Australian and English movies are rarely or not 
subtitled.  I, along with several of my deaf  and hard of hearing friends, find that an appalling disappointment, 
compared with the easy and widely-varied access to ALL movies that hearing patrons enjoy.  I'm sure that, if 
hearing patrons are subject to the same treatment we Deaf patrons are receiving, there will be a huge 
ruckus.    
 
Adelaide falls behind the Australian states, such as Victoria, where three cinemas provide captioned movies 
in Melbourne, raising the viewing times to three days a week. Several deaf/hard of hearing people have to 
travel from the regional towns or northern suburbs to attend the captioned movies at the Marion shopping 
centre.  I am aware that the Palace Nova is attempting to set up captioning for English speaking movies for 
Deaf and hard of hearing patrons. Good for them; however, they are struggling with the setting up of the 
captioning system. This cinema needs to be supported; because it is in an ideally-centralised position in the 
city with easy transport access.  This captioning system needs to be standardised in more Australian 
cinemas. 
  
With the growing population of deaf and hard of hearing people,  those cinemas are failing in their 
commitment to provide more captioned movies.   Being service providers for pleasurable entertainment, the 
big four cinemas are ignoring the basic human right for EQUAL access to all services for all of the Australian 
population.
 
I call for a rejection against the proposed exemption by the big four cinemas and for equal access to 
subtitled films in the major cinemas.
 
Sincerely,
 
Sandra Hoopmann.
 
Sandra Hoopmann