Contact Details

PO Box 24

13 Barrett Street

Telephone 03 9372 6400

Toll Free 1800 033 660

Facsimile 03 9372 6466

TTY 03 9376 9275

bca@bca.org.au

www.bca.org.au

Published by

Blind Citizens Australia

ABN 90-006-985-226

Edited by

Nadia Mattiazzo

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Our mission is to achieve equity and equality by our empowerment, by promoting positive community attitudes, and by striving for high quality and accessible services which meet our needs.

COPYRIGHT: Reproduction of articles appearing in Blind Citizens News is permitted, provided Blind Citizens News and the author(s) are acknowledged.

Large Print ISSN 1441-449X Braille ISSN 1441-5658

Cassette ISSN 1441-564X

Blind Citizens News is distributed in Large Print, Braille and Audio. Electronic copies in text format are available from our Web page, on Disk or by Email. To change your format, please contact Blind Citizens Australia.

• SoundAbout Audio Magazines
• Blind Citizens Australia Annual Report
• Project and Research Reports

Accessible E-Commerce in Australia

Community Development for Blind Women

Everybody’s Business

• Horizons Radio Program

(see Tune in and Keep up to Date, in this issue)

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BCA’s Identity Card carries a photo, address and signature. It may be used where photo identification is required and is worth 25 points when opening a bank account or entering into business transactions. Application forms are available from the BCA Office

In this Issue

Welcome to the last edition of BCA News for the year 2003.

I hope all who attended our National Convention held in Canberra have recovered. I personally thought it was an excellent weekend: there were many new attendees; there was healthy discussion and some excellent presentations.

In this issue of News, along with our regular features, we have included the Resolutions which were proposed at Convention and which will now go to the National Policy and Development Council for further implementation. We have some interesting letters to the Editor as well as information regarding the changes to the Victorian Multi Purpose Taxi Program.

I also need to remind you that the theme for our first issue in 2004 is Recreation. I expect to see some great articles from readers talking about how they spend their recreation time.

In conclusion, I hope Santa brings you everything you ask for and that you have a safe and merry Christmas.

I would like to urge all members to think about what's really important in their lives and start to get sensible about how we receive our information.

I am a braille reader from way back and much prefer to read braille. Logic is telling me that the cost of the braille production which includes the packaging and the time and money of the person needed to send out the information could be greatly reduced (if not eliminated) and those resources be spent on providing other services (i.e. using that staff member for other duties) as funded organisations are always struggling to provide a full range of services on limited budgets.

It would be interesting to see the break down of costs for tape, disk or braille etc.

So even though it might be preferable to have your favoured format perhaps you should consider using e-mail facilities where practicable. From someone who is a basic user it also keeps you on your toes as far as using the computer is concerned.

I am sure that this is a way to assist an organisation who works tirelessly on our behalf.

Thanks to one and all of you.

Lana Thompson

The Editor

Blind Citizens News

Through this magazine I would like to inform readers of a recent problem that I encountered with some medication. It may be that this has not been a problem for anyone else but it is something about which I, personally, had no knowledge.

I use Pulmocourt Turbo Haler as a preventative medication for asthma. On the side of the inhaler a thin red line appears to show the level of medication remaining. Because this thin red line is very thin, I used to check the level of medication by shaking my inhaler. But, I did not know that Pulmocourt Turbo Halers also contain a drying agent.

Recently I suffered an aggressive asthma attack and visited the local Asthma Clinic. The Nurse checked my medication and found that my inhaler was approximately one year out of date. Whilst I had been shaking it and hearing medication in it, it actually had been empty for some considerable time.

So, my advice to people who can not rely on seeing the thin red line is to record on the side of their inhaler the date it was first used, allow for approximately 200 doses and then, get someone to check the thin red line.

My only remaining query is I wonder how much I really need this medication if I had been cheerfully puffing on it for 12 months while it was empty.

Joan McCann

It is almost the end of another year, which has once again been busy for Blind Citizens Australia. Thank you to all those who have given up their time and worked hard on our behalf. To all Board members, National Policy and Development Council members, staff and members, your hard work and time commitment is much appreciated.

On October 6, we held our 28^th AGM in Canberra. It was well attended and a large number of people joined the meeting via the Internet. Copies of BCA’s Annual Report can be obtained from the National Office on request and it is available on the BCA Web Page.

Results of the Board elections were announced at the AGM. There were four candidates for three positions and the election was held as a postal ballot in accordance with our Memorandum and Articles of Association.

Theresa Smith, Tony Starkey and Sue Thompson were elected for a three-year term. I am sure that I speak on behalf of all BCA members in thanking Daniel Stubbs, retiring member of the Board, for his contribution and we look forward to his future involvement in the organization.

There were elections for NPDC representatives in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. I am pleased to let readers know that Terry Boyle from Queensland, Mathew Mirabella from Victoria and Bill McKennarie from New South Wales were all elected for a two-year term. I would like to thank Craig Magill from Queensland, Barry Chapman from New South Wales and Jordie Howell from Victoria, retiring members, for their contribution and hard work in these roles and look forward to their ongoing involvement in BCA.

With the election to the Board of Theresa Smith, Lee Kumutat will replace her as the co-opted representative of the Women’s Branch and will hold this position until the close of the 2004 AGM.

• Robert Altamore, ACT - President;
• Karen Knight, Qld - Vice President;
• Greg Madson, WA;
• John Simpson, Vic;
• Theresa Smith, NSW;
• Sue Thompson, NSW;
• Tony Starkey, SA.

Lee Kumutat, co-opted member representing the National Women’s Branch

The Organisational Class A Representative is currently vacant as there were no nominations for this position from amongst the Organisational Class A members.

The Council meets face to face twice a year and undertakes their work through a number of working groups. At the time this article was prepared, the NPDC had not met to consider and decide which working groups will operate in the coming year. Following the November 29-30 face-to-face meeting of the NPDC we will provide this information through other communication media of BCA.

At the first meeting of the Board following the AGM, a number of positions were appointed. These include:

• Vice President, Karen Knight;
• Chair, Finance Committee, Karen Knight;
• Other Board representatives on Finance Committee, Theresa Smith & John Simpson;
• Chair, Fundraising Committee, Karen Knight;
• Chair, TEDICORE Project, John Simpson;
• BCA’s representative on the TEDICORE Policy Advisory Body, Tony Starkey;
• Chair, Victorian Coordinating Committee, Tony Clark;
• Board nominees for Victorian Co-ordinating Committee, Natale Cutri with the second nominee to be filled;
• Chair, New South Wales Co-ordinating Committee, Sue Thompson;
• Board nominees New South Wales Co-ordinating Committee, Joanna Novo and Lynne Davis;

There will be a number of other positions filled and BCA representatives to various roles at the face-to-face meeting of the Board and NPDC during late November. Following this meeting, the Web Page will be updated accordingly.

BCA holds a National Convention every two years and this year we held one of our most successful National Conventions in Canberra. There were over 140 registrations with more than 20% of participants attending their first convention.

There was a wide range of topics covered over the three days with a highlight being the eight individual presentations by our members sharing their personal experiences of dealing with blindness in all aspects of their lives representing the different and diverse membership, which makes up BCA. You can find on the BCA Web Page the audio stream of a number of the Convention sessions and I urge you to take the opportunity to listen to these, as they are both informative and ins pirational.

The overall highlight was the informal networking that took place throughout the weekend. Many friends were made and renewed which was most pleasing. The feedback was such that all who attended left feeling a welcome member of BCA and that they had many opportunities to establish friends with the intention of coming along next time.

Of Course there is always room for improvement so thank you to those who took the time to complete evaluation forms which will assist in planning for future conventions.

The National Office will be closed from December 24 and will reopen on Monday January 5.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas and New Year. I look forward to a New Year, which I know, will be filled with many new challenges for all of us.

The following resolutions were passed at Blind Citizens Australia’s 2003 National Convention, held in Canberra on October 4-6. These will now be submitted to the NPDC for further action.

03.01 This convention requests BCA to urge the National Information and Library Service (NILS), in consultation with Blind Citizens Australia and other consumers with print disabilities, to urgently undertake an evaluation of emerging technologies for the production and delivery of publications (including Newspapers, books and other materials and audio books) to ensure continued improvements in efficiency and delivery of alternative format library services to Australians with print disabilities. And, at the same time, undertake a trial of the Audio Read system in consultation with Blind Citizens Australia.

03.02 This convention affirms the right of blind and vision impaired Australians to a confidential, independent and verifiable vote. In the light of the successful trial of an accessible voting system in the 2001 ACT elections, this Convention requests BCA to begin work with all relevant organisations to bring about mechanisms which will guarantee a confidential, independent and verifiable vote for all blind, vision impaired and print disabled Australians.

03.03 BCA recognises the achievements of our deaf and hearing impaired colleagues in improving access to the spoken elements of television. We welcome the opportunity to work with the Australian Caption Centre to introduce audio described DVDs into Australia as a first step towards enabling blind people to independently enjoy television programs.

This convention requests BCA to form the links with the entertainment industry and relevant regulatory authorities to enable the introduction of audio described television in all its forms into Australia with the same level of recognition as captioning.

03.04 That this convention requests the Board of BCA to investigate the practicalities of alternative election processes for BCA elections, including email. This may include voter registration, lodgement of nominations and supporting statements and voting. In doing so, the Board is asked to take account of factors including security and probity, current technology and costs.

03.05 That this convention request BCA to urge NILS, in accordance with its dual role as a funded public library and as a disability service, to expand its range of information to a standard that is equivalent to that generally available to the public.

03.06 Given the difficulties faced by blind people who are members of minority groups, this Convention:

1. recognises the importance of the issues these difficulties raise; and,
2. urges BCA to play an active role in promoting and upholding the rights of all people to equal access to both information and services.

This Convention recommends that BCA use its position of influence to impress upon blindness agencies, the importance of all staff and volunteers adhering to policies and procedures that protect the privacy of clients.

03.07 This convention asserts that the following minimum requirements should be included in the Constitution and among the development plans for any new or restructured blindness service organization in order that its Board and management can demonstrate their commitment to current community expectations and disability service philosophy.

1. Recognition of BCA’s status as the peak organization representing blind and vision impaired Australians;
2. Equitable and appropriately resourced representation by BCA on the Project Steering Committee and all relevant Working Groups;
3. Inclusion in the Constitution of the new organization of provisions that provide for and encourage membership of the organization, and of its Board, by blind and vision impaired Australians, both as individuals and as representatives of BCA;
4. Development of a Rights Charter that will underpin the establishment and functioning of the new organization. This must address the following issues:
• timely access to all corporate, governance and policy information in a member’s, client’s or staff member’s format of choice;
• equitable access to the organization’s information systems;
• provision of suitable assistive technology and other support for blind and disabled employees and volunteers;
• the development and promotion of a comprehensive grievance resolution mechanism;
• an affirmative action program that maximizes the opportunities for employment and promotion of blind and other disabled employees and volunteers;
5. Development of a constitutionally protected consumer consultation process which is respected and promoted by the Board, management and staff.
6. Inclusion in the Constitution of provisions to ensure that services and support for blind and substantially vision impaired people throughout Australia remains the core business of the organization and that any extension of services to other people will not be to the detriment of the organization’s core business.

03.08 This Convention supports the submission by Blind Citizens Australia to the Senate Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs with respect to the Australian Human Rights Commission Bill which is currently before the Senate. In particular this Convention:-

• Recognises the importance of the position of Disability Discrimination Commissioner in upholding the importance and priority of disability issues in the broader human rights context and enabling the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) to effectively address the specialised and complex issues of disability discrimination;
• Strongly opposes the proposal in the Bill to replace the existing portfolio specific Commissioners, including the Disability Discrimination Commissioner, with three Human Rights Commissioners; and
• Strongly urges the Attorney-General not to proceed with this aspect of the reform of HREOC, and to fill the position of Disability Discrimination Commissioner permanently.

03.09 That BCA seek to have the National Travel pass recognized so that it would be worth points when opening a bank account or entering into business transactions requiring points for identification.

03.10 In the event of the Project Nexus merger taking place, BCA should monitor the operation of the equipment resource centres to ensure that the equipment is sold to blind people at the lowest possible price.

03.11 That BCA investigate the possibility of developing a National card based taxi subsidy scheme.

03.12 BCA expects that notwithstanding that the National Information Library Service is funded as a public library service, it shall operate as a disability service in relation to its provision of consumer consultation mechanisms, grievance procedures and other indicators of consumer participation, in the same manner as services regulated by the Disability Services Act and that intended to regulate the entity resultant from Project Nexus.

03.13 Recognising that access to telecommunications is vital to the participation of people who are blind and vision impaired in our information society, this Convention:-

• commends the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission ("HREOC") for its initiative in commissioning the Discussion Paper on accessibility of telecommunications for people with disabilities titled "When the Tide Comes In"; and
• recommends to Blind Citizens Australia that it work with HREOC and the Telecommunications and Disability Consumer Representatives to implement the Discussion Paper's recommendations, particularly those most relevant to people who are blind and vision impaired

03.14 One of the major barriers to people who are blind and vision impaired obtaining employment is finding and accessing information on employment opportunities and on practical solutions to reasonable adjustment issues. This Convention recommends to Blind Citizens Australia that it work with blindness agencies and the Commonwealth Government to seek funding for the establishment and maintenance of an accessible jobs database to collect such information and make it readily available to people who are blind and vision impaired.

03.15 Tertiary students who are blind or vision impaired continue to experience unreasonable difficulties and delays in obtaining their study materials in an accessible format. In May 2002, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) convened a forum on access of tertiary students to study materials and has established a Steering Committee and a number of Working Groups to develop and implement its recommendations.

This Convention recommends to Blind Citizens Australia that it communicate to the other participants in this process the urgent need to quickly bring about substantial improvement in access to study materials for tertiary students.

03.16 The Disability Discrimination Act Standard for Education has been in development for almost seven years and has now reached the stage at which it is broadly acceptable to the disability community. This Convention:

1. commends the Commonwealth Minister for Education for his leadership in deciding to proceed to enact the current draft Disability Discrimination Act Education Standard into law;
2. commends the Ministers for Education in Tasmania and the ACT for their support of the Commonwealth's position;
3. recommends to Blind Citizens Australia that it communicate to the Commonwealth, State and Territory Education Ministers its support for the immediate enactment into law of the current draft Disability Discrimination Act Education Standard.

