Sensing a lack of community consultation, people with disabilities and carers in Dubbo are worried their concerns are not being heard by council.
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In May 2022, the council revealed a list of 16 community committees which would include members of the public. These representatives would be consulted regarding local issues. In this list, council did not mention a disability inclusion committee.
One resident, Dale Albus Elliott, said by not having a disability inclusion committee council had proven to the community that "they don't care about disabilities".
"Council should reinstate the committee, because the disability community feel like we have lost our voice to council. We feel excluded," he said.
Dubbo mayor Mathew Dickerson said the 16 new committees were "disbanded" by the last council but have now been brought back. He also said the last council had a 'disability access committee' which was only formed for a particular function.
"The disability access committee was run with a specific objective in mind, to spend approximately a million dollars that was allocated to disability access," he said.
"And that's done that job now, so having that committee would only really be paying lip service to disability access, because we have no further budgetary funds to spend on disability access."
Cr Dickerson said "the voice to council" was still there because "any community member can pick up the phone, or email a councillor or come to meetings and put presentations to council."
He said people were welcome to lobby councillors to form a committee.
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Annette Ferguson, a legally blind resident, has previously spoken about the challenges that roundabouts and inconsistent footpaths pose for her and her guide dog, Leo. But when Ms Ferguson complained to council, she was unsatisfied with the response.
She had expressed a need for pedestrian crossings at Wheelers Lane/Cobra Street and Wingewarra Street/Fitzroy Street. The official reply stated that Transport NSW had a "long-term proposal" to "upgrade the roundabout to a signalised intersection" on Wheelers Lane/Cobra Street.
"They said the [Wheelers Lane/Cobra Street] intersection would likely include pedestrian crossing facilities, 'likely' not 'definitely'," she said.
She said her Wingewarra Street/Fitzroy Street complaint was not addressed. However, council said that the Cobra Street/Fitzroy Street roundabout is currently being upgraded to a signalised intersection.
"See, that doesn't help me because I've got to go completely out of my way," she said. "I've been badgering them about Fitzroy street for years and years now, even before I had a guide dog, "
Ms Ferguson said that the council's response made her feel like it was "just not a priority".
In 2021, the Dubbo Regional Council had made it a priority to make Dubbo the "most disability-friendly city in Australia". A Disability Inclusion Action Plan was created with goals to be achieved between 2022 and 2025. These include reviewing high traffic areas to improve pedestrian access and ensuring all pedestrian accessibility aids like tactile sensors were updated.
"We make sure that we've got that Disability Inclusion Action Plan in our mind, but you don't need a separate disability access committee to make sure to make sure the plan is being adhered to," Cr Dickerson said.
Ms Ferguson has also noticed missing tactile ground surface indicators (TGSIs) around the city that disorient her when crossing the street.
Cr Dickerson said if something was damaged, vandalised, or out of place, council relied on the community to report such discrepancies.
Off-leash dogs were also a hindrance to Ms Ferguson's mobility since they stopped Leo from guiding her. She said her friend had a service dog who was frequently attacked by off-leash dogs.
"I have made complaints about people with off-leash dogs. Council does go and educate people but I just don't see that people are getting fined for this kind of behaviour. It happens too often down the river," she said.
Another resident, Amy McIntyre, is a carer for her nine-year-old son Max who uses a wheelchair.
"Dubbo is far better than it was five years ago," she said.
When her family was looking at buying a new house, they wanted a home in the suburbs but stayed in the city because of accessibility reasons.
"It was more of a priority to have access to town and being everything to be able to walk everything. That was more of a priority than having the perfect house," Ms McIntyre said.
"Once you get out of that bubble; the centre of town... walking is just a 'no' really, not doing it with confidence and feeling safe walking on road."
But even with life in the city, lack of inclusive detail in infrastructure is discouraging her family of four from spending a full day out.
"When it comes to family activities, there's really not anything around town that you can take both of our kids to," she said.
"When you think about inflatable world, pools [without hoists], the playground, there's a lot of things where there's just no point taking Max because he'll just be sitting there, you can't get him involved."
She also said when new malls are built, they include disabled toilets but no change rooms for parents or carers. Dubbo currently has two change rooms, one at the Rotunda and another in Elston Park.
"They put in a disabled toilet for someone who can still get physically on to it but when you're a carer for a child, there's nothing. You either have to change him in your car or just go back home," she said.
Ms McIntyre said the council was moving in the right direction, and trying, but she thinks "everything just needs to be way more talked about."
"They need to have a committee that comes together with people from every different perspective across the disability band from vision, to hearing, to physical and mental disabilities, to understand that there are so many layers to disabilities and people understanding that it's not just about having a ramp. It's complex," she said.
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