From:	Nikki green [
Sent:	Monday, 7 December 2009 2:42 PM
To:	disabdis
Subject:	Captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing

The fact that the Cinema Industry has applied for an exemption from
the Disability Discrimination Act in relation to captioning for the
next two and a half years is utterly disgraceful.

By allowing this you are isolating deaf and hard of hearing from
society, creating more of a gap between hearing and deaf/h.o.h and
taking away, not only their basic rights that everyone else has to
have the freedom to watch a movie, but the right to stand up for their
rights.

Deaf and hard of hearing people will lose their right to complain
about the lack of captioning at any of the 125 cinemas owned by
Village, Hoyts, Reading and Greater Union Cinemas for the next 2.5
years.  If accepted, captioning will be offered at 35 cinemas just 3
times a week (which translates to one movie a week, mostly off peak -
just 0.3% of the estimated 40,000 films screened by these four major
cinemas each week).

You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Sincerely appalled,

Nicole Green.