03.17 The United Nations is currently developing the United Nations Comprehensive and Integral Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of People with Disabilities. This Convention:

1. recognises the importance of the proposed United Nations Convention in securing human rights and fundamental freedoms for people with disabilities throughout the world and for people who are blind or vision impaired in particular;
2. notes that Blind Citizens Australia, in common with many other organisations of people with disabilities, has indicated to the Australian Government its strong support for the proposed UN Convention and has demonstrated the potential of such a Convention to promote the realisation of the rights of people with disabilities in Australia; and,
3. recommends to Blind Citizens Australia that it write to the Prime Minister, the Attorney-General, the Minister for Families and Community Services and the Minister for Foreign Affairs conveying its extreme disappointment with the decision that Australia would not agree to the proposed Convention.

03.18 The Australian Productivity Commission is conducting an inquiry into the Disability Discrimination Act. This Convention:-

1. affirms the significance of the Disability Discrimination Act in improving the lives of people who are blind or vision impaired and in enabling them to overcome instances of disability discrimination in their lives, as recorded in the submission of Blind Citizens Australia to the inquiry;
2. recommends to Blind Citizens Australia that it continue to impress on the Commonwealth Government the benefits to people who are blind and vision impaired and to the broader community of the Disability Discrimination Act and that it support any recommendations that may come from the inquiry which will strengthen the legislation for people with disabilities.

03.19 That BCA along with relevant organizational members and other disability organisations, should investigate the conditions in the business services run by blindness agencies in Australia. Specifically the wages paid, types of work done, and the cleanliness and safety of the workplaces for blind and vision impaired people using them; and following its findings, take appropriate action.

03.20 That the following motion be referred to the Australian DeafBlind Council:

That this Convention endorses the following definition of Deafblindness as the national definition. That BCA promotes and encourages other disability service providers to develop services, and for the Government to allocate funding, based on this definition.

Definition:

An individual is deafblind when he or she has both a vision and hearing loss and under most circumstances of daily living does not have sufficient hearing to compensate for loss of vision and/or sufficient vision to compensate for his or her hearing loss.

In earlier issues of News this year, we called for nominations for the David Blyth Award and BCA Certificates of Appreciation. We received a number of applications for both categories, which illustrates the hard work and contributions occurring around Australia each year. The Board established a committee to consider all applications and select these years’ recipients.

At the National Convention Dinner held October 4 the recipients of these awards were announced and it was delightful that both were present to receive these in person.

Neville Kerr receives David Blyth Award

The text on Neville’s plaque reads:

"In recognition of his outstanding contribution as a pioneer in radio for the print handicapped broadcasting and programming; as an innovator in the use of radio to meet the information needs of blind people; and as the producer and host of over 1000 editions of BCA's national weekly radio program Horizons."

Lynne Davis receives BCA Certificate of Appreciation

Lynne’s Certificate reads:

I am sure that I speak on behalf of all BCA members and friends in congratulating both Neville and Lynne as the latest recipients of these awards and thank them for their tremendous contribution over many years.

Thank you also to those who took the time to nominate all individuals for these awards and feel assured we recognise and thank all those who were nominated for their contribution to BCA and the lives of blind and vision impaired Australians.

In October, Maryanne and I took advantage of the fact that we were in Canberra for Convention to spend a day meeting with various politicians and public servants. As we cannot afford to travel to Canberra (or anywhere) often, we had to fit as much lobbying as we could into that one day.

We decided that the major issue we would lobby about was the need for a cost of disability allowance. We based our lobbying about this on the results of our Non-Optional Costs of Blindness study and the feedback members gave us on our submission to the Government’s Simplification discussion paper. We discussed the need for an allowance and the form such an allowance should take with Senator Greig from the Democrats and with staff working for the Shadow Minister for Family and Community Services. As these talks were preliminary, we did not expect to get any commitments other than that our proposal would be considered – which we got. We will continue to discuss this issue with the ALP and the Democrats, with an aim to getting more specific commitments from them.

We also had a meeting scheduled with staff working for the Minister for Family and Community Services, but unfortunately the Prime Minister announced a re-shuffle just before Convention so our meeting had to be cancelled. We will discuss this issue with the new Minister in the future.

Another important issue which we lobbied about was employment; in particular, the need for more assistance to keep people in jobs and for more help so that people can compete for open employment. We discussed this with the Shadow Minister for Disability Services, Annette Ellis, and with senior public servants in the Department of Workplace Relations and Training. The second meeting in particular went well and we are now working with the Department to try to set up a pilot project to make general employment assistance services more helpful for people who are blind or vision impaired.

Finally, we also lobbied about the Government’s 5 year Learning Entitlement proposal, which tries to limit publicly funded tertiary education to five years per person. Our concern is that this proposal will hurt people who are blind or vision impaired because we often need to undertake more study because of our disability. We discussed these concerns with the Minister for Education’s advisor on higher education and with the Democrats (we had previously discussed them with the ALP). Both the Minister’s advisor and Senator Greig from the Democrats understood our concerns and gave a commitment to address them.

We have since followed up all of these meetings and will continue to lobby on these issues in the future.

In September 2001 I was asked to write a letter of support for a young Turkish man's application for permanent residency in Australia. At the time, the man's mother and sister and brother were already living in Australia. There had been a preliminary determination that because the young man was legally blind, he did not meet the health criterion in the Migration Act. If a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC) expresses an opinion that an applicant has a disease or condition to which provision of the health care or community services relating to the disease or condition would be likely to result in a significant cost to the strait community, the person's application for permanent residency will be refused.

I wrote a report strongly supporting the young man's application. I was moved by his situation and the lack of opportunities he was experiencing in Turkey. His mother desperately wanted him to join her in Australia. He was a man of great initiative and resourcefulness. The family were very poor. When the man was younger he sold pretzels and water to purchase his books, pens and pencils for school and worked in a factory for a number of years. He also completed his compulsory military service performing kitchen duties. After this he also held down other jobs running errands for businesses and working as a cleaner. He did not receive any visual impairment related services and it was considered that he would benefit from services available in Australia. The family in Australia managed to arrange employment for him in Australia if his application was successful.

The young man's application was unsuccessful based on the fact that he was not considered dependent on the family in Australia and because of the health criterion. I find rejections on the basis of the health rules very frustrating. In most cases, the applicants are self-sufficient and very resourceful. Frequently, their eye conditions are stable and non degenerative, reducing the need to continually adapt to changing circumstances. The MOCs just seem to move straight from the diagnosis of blind or vision impairment to the diagnosis of dependence and cost to the Australian community. Under the Disability Discrimination Act there is an exemption for decisions made under the Migration Act which means that MOC can discriminate against people who are blind and vision impaired who apply for permanent residency.

The family in Australia employed a solicitor to help with the case. I kept in contact with the solicitor and agreed to be a witness at the Migration Review Tribunal hearing. I admit that I did not have high expectations of the young man's success. It is very difficult to argue that the man is on the one hand dependent and also that he is going to be likely self-sufficient and not cost the Australian taxpayer. Remarkably, the Tribunal Member heard evidence and made the decision that the young man was dependent on his family in Australia and also decided to waive the health criterion. In his written decision of October 2003 the Tribunal member referred to my oral and written evidence and letter of support. Partly I think we were lucky in the Tribunal member assigned to the case.

This case was just one of the many I am involved with over the course of a year. An applicant's success partly depends on the class of visa for which a person has applied. Some visa classifications do not contain a discretion to waive the health rules. These cases are largely unsuccessful. I frequently apply to the Minister for Immigration to apply the waiver in a particular case.

These cases can take a long time to conclude. It is said that the wheels of justice grind slowly, sometimes it seems they don't grind at all. For each success there is another case that fails. Behind each failure is a person's individual story; a marriage, a birth, an elderly relative and all too frequently, poverty and lack of opportunity. It is a system that rewards the healthiest, the most self-sufficient, well educated and best connected although I have had cases in which an application has failed despite a person having extremely significant personal wealth and employment skills in short supply in Australia. In these cases, usually involving a visa classification with no health rules discretion, the fact that a person is blind or vision impaired is the only relevant factor in their rejection.

We will continue to advocate at BCA for a system that looks behind whether a person is blind or vision impaired and looks at what that person is likely to contribute to the Australian community. This contribution should be allowed to offset costs in terms of future eligibility for a pension or access to services in Australia. The fact that the person has a disability should not carry an automatic assumption of dependence and expense.

This material is taken from the Project Nexus Update October 2003

Progress toward the proposed amalgamation of RVIB, VAF and RBS continues with much activity occurring.

There have been two meetings of the nominees to the NewCo Board, regular meetings of the CEOs, progress within the project teams and presentations about the proposed amalgamation to the national conferences of the Australian Blindness Forum and the BCA National Convention.

The 12 nominees to the NewCo interim Board met for the first time in Melbourne on Friday 26 September. This was an opportunity for members to meet each other and to be fully briefed on the progress of the proposed amalgamation.

The meeting included a report on the scope and activity of the various project teams, a report on RBS's progress toward becoming an incorporated company and discussion about the legal process that will need to be undertaken through a Scheme of Arrangement between RBS, VAF and RVIB. Interim Board members also considered planning for the corporate governance issues that need to be addressed once the NewCo Board is legally constituted.

Following the first meeting there has been a change to the nominees of the interim Board: Dr Trevor Anderson has been replaced by David Blyth for RVIB and David Blyth’s BCA nomination has been replaced by Lynne Davis.

The second meeting of the interim Board was held in Melbourne October 31. At this meeting Graeme Innes was elected Chair with Kevin Murfitt and Mike Janes elected deputy chairs for the interim. It was decided to establish three committees of the Board in the first instance: Client services, Integration and Remuneration and Finance and Risk Management. There was some discussion around the leadership of the merged organization through the Consolidation phase with further work to be undertaken before any decisions can be made.

The next meeting of this group is scheduled for December 5.

The three CEOs have signed-off on the scope and context for the Finance and Administration, HR, IT, QMS, Property and Consumer Consultation projects. The project manager has approved the initial game plans of these projects (except for Consumer Consultation).

This has enabled the project teams to start undertaking the work necessary for the amalgamation to happen and to ensure that all three organizations meet their legal and fiduciary responsibilities as agreed under the Heads of Agreement.

Project teams are responsible for identifying the current products, services, processes and procedures within each of the three organizations, what needs to be done to meet the legal requirements for the scheme of arrangements, and the minimal requirements needed for the new Board to be able to govern effectively. They are not involved in developing strategic direction nor any new models or products or services.

The repeal of the RBS Act is on schedule and due to be completed during the spring session of the NSW Parliament.

The proposed New RBS Ltd constitution has been finalised. A project plan has been developed for all company secretarial, corporate governance, facilities management, financial and management accounting, business planning and systems, bequest administration and government funding to support New RBS Ltd.

RBS has received approval to continue to use 'Royal' in its name and has received verbal approval from the Australian Taxation Office that it will be able to retain its current ABN, thus enabling the current ‘deductible gift recipient’ status and other tax exemptions to be retained by New RBS Ltd.

Freehills has recently been appointed as the legal firm for the ongoing aspects of the legal due diligence process and all legal aspects of the merger. KPMG has been re engaged for the financial aspects of due diligence.

The Schemes of Arrangement between the three organizations will not commence until after RBS has converted to an incorporated company. This is expected in December. It is expected that the Schemes will commence in January, with a requirement for the members of the three organizations to vote in April/May 2004.

Under the Schemes of Arrangement it is expected that all of the assets, investments (including controlled entities), liabilities, services, business, contracts and employees of each of RBS, RVIB and VAF will be transferred into NewCo.

All stakeholders are being kept informed about Project Nexus through established channels. The Nexus website now includes general updates as they are released. There is a link to this web site from the BCA web page.

Recently there were two significant national blindness sector conferences at which presentations about Project Nexus featured.

Firstly, Jim Campbell Nexus Project Manager gave a comprehensive update to a meeting of the Australian Blindness Forum on 2 October. About twenty blindness sector service providers and consumer organizations were represented at the meeting and it is clear that there is much interest about the proposed amalgamation from other organizations and other states’ representatives.

Secondly, Graeme Innes, RBS President, gave a presentation at the National Convention of Blind Citizens Australia on 4 October. This convention session was well attended with approximately one hundred and fifty participants.

Graeme's presentation was part of a full session that included other speakers such as John Simpson and David Blyth and an open panel question and answer discussion with Mike Janes, VAF President, and Kevin Murfitt, RVIB Vice President.

As you can see a great deal of work is being undertaken towards the proposed merger with a huge amount to be done before such time as members will have the opportunity to vote for their organization to merge with the other two.

We would like to thank all members who have generously donated to BCA recently. If you would like to make a donation to BCA, but find it difficult filling out forms you may like to call the National Office on 1800 033 660 and donate over the phone using your credit card.

Even though I have been involved with BCA for a number of years, this year was the first time I was able to attend Convention. I had mixed feelings about what Convention would be like. Would I get bored from sitting around for three days? Would the sessions I had organized run smoothly? Would I have too many late nights and one too many drinks and fall asleep during workshops?

As it turned out I didn’t get bored, I was far too busy flitting from one session to another, meeting lots of new people, socializing and generally having a good time. The only nerves I felt were in organizing the two sessions I was involved with, the employment session and the personal safety workshop. Both sessions gave me a few minor heart palpitations when I thought the speakers were not going to turn up, but my fears were only short lived. It was great to see many members attend the employment session and it was a shame that the workshop could not have run longer.

The highlight of the weekend was the Convention dinner where I met lots of new people. My room mate and I table hopped and managed to strategically place ourselves on the table where wine was flowing freely and abundantly. After the dinner I decided I should pay my civic duty and help the President of the Women’s Branch sell tickets in our jelly bean competition. I’m glad I made the effort as we got to network around the room meeting and recruiting members. It proved to be a perfect opportunity to sell tickets as people were feeling generous following a few drinks. I think the only downside of the entire weekend was my tired and not so enthusiastic mood on Sunday morning following a late night.

I also enjoyed the belly dancing workshop, even though I am not as coordinated as I would like to be. I commend the brave person who attended the workshop, representing the only male present. I was glad to see the debate raised during the resolutions sessions. The fervour and intelligent discussions highlighted how dedicated our members are to improving access and equity in our lives.

The greatest challenge of the Convention was finding my way from my room to the main lobby area every day. Thanks to a few helpful hotel guests I usually managed to steer clear of the pool and follow the deafening roar of Convention attendees until I found the appropriate location. In conjunction to the convention attendees, the hotel was also playing host to many of the national masters hockey players, who proved to be quite friendly and helpful people.

The good news of the National Women’s Branch AGM was my re-election on to the Committee for the 2003-05 term. I enjoyed celebrating with the other committee members that night over pizza and wine in the bar. My success continued further when I was elected on to the BCA Board announced during the AGM. I look forward to learning more about and participating in the governance of our organization.

