Sexism and Racism,Why Not Ableism?

Wolbring Gregor , ‘Politics of Ableism’ (2008) 51 Development 2, 252.

Goggin and Newell explore the contemporary routine oppressive treatment of people with disabilities in Australia: Goggin Gerard and Newell Christopher , Disability in Australia: Exposing a Social Apartheid (2005).

A referendum on 27 May 1967 approved two amendments to the Australian Constitution, one of which permitted Indigenous Australians to have the vote. The amendment permitting Aboriginals to vote became law on 10 August 1967. See Attwood Bain and Markus Andrew , The 1967 Referendum, or When Aborigines Didn't Get the Vote (1997).

Miller Paul , Parker Sophia and Gillinson Sarah , Disablism: How to Tackle the Last Prejudice (2004) 5.

Madriaga Manuel , ‘Enduring disablism: Students with dyslexia and their pathways into UK higher education and beyond’ (2007) 22 Disability & Society 4, 399–412.

Hehir Thomas , ‘Confronting Ableism’ (2007) 64 Educational Leadership 5, 8.

Wolbring , above n 1.

Blind Citizens Australia, Submission to the House Standing Committee on Education and Vocational Training , Inquiry into Teaching Training, November 2005 <aph.gov.au/House/committee/evt/teachereduc/subs/sub161.pdf.> at 21 May 2009; Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA), Submission to the HREOC request for comments on the possible public inquiry on employment and disability issues, September 2004 <hreoc.gov.au/disability_rights/employment/rfc/wwda.doc> at 21 May 2009.

A search of Hansard indicated the only reference is related to the submissions of advocate groups: Commonwealth of Australia Committee Hansard, House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Vocational Training, 10 February 2006, 60–62 (Resolved on motion by Sawford Mr ).

Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs , ‘Disability Discrimination and Other Human Rights Legislation Amendment Bill 2008’ (Final Report, 2009).

This article will focus upon the post reform DDA.

Campbell Fiona Kumari , Contours of Ableism (2009).

Smith Greg , ‘Backtalk: The brother in the wheelchair’ (2001) Essence, 162, 162.

Exemption application re: Boeing Australia Holdings Pty Ltd & related entities (No 2) (the Boeing case) [2008] QADT 29; Exemption application re: Raytheon Australia Pty Ltd Ors (the Raytheon case) [2008] QADT 1; In the Boeing case, President Savage SC at (31) – (36) explained that employees of certain nationalities were prohibited from working on US Defence contracts in Australia or in the US by US laws. A breach of these laws attracted sanctions against employer and employee. The employee could be expected to fly to the US as part of their employment; as a consequence it was an inherent requirement of the position that an employee not be of a particular nationality and thus it was not discriminatory not to employ such people. In the Raytheon case, Member Boddice SC took a different view and granted the exemption under section 113 of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld) which permitted the discriminatory conduct.

‘Experiences from Nicaragua’ Department of Economic and Social Affairs E-forum <http://esaconf.un.org/WB/default.asp?action=9&boardid=16&read=909&fid=204> at 18 May 2009.

Disability Discrimination and Other Human Rights Legislation Amendment Act 2009 (Cth).

Act to amend the Canada Evidence Act and the Criminal Code in respect of persons with disabilities, to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act in respect of persons with disabilities and other matters and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (Chapter 9), Canada GazetteCanada Gazette, Part III, 1998-07-31, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 2–31.

Disability Act 2005 (Ireland, No. 14 of 2005).

Disability (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) Act 2008 (New Zealand).

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Amendment) (Further and Higher Education) Regulations 2006 (UK).

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, Pub L No 108-446, 118 Stat 2647 (codified in scattered sections of 20 USCA §§ 1400-1482 (West 2005)); American With Disabilities Amending Act, 154 Cong Rec S8342 (Sept. 11, 2008).

United Nations , ‘Convention & Optional Protocol Signatories & Ratification’ <un.org/disabilities/countries.asp?navid=12&pid=166> at 20 July 2008.

Melish Tara J. , ‘Perspectives on the UN Convention On the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: The UN disability convention: Historic process, strong prospects, and why the U.S. should ratify’ (2007) 14 Human Rights Brief, 37.

Waddington Lisa and Diller Matthew , ‘Tensions and coherence in disability policy: The uneasy relationship between social welfare and rights models of disability in American, European and international employment law’ in Breslin Mary Lou and Yee Silvia (eds), Disability rights law and policy: International and national perspectives (2002).

Perlin Michael L. , ‘International human rights law and comparative mental disability law: The universal factors’ (2007) 34 Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce, 333.

Goggin and Newell , above n 2, 48.

Hehir Thomas , ‘Eliminating Ableism in Education’ (2002) 72 Harvