HAWKESBURY Council has adopted its Disability Inclusion Action Plan, which outlines how Council can make information and physical access easier for people with disabilities.
The plan passed Council on July 11. The plan will guide how Council to create a local government area, which everyone, disabled or not, can access.
Council’s Access and Inclusion Advisory Committee member David Briggs said Hawkesbury had a long way to go before it could be considered accessible for everyone.
“We are an area with a lot of heritage and an infrastructure backlog,” he said.
“Council has a lot of work to do to change attitudes towards people with disability and the physical environment, especially since more people with disability will now access the community as they receive the supports they need under the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
“People are no longer forced to live in institutional settings and people with disability with have a voice, choice, and control over how their funding is now allocated.”
The plan states: Council recognises that access and inclusion are fundamental to creating a healthy and cohesive Hawkesbury.
The plan outlines a number of metrics, for Council to base its progress towards on.
“The plan acknowledges that people with disability have human rights just like other members of the community and that Hawkesbury Council and the community have a responsibility to facilitate the exercise of those rights,” Mr Briggs said.