In summary, I have decided there are several advantages in attending the National Convention. First, the chance to meet friends face-to-face, often for the first time. Second, the opportunity of meeting new people. Third, to hear about the work of BCA both domestically and internationally. Finally, the chance to get more involved in the work and activities of the organization. For those who have not yet attended a Convention, I strongly urge you to think about the next one in two years.

On 17 October, the Minister for Transport issued a media release which detailed some very important changes to the Victorian Multi Purpose Taxi Program. In this article, I will take information from the Fact Sheet which BCA has written which will give readers some background on the program and will detail the changes which are envisages, as well as give suggestions as to what you can do to reverse these changes.

The Multi Purpose Taxi Program (MPTP) subsidises the cost of taxis for people who are unable to use public transport because of a disability. The scheme has operated in Victoria for more than twenty years. The maximum rate of subsidy is $25 per trip and there is no limit to the number of trips a person can take.

The MPTP is essential for people who are blind or vision impaired because public transport is not safe or accessible. Even where public transport is available it can be impossible to find some places without a taxi.

In recent years the cost of running the MPTP has increased. The Government argues that it must make changes now to ensure that the MPTP is affordable into the future. The Government also says that there are many people currently using the MPTP who don’t really need it and that some MPTP card holders and taxi drivers are acting fraudulently.

On 17 October 2003, with no consultation, the Minister for Transport announced radical changes to the MPTP, including:

• an annual subsidy cap of $550;
• a means test set at the level of the Disability Support Pension;
• a charge for new or replacement cards of $16.50.

People who need more than $550 subsidy per year will have to apply to a review panel for an increased cap; only those undertaking paid work, study or training will be eligible. BCA understands that once MPTP expenditure has reached $40 million in a year, no-one else will be granted an increase, irrespective of their circumstances or need. This cap will not apply to people who are permanently in a wheelchair. This group and people receiving a Veteran’s Pension will not be means tested.

It appears that all applications from people who receive the Disability Support Pension (Blind) or the Aged Pension (Blind) or who are aged under 16 years, will have to be approved by the panel as they do not receive a means tested payment.

People with disabilities are angry because these changes attack the vulnerable, instead of those committing fraud. The Government's announcement does not include strategies to directly address any misuse of the scheme.

These requirements are demeaning and out of step with the Victorian Government's State Disability Plan, which is founded on the principal that:

"people with a disability are citizens who have the right to be respected and the right to have equal opportunities to participate in the social, economic, cultural, political and spiritual life of society."

People with disabilities are being asked to justify to strangers why they need extra assistance; the scheme will not be applied equally to all; and, these changes were introduced without any consultation with those whose lives will be affected.

The Government claims that 89% of people will not reach the $550 per annum limit and so won’t be affected. We know that many people will stop taking taxis, even when they need to, "just to be sure" that they aren’t left without any subsidy in times of emergency. The changes will leave people stuck in their homes. Those who exceed the limit because of such activities as unpaid work, health or family obligations, won’t get any extra help. Many will have no choice but to forego these involvements.

Equally, many people who are blind or vision impaired will become a cost to, rather than contributors to, the economy, because full taxi fares will make working worthless.

We want the Government to adhere to its own Disability Plan. These changes should be scrapped immediately. We will then work with the Government to address its concerns and to find equitable ways to improve the MPTP.

Please call your local Member of Parliament and ask for a meeting so that you can tell them what effect the changes will have on you.

Also, please email and call the following people:

The Hon Steve Bracks, Premier, ph: 9399 9022

Email: Steve.bracks@parliament.vic.gov.au

Email: John.brumby@parliament.vic.gov.au

The Hon Peter Batchelor, Minister for Transport, ph: 9655 8683

Email: peter.batchelor@parliament.vic.gov.au

Finally, there is a rally planned for Wednesday 3 December at 10 am, on the steps of Parliament House. This rally has been planning to coincide with the International Day of People with Disabilities and encourage as many Victorians as possible to come and protest these changes.

In addressing this topic today we would like to open by clarifying what we understand to be the distinction between the terms- client and consumer. It's clear that across the disability sector, including the blindness sector, that the terms are used interchangeably and that generally there is no distinction drawn. Most of the time it doesn't matter but when we're considering issues about client and consumer participation, for example in the context of agency consultation or the make up of agency Boards or committees we believe that it does matter.

In a disability services context a client is a person, or parent of a child, who has received services from a particular Agency. These individuals through their interaction with the Agency have a perspective which is valuable, however, unless they have an organised method of gathering and analysing the views of other clients they can only represent their own, or at best, a limited view of an issue. This is not to say that their view is not legitimate - it is, or that their view may be out of step with other clients - it might not be, but their view should not be represented as that of consumers.

In the same context a Consumer representative is someone, not necessarily a person with a disability, who represents the broad view of people who do or could use, or are affected by, the services or activities of a disability services organisation. A definition used by the Consumers Health Forum is: ""A consumer representative is someone nominated by and accountable to an organisation of consumers." The key to this is accountability. Obviously we are all consumers, but within a committee, only the person nominated by and accountable to consumers will be maintaining a consumer perspective, i.e. asking continually, "What is the view, and what are the needs, of the people who I am representing?"

Both representations are legitimate and valuable and both bring an important perspective to organisational decision making. We'll be coming back to that point later.

The Commonwealth and State Governments recognise BCA as the peak representative body of blind and vision impaired Australians and fund the organisation to provide systemic advocacy.

Blind Citizens Australia is concerned to ensure that any newly developed or restructured blindness/vision impairment service organization be constituted and function in line with the community's expectations for modern disability service organisations.

Community expectations of organisations serving the needs of people with disabilities being based on equity are now well established, both within Australia and internationally and BCA believes that it is paramount that these "Human Rights" considerations underpin the establishment and functioning of any new disability service agency.

These include:

The Disability Services Act, which provides the legislative basis for Commonwealth funding support to Disability Agencies, (both directly and through the Commonwealth States and Territories Disability Agreement) is underpinned by seven Principles and fourteen Objectives. These include:

The Disability Discrimination Act includes the following as one of its stated Objects:

The philosophies embodied in these legislative instruments are reflected in the Commonwealth Disability Strategy; the whole of Government policy designed to enhance service delivery to people with disabilities.

The latest version of the CDS includes the following principles:

Participation: - people with disabilities have the right to participate on an equal basis in all decision making processes that affect their lives;

Access: - people with disabilities should have access to information in appropriate formats about the programs and services they use;

United Nations Standard Rules

Internationally these principles are embodied in the United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.

In particular the following Rules are of relevance:

The World Blind Union, to which all major Australian Blindness Service Agencies are affiliated via the Australian Blindness Forum, has distilled many of these principles into a simple but powerful Policy:

"Only the blind can speak for the blind".

This is reinforced through the following definition of organisations of the blind in the WBU Constitution:

The BCA Board believes that by incorporation of the following minimum requirements into the Constitution and Implementation Strategies for a new or restructured organisation, its Board and management would demonstrate their commitment to current disability service philosophy.

BCA is Australia's only national organisation of people who are blind or vision impaired. Our membership of 3000 individuals and sixteen affiliated organisations is truly representative of the blind and vision impaired population, in terms of impairment level, age range, geographic spread, interests and needs. In addition, many BCA members bring to the organisation skills and experiences that allow them to make a significant leadership contribution to the work of the organisation and in relation to the governance and operation of the specialist "blindness services" that function to meet the needs of blind and vision impaired Australians.

