Powerd NewsWrap 18th June 2025

Sam Rickard 0:00

Sam on the Vision Australia and reading radio networks. This is the Powerd news wrap G'day. I'm Sam Ricard. It's the 18th of June, 2025 we're presenting articles from the Powerd dot media website, and of course, joining me as normal is Emma Myers, hello, Emma. Hello. So we've got a few interesting topics today. We're not quite into the realm of disasters, because I've held that back. And well, you're up for an award for this one about apparently, aren't you? I am. So we're keeping that back. We're going to do something special with it, but we've got a few topics here that really do well cause a lot of reaction. So the first one that we're covering, well, reforms in the taxi industry. Now, as a blind person, I hear about this all the time, and there's more than one issue as far as issues with taxes and rideshare, but we're concentrating on assistance animals. Now, how much exposure Have you had to this particular issue?

Emma Myers 1:05

Well, being wheelchairs and myself, I have a good range of experiences when it comes to issues in the taxi and rideshare industry, but I don't actually have a lot to do with assistance animals. I did contemplate getting one, but the dog that I chose, let's just say he won't pass the test. He's lovely, but my family and I refer to him as the developmentally delayed toy poodle.

Sam Rickard 1:44

Now, you spoke to Olivia Barry yourself. I did, and I think she's well spoken. She seems to have the right intentions in mind. But whether it's going to work or not, that's a question. I mean, we've been talking about this issue since the 1980s Believe it

Emma Myers 2:00

or not, I can't believe that. Definitely can believe that. I guess the good thing about what Miss Barry said with this new zero tolerance policy is is that once a driver takes a booking, an audio message will actually blast through the car, reminding them that it's a criminal offense to refuse an assistance animal entry into the vehicle. Yep, and she said, regardless of the excuse, there will be penalties for any driver who refuses to transport a customer and their assistance

Sam Rickard 2:51

animal. What I'm curious about because I mean, in a way, what this means is you're giving the driver fore warning that the person you're about to pick up has an assistance animal, which means that they may just refuse the fare on spec. That's the concern I have, which I've heard of issues where there was a lady in, I think was rural Victoria, who had declared that yes, she's got a guide dog, and it was put in the brief for the driver, and she had 12 refusals just in a row.

Emma Myers 3:19

So yeah, that was in one day, wasn't

Sam Rickard 3:21

it? Yes, it was, yeah. And she actually took the same company actually to the Human Rights Commission over that. And so, I mean, this is the thing is, it's not just the right thing to do. It's the legal thing to do. Also, it doesn't look good for a company to be in this situation. So it makes financial sense to actually try and do something. I mean,

Emma Myers 3:44

the way she explained it was that the message comes through the speakers after that driver has accepted the booking, so that they've already accepted it, yep, and this is a just a reminder that should they get to the person and then refuse it on the spot? There'll be criminal repercussions right then there for the driver.

Sam Rickard 4:10

Oh, yeah, yeah. And as I said, I'm really, really hoping this actually works. And if it's, it's the if the largest taxi company in Australia does this and it works, then the other companies will follow. That's pretty much what it comes down to. And now, as usual, we cross to the news with our guest news reader for the week, Alan Atkinson,

Speaker 1 4:27

a major taxi company, has rolled out a new policy dedicated to ensuring passengers with assistance animals will not be refused transport based on their accessibility requirements. One three cabs has announced a zero tolerance policy for drivers who refuse to take bookings where assistance animals are involved. The company's chief operating officer Olivia Barry, says trips are monitored via devices which remind drivers of their obligation to passengers. Drivers are reminded via messages into their car once they've accepted one of these jobs. So that it's a criminal offense to refuse service to any passengers with assistance or guide dog. Any issues relating to the service are fed back to the contact center for resolution. Diane shaddock is an access and advocacy advisor for guide dogs New South Wales, a CT. She claims that taxis turning down assistance dogs is the main issue they hear about in relation to taxi and ride shares. It's estimated that every one in two trips that an assistance animal handler books is refused, which is just too high, says Miss shaddock, and goes on to explain that when people refused access to a service like rideshare guide dogs wants to make sure people with assistance animals were clear on who they report to and what they would expect in terms of an outcome. As a result, they've partnered with the state owned Domestic Animal Services AC T to produce what's called an access rights card, which lists the legislation that access refusals are enforced under the associated penalties. We'll do everything we can work with the government and the community to educate drivers. She says, alongside the introduction of one three cab zero tolerance policy, the taxi company is also rolling out the following three policies, trip prioritization. Passengers who note they are traveling with an assistance dog in the one three cabs app or via phone booking will now have their trip prioritized for dispatch, driver accountability. Drivers are reminded via an in app prompts that is a criminal offense to refuse service to passengers with assistance dogs. If no vehicle is immediately available, a human dispatcher will intervene to secure a car. Enhanced driver training, a dedicated assistance animal module focusing on etiquette, behavior, expectations and legal obligations has been added to all driver inductions and annual refresher clauses with a mandatory assessment component one, three, cab's Chief Operating Officer, Olivia Barry, believes everyone deserves to travel with dignity. The rules have always been there, but the enforcement across the industry hasn't always matched the severity of the offense. She says, we want to address those issues through these reforms and really try and change the culture. Many of Australia's leading disability advocates have been in New York this week to attend the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Cosp 18, now in its 18th year, the conference encourages countries around the world to engage themselves to develop and carry out policies, laws and administrative measures and abolish laws, regulations, customs and practices that constitute discrimination. According to its website, key topics of conversation over the past two days have included the need for better understanding when people with disability report criminal activity, improving emergency evacuation strategies and further calls to recognize intersectionality when it comes to policy delivery. Disability rights campaigner Ellie de marchelier presented her case for educating law enforcement around sexual violence against people with disability, calling on world leaders to develop terminology, train law enforcement and fund education. When I reported my assault to police, this language gap became a weapon against me. I couldn't articulate that my attacker deliberately chose me because of my disability. Silence perpetuates harm. People with disability face to two to five times higher rates of sexual violence, yet we can't even name what targets us, says ms demon shellier, Chair of Australia's National Disability Research Partnership, Claire gibellini, took part in a discussion surrounding the importance of building resilience in emergencies for people with disabilities, I focused on ways to build that resilience and inclusion from inside the emergency management organizations and agencies, they said, women with disabilities Australia, CEO Sophie Cosworth also spoke highlighting the need to embed intersectionality when enacting human rights legislation and ensure meaningful co design in all decisions. Reflecting on the event, Ms Cosworth said she is honored to have played a role in vital discussions with disability advocates from around the world. I am proud to be part of an incredible cohort who have delivered powerful interventions and events and have led in the facilitation and moderation of critical discussions.

Sam Rickard 9:27

And how do we pronounce that name again? Alan Ellie de marchelier, very well done. Now, this story has everything in it, doesn't

Emma Myers 9:36

it? It really does. It's got the whole plethora of issues that the disability community face on the daily

Sam Rickard 9:45

indeed, and some very confronting things as well. I mean, it's something that I don't think even men with a disability think about, and that is sexual assaults. I mean, I really don't encounter anything remotely like that.

Emma Myers 9:58

And this is something. That plays into my own research a lot of the time is there's a gender hierarchy within the disabled community, and so women with disability experience a higher number of sexual violence and sexual assault because we're seen as more vulnerable, I guess, and so Disability Rights Campaign earlier damage earlier actually presented her case for accurate terminologies to be put in place and retraining law enforcement To be able to deal with this aspect of sexual violence and discrimination

Sam Rickard 10:45

comes to a point that I made a few episodes ago, and that is, the issues that people with a disability face are often the same as issues that anybody else faces, but it's just seems to be, as I said, on steroids, really. I mean, it's

Emma Myers 10:59

definitely more prevalent, and we don't have the terminology at all to specify what we're experiencing in terms of legalities. I mean, if a child is sexually assaulted, we call it pedophilia. If a woman is sexually assaulted, we call it rape. But what do we call sexual violence against people with disability because we feel that we are targeted. We are targeted because we can't get away. Well, some of the other issues covered included the need to embed an intersectionality clause when enacting human rights legislation and ensure meaningful co design in every decision made regarding our lives. So what's that? In English? It pretty much means disability is everywhere, but you could also be a member of the LGBTQIA community. You could also be female. You could also be culturally and linguistically diverse for stations and have a disability. And so what it means is women with a disability, it's very what's essentially calling on world leaders to acknowledge the fact that our experiences are going to be different regardless of their disability.

Sam Rickard 12:37

Quite often we are considered as one big homogenous mass of yes, people with a disability and yes, we're either helpless or inspirational or whatever, without actually taking into account that we are actually human as well, which

Emma Myers 12:52

Yeah, and we're members. We're not just members of one group. We're members of multiple groups. Were multifaceted individuals, and it's time that the UN remembered that. So it's time to

Sam Rickard 13:07

put a wrap on this wrap once more. What are we looking forward to next week? I mean, what are you working on right now? Well,

Emma Myers 13:14

I just published an article about an event happening in Melbourne this week where the deaf blind community is going to be on bombing politicians, wow. Okay, so in the name of Powerd, in the need for better

Sam Rickard 13:31

care, this, of course, would be for deaf blind awareness weeks, which is awful, yeah, next

Emma Myers 13:35

week, yes, yes. Bye, for now, bye. You

Speaker 1 13:39

can find these articles and more by going to Powerd spelt P, O, W, E, R, D, dot media, along with the podcast of this show, the Powerd news wrap was brought to you by disability media Australia. This show was produced by Sam Rickard in the Adelaide studios of Vision Australia radio you.