In conformity with modern community expectations BCA asserts its right to be an active participant, from the start, in all matters relating to the restructure or amalgamation of blindness services, whether at a cross-state or intra-state level. In asserting this right BCA affirms its commitment to nominate representatives from among its membership who will add significantly to the level of knowledge and experience that is available to any such process.

That is the basis of a statement of principal developed by the BCA board and endorsed by the organisations National Policy and Development Council NPDC earlier this year.

Consumers being recognised, involved as leaders at all levels of an organisation providing services to blind people will give that organisation credibility amongst blind people, the community and funding bodies. Without such involvement and recognition of the importance of consumer involvement at all levels and at all stages of decision making I believe we will be left behind in the current age of self determination. We will remain in a situation of people with good intentions and some knowledge making decisions for and on behalf of us.

So far we've outlined what's in it for clients with particular emphasis on the principles that underpin the participation of consumers in today's disability services sector while reinforcing these principles, which are encapsulated in Commonwealth, State and Territory Disability Services Acts, Standards which underpin the Acts, the Un Standard Rules etc. However, we've also made comment about the notion of self determination and of community expectations that modern disability agencies are based on equity and active participation of clients and their representatives.

In thinking about this topic from a "what's in it for agencies" perspective we could simply put forward that by involving clients and consulting with consumers, agencies are complying with prescribed standards and funding body expectations. You will find some in the consumer sector who would argue that that's all it is. They will propose that consultation is often tokenistic, shallow and that agency managers never really take on board what consumers are saying anyway.

We'd like to think that the process of consultation can be more positive and goes beyond this, so we would argue that it will not only help you meet disability standards but it is morally and ethically the right thing to do and it makes perfect business sense. Why? Well to answer that we need to remind you of the difference mentioned earlier about clients and consumers so that we can talk about them separately.

Firstly let's look at what's in it for agencies to involve clients in consultation. As users of a service clients are interacting with an agency and therefore will have a perspective on the effectiveness and efficiency of the organisation. They will know whether or not the service has met their needs and they will have a view on what could have been done differently. In this respect clients can be of enormous value for the purpose of service design and for monitoring service delivery and management. It's also about meeting the clients right of self determination and active decision making.

It's not just about the one-on-one experience though, it goes further than that, it's about taking the cumulative experience of clients so that the agency can be better informed in order to adjust with shifting client needs.

Consultation with clients, either individually or collectively will provide an avenue to engage clients in decision making, not only about the specific service they are seeking, but also about other aspects of the agency. Actively engaging clients will help you meet with and comply with disability standards set by funding and accreditation bodies but it will also help you deliver a better service to customers who believe they are in partnership rather than being in a take it or leave it relationship. Staff will feel positive about it and the agency will be more dynamic and innovative. In thinking about client consultation think about it from a clients perspective because they will most likely have the view - "nothing about me without me"

What about the question of broader consultation with that other element - consumers?

Here we think it goes beyond the notion of the one-on-one client involvement. This is about involving the organised and representative consumer organisations of people who use, have used or could use the services of the agency or are affected by the activities of the agency. The key words here are organised and representative. Organised means that they have the ability to participate effectively, they have the networks, mechanisms and processes to canvas the views of their constituency. Representative means that they have the ability to analyse the views of the sector in order to present a balanced opinion and that they are truly representative of the constituency from an age, gender, geographic and special interest perspective.

Involving consumer organisations in agency consultation has enormous benefits. It can certainly add value to the feedback from consultation with individual clients about specific services. It can help the agency get an understanding about where it sits in the broader blindness and disability sector. It can provide an avenue for dealing with issues of an institutional or systemic nature without the need to identify individual clients or staff.

This will only be achieved however if the consultation is approached in a constructive, meaningful and genuine manner from both the agency and consumer perspective. It's in this notion of genuine partnership that the real value of consumer involvement to agencies comes in. If consumers feel that their participation is valued and makes a difference they are more likely to be allies and defenders of the agency.

In a presentation given by Doctor Kenneth Jernigan to a group of senior managers at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in 1996 - Chattels or Choosers, Jernigan talked about the need for and value of strong independent consumer participation in agency decision making. He emphasised the nature of independence and of how agencies need to create a climate to support the development of strong consumerism.

He said, "It must be self-achieved, and the process must be ongoing and constant. But if you cannot create an independent organisation of the blind, you can and will establish the climate that will encourage or inhibit it. And the stake you have is not solely altruistic or professional. It is also a matter of self-interest, and possibly survival.

In today's climate of changing values and hard-fought issues, the best possible insurance policy for an agency for the blind is a strong, independent organisation of blind consumers. Regardless of how much blind individuals may like the agency and support its policies, they cannot achieve and sustain the momentum to nurture and defend it in time of crisis. That is the negative way of saying this: If there is a powerful, independent organisation of the blind and if the members of that organisation feel that the agency is responsive to their needs and sympathetic to their wants, they will go to the government and the public for funding and support. They will be vigilant in the advancement of the agency's interests. Its friends will be their friends. Its enemies will be their enemies. Choosers have something to lose, and they will fight with ingenuity and determination to protect it.

Chattels, on the other hand, have very little to lose. They are at best indifferent and at worst resentful, always waiting for a chance to rebel in a time of crisis. In good times they rarely criticise, but they also do not imaginatively and effectively give support. In bad times they not only fail to defend--they cannot defend. They have neither the strength nor the know-how. Moreover, they lack the incentive. Having been taught that agency policies are none of their business, they cannot in time of danger suddenly become tough and resourceful."

In making the comment about survival Jernigan was referring to the growing push in America and Canada for specialist services to be folded into generic disability services and the role that consumers had in protecting services. He went on to say, "If the special training and rehabilitation needs of the blind are to continue to be met and if our programs are to survive, there is only one way it can be done. The agencies for the blind, and strong, independent grass roots organisations of the blind must work together to make it happen."

While we think most of us believe it makes good sense from an agency perspective to consult with consumers in a meaningful and genuine way we have to recognise that our agencies have come from a different place. We have to remember that most of our agencies have grown out of a sector where all of the power and decision making was the right of agencies and where clients were supposed to be grateful and compliant. This is illustrated perfectly in C Edwin Vaughan's book "The struggle of blind people for self-determination: The Dependency, Rehabilitation Conflict: Empowerment in the Blindness Community.

Vaughan writes about the push for self determination and empowerment of the blind community. He maps the shift from the era of the benevolent agency and the compliant client to an environment where people who are blind expect to be heard and part of the decision making. It's not confined to the blindness or disability sector either. It's part of a shift across all aspects of the community. Women's organisations would not tolerate men running the show and making all of the decisions. People from an Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander background would not stand for their services to be managed and run by white Australians.

There is enormous value to be gained by our agencies from having people who are blind and vision impaired engaged at all levels. On Boards of Governance, in management, on staff and in meaningful consultation.

In thinking about consumer consultation think about it from the consumer organisation's perspective because they will most likely have the view "nothing about us without us".

When a student of the then, School for the Blind and Deaf, I first met Mercy in 1948. Not only did she have the ability to teach the three Rs, she showed us by example what could be possible for a blind person. Her compassion for those of us who needed special help was always there, and this attitude became part of our understanding. Throughout our lives she was always ready to counsel us. Many have gone on to higher achievements and employment due to her insistence that "You Can Do It".

To fully appreciate the achievements of this remarkable woman, one has to understand the era in which most of the events took place. Mercy did not have today’s technology, the image of blind people was less positive and opportunities for women were few.

Although most of Mercy’s life was spent in Queensland, it is recognised by many, that her influence enhanced the opportunities for all blind Australians.

Mercy Dickinson (nee Griffin) was born in Rockhampton Queensland. At the age of seven she became totally blind. Her primary school days were spent at the then, school for the Blind and Deaf in Brisbane. In the Junior Examination she won The Brunton Stephens Essay Prize. Later having matriculated from High School, she entered Qld University. Notwithstanding the lack of resource material in Braille, she graduated in 1939 with an Arts Degree and was the first blind Queenslander to graduate. Some years were spent as a part-time language teacher.

In 1948 she took up a position as a teacher at the School for the Blind and Deaf. Mercy always had a special interest in the teaching of blind children with additional disabilities. In 1953 she applied for a teaching fellowship at the New York Institute for the Education of the Blind. She was also awarded a Fulbright Scholarship. Having been granted leave by the Education Department she travelled to The United States. Money was scarce, and during her time in New York, there was never enough of it. Despite the obstacles, she gained her Masters Degree in Special Education. Her thesis dealt with the teaching of blind children with additional disabilities. Before returning to Australia, Mercy spent three months teaching at Condover Hall in England, an establishment for the teaching of blind children with special needs. Upon her return to Australia in 1955, Mercy applied her valuable knowledge to the education of such children here.

Mercy was a Foundation Member of The Australian and New Zealand Teachers of Visually Handicapped Children, and later was granted Life Membership of that body. In 1956 Mercy was one of a group who recognised the need for an organisation to train blind and vision impaired people and to assist them to find employment. The Qld Training and Placement Centre for the Blind was established. Many people passed through the Centre. They gained skills enabling them to successfully enter the workforce. Mercy devoted much time and effort to this project.

In 1962 Mercy married Harold Dickinson, a lifetime friend and himself a blind man. As married women were not permitted to work in the Education Department at that time, Mercy resigned from her teaching position. Mercy and Harold travelled to Great Britain to learn as much as possible about the training of blind people, and on their return much of what they had learned was applied here. Harold worked as the Director of the centre, and Mercy used her teaching skills in a number of subjects including Braille.

In 1983 Harold Dickinson passed away. Mercy continued her work at the Centre, and people came from all over Queensland. Many who suffered a loss of vision late in their lives found a willing listener in Mercy. They were always encouraged to adopt a positive attitude to learn the skills to gain their independence. Upon retirement from the Centre she commenced to teach Braille and Moon for the Queensland Braille Writing Association. That valuable work continued almost up to the time of her death.

Mercy took a keen interest in organisations supporting blind and vision impaired Australians. For example: Australian Braille Authority; Queensland Braille Writing Association (Life Member); Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities; Advisory Committee for Low Incident Support Centre; Queensland Foundation for Blind People (Life Member); BCA;

BCA Brisbane Branch named its bursary in her honour;

In 1984 she was awarded The Australia Medal,

Mercy read The Lesson at The Papal Mass in 1986, using the opportunity to promote the Braille system;

1994 an Honorary Doctorate in Education from The Queensland University of Technology for her services to education was bestowed;

In 1995 she received the BCA David Blyth Award.

She assisted Harold to complete his book "Over The Next Hill" in 1983. "As I’ve Seen It" her own autobiography was published in the year 2000.

Mercy passed away on 10^th October 2003.

She is missed.

Managing Director, Quantum Technology Pty. Ltd.

Tel: (02) 8844 9888

Email: tconnell@quantech.com.au

For most of the last 20 years I have been involved in the development and sale of assistive technology products for people who are blind and vision impaired. Back in the early days I remember that on more than one occasion being accused of the ignoble act of "making money from poor blind people". Such were the paternalistic and discriminatory attitudes of the day. Today it is now recognised that people who are blind or vision impaired have as much right as anyone else to expect a dynamic and competitive marketplace that delivers new products and services to meet their needs.

Another major difference between then and now is that we have come to expect change as the norm instead of the exception. The rate of change in our lives is increasing all the time. We are seeing new technologies arise that provide new opportunities as well as new challenges. We are also seeing a greatly increased demand for the charity dollar which is forcing agencies to re-evaluate and change the way they are delivering services. In this climate of change I think it is appropriate (and overdue) that there is a public discussion on the expectations we have for the delivery of assistive technology products and services in the future.

In Australia today the major not-for-profit blindness agencies deliver a very wide range of services and generate income of around $150 million from a variety of sources. The for-profit sector, consisting of a handful of small companies, generates around 10% of that revenue and is mostly confined to the delivery of hardware and software assistive technology products as well as training.

The not-for-profit sector has shown itself to be highly ethical and focussed on delivering high quality services in an objective and independent manner for the benefit of all blind and vision impaired people in Australia, albeit that there are differing levels of service available depending on where you live. The for-profit sector has evolved like any other market, with the companies that survive doing so because they provide a competitive and quality service that consumers are willing to buy.

So what’s the problem? The proposed merger between Vision Australia Foundation, Royal Blind Society and the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind (Project Nexus) has identified a potential new source of revenue as being the expansion of their services in the business of selling assistive technology. I see a number of problems with this proposal which I describe as follows;

1. The cornerstone of any agencies service is their ability to remain objective and independent and to ensure that the only motivation for recommending a product is what is best for the consumer. How can that be guaranteed if the agency is directly benefiting from the sale of the product? In theory it might not sound like a problem, and obviously this is not what is intended at the outset, but as soon as they start to hold stock and set budgets, a conflict with their core objectives is inevitable. Most major international blindness agencies do not get involved in the sale of assistive technology for this reason, except in those circumstances where an alternative does not exist (due to reasons such as geographic isolation, services to low incidence populations etc).

2. The potential for abuse. There are now several well documented instances in recent history in Australia where an employee of a blindness agency has regularly received an "under the table" commission from a supplier in order to secure a recommendation or sale of a specific product. However well-intentioned an agency may be, such potential abuses are very difficult to detect, and if exposed could lead to a serious erosion of the trust in which they are held by consumers and society in general. Is the small potential gain from selling a product really worth placing their public funding at risk? And what of the consumers fate in these circumstances? Have they ended up with the most appropriate product for their needs?

3. Innovation. It is well documented that true innovation in blindness and vision technology over the last 30 years has come from the for-profit sector. Australia and New Zealand have provided some of the most outstanding examples of this; consider Robotron, Pulse Data International and Quantum Technology. All three companies have been world leaders in innovation and all have enjoyed collaborative and mutually beneficial relationships with the not-for-profit sector. If not-for-profit agencies in fact become "competitors" they will have the advantages of size, government and public funding, and a tax free status. It would be very difficult for the for-profit sector to compete and this would put at risk the real drivers of innovation.

I am in favour of the proposed merger if it leads to better services, increased efficiencies and a stronger voice in Canberra. Hopefully I have described adequately why a move by these merged blindness agencies into the business of selling assistive technology is not such a good idea.

Consumers drive the for-profit sector and using their "feet" and their dollars they can directly affect how and if a company survives. Consumer power is a system that works very well in all areas of our lives and hopefully that will remain the case in the blindness business.

We would like to thank all members who have generously donated to BCA recently. If you would like to make a donation to BCA, but find it difficult filling out forms you may like to call the National Office on 1800 033 660 and donate over the phone using your credit card.

On 29 November Darren Fittler, a member of Blind Citizens Australia, will set out with 11 other riders to ride a bicycle from Brisbane to Sydney. All money raised by the ride will benefit BCA and will be used for the long term development of youth oriented programs and projects. Darren is the Chair Person of the World Blind Union Asia Pacific Youth Committee and believes strongly in the importance of developing the capacity of young people who are blind to advocate for themselves and others and to move into positions of leadership both within the community and business. Darren and the ECCC team aim to promote a positive image of people with disability in the community (in particular people who are blind or have a vision impairment), to raise the awareness of BCA and its services and of course, to also raise lots of money for the blind youth of Australia.

You can help contribute to this great cause in a number of ways

* make a cash donation

* collect monitory sponsorship on behalf of Darren

* provide sponsorship in the way of goods and/or services to help with the ride

*·spread the word to as many people as possible including friends, family, local community groups, businesses and the media.

To learn more about the East Coast Cycle Challenge and how to make a contribution please visit the East Coast Cycle Challenge web site at www.cyclechallenge.org, send an e-mail to info@cyclechallenge.org or contact BCA on (03) 9372 6400 or 1800 033 660.

To down load a text version of the sponsorship form, go to www.cyclechallenge.org/sponsorform.txt

How to Make a Donation

1. Make out a cheque or money order to Blind Citizens Australia - East Coast Cycle and send it to Blind Citizens Australia care of Darren Fittler

PO Box 24
Sunshine Vic 3020.

2. Transfer funds or Make a deposit to our St George bank account using the following details:

Account name: Blind Citizens Australia - East Coast Cycle
Account number: 056271459
BSB: 112879
Branch: St George
Randwick NSW.

3. Sponsor Darren Fittler, or another rider, to complete the ride.

Are you interested in contributing to BCA’s policy work? Do you have, or would you like to develop, research and writing skills?

BCA is looking for volunteers to help support the work of our National Policy Development Council. You must be able to commit at least one day per week to the work.

If you are interested, contact Maryanne Diamond or Collette O’Neill at the National Office.

Telstra has won the Prime Minister’s national corporation Employer of the Year Award for its leadership and achievement in employing people with disabilities.

Telstra Group Managing Director, Regulatory Corporate and Human Relations, Mr Bill Scales, said Telstra strived to be a diverse and inclusive workplace and was committed to enhancing employment of people with disabilities.

"We believe that diversity creates opportunities. Our customers have diverse needs, so we view diversity in our workforce as an opportunity to provide better service in meeting our customers’ different needs", Mr Scales said.

Telstra was nominated and won in two categories. In the national category, the Mental Illness Fellowship Victoria nominated Telstra for its work across the organisation to enhance employment opportunities for people with a disability and for its long-term commitment to the employment of people with a disability. Telstra and the Mental Illness Fellowship are partners in an employment program for people with a psychiatric disability.

Ms Elizabeth Crowther, CEO, Mental Illness Fellowship Victoria said: "Telstra has offered our participants the opportunity to work in a corporate environment, to develop employment skills, to build self esteem and improve their employment prospects. Telstra has made workers feel valued, respected and rewarded for their work."

Telstra also won the Western Australia Medium Business category after being nominated by Commonwealth Rehabilitation Services Australia WA division for its partnership training project with Telstra’s WA Desktop Services group. The two organisations have been working together since 1998 to provide training for people with disabilities as IT helpdesk consultants.

Telstra’s commitments to customers and employees with a disability are detailed in its Disability Action Plan 2002 - 2004.

For further information visit www.telstra.com.au/disability/action_plan.htm

Telstra was proud to support the 2003 Blind Citizens Australia National Conference.

Members of Blind Citizens Australia and generous members of the public have, for many years, partly funded the work of BCA through donations and lotteries. In recent times a number of friends and members have also shown their support by leaving a bequest or legacy from their estate in a Will.

This kind of support is vital for our ongoing work and we encourage all members and friends to ensure that Blind Citizens Australia will be here to work for blind and vision impaired Australians in the future. BCA’s advocacy to ensure that services and facilities do not discriminate against our members and other blind people has proved to be of enormous benefit to all blind Australians and we need to make sure that our work continues.

You can help by making a bequest in your Will. Please include Blind Citizens Australia in your Will by using the following wording:

"I give to Blind Citizens Australia the sum of (include sum both in words and figures) free from all duties or other taxes, whether State or Federal."

The closing date for articles for the next issue should be submitted no later than Friday, 13 February. Articles should be sent to Blind Citizens Australia National Office, if possible in large print (16pt or larger) or preferably in electronic form (disk or email attachment).

If you would like to discuss your ideas for a possible article please call on 1800 033 660, or email bca@bca.org.au

Blind Citizens News accepts material in the following categories:

Information about new services, facilities or events of wide interest among blind and vision impaired people is accepted for inclusion within the news content.

Announcements, for sale notices and other advertisements from individuals and small non-profit organisations may be included in a "Notice Board" section, provided that they do not exceed 25 words and are targeted to a national readership. A charge of $20 will apply for each notice.

Advertising on behalf of government, commercial or community organisations that is considered to be relevant to the general readership will be included under the heading "Advertisements". Advertisers must provide a copy suitable for inclusion in all formats of the publication and the following rates will apply.

• Full page (320 words large print) $375
• Half page (150 words large print) $200
• Quarter page (70 words large print) $105

For greatest impact, why not consider sponsorship of an entire issue of Blind Citizens News? For $800 you will obtain:

a credit of up to 25 words on the front cover;

2 print pages for the sponsor’s message (equivalent space in other formats).

Blind Citizens News is published four times a year and is now read by more than 3000 people with a direct interest or involvement in the services and facilities available to Australia’s blind and vision impaired population. We circulate 980 large print, 1000 audio, 200 Braille and 50 electronic (computer disk and email) copies to members, libraries, service agencies, government departments and equipment suppliers throughout Australia. Blind Citizens News also appears in full on the internet website of Blind Citizens Australia.

For the latest information from Blind Citizens Australia tune in to Horizons on your RPH station, on a Community Station near you, or via the BCA website. Horizons is broadcast regularly on RPH stations. It is also becoming available on Community Stations, but you may need to contact your local station to ask it to receive Horizons by Satellite.

Adelaide

5RPH 1197 Khz

9.15 pm Wednesday,

repeated 6.00 pm Friday

Brisbane

4RPH 1296 Khz

7.00 am Friday;

repeated 6.05 pm Monday

Canberra

1RPH 1125 Khz

11.15 am Tuesday;

repeated 8.00 pm Tuesday

and 9.30am Saturday

Hobart

7RPH 864 Khz

1.30pm Friday;

repeated 5.15pm Saturday

Perth

6RPH 990 Khz

10.30 am Friday;

repeated 9.45 pm Saturday

Sydney

2RPH 1224 Khz

3.00 pm Wednesday;

repeated 8.15 pm Saturday

Victoria

8.30pm Wednesday;

repeated 6.30pm Sunday

on the following stations:

Melbourne RPH 1179 AM

Albury RPH 101.7 FM

Bendigo RPH 88.7 FM

Geelong RPH 99.5 FM

Mildura RPH 107.5 FM

Shepparton RPH 101.1 FM

Warragul RPH 93.5 FM

Warrnambool RPH 94.5 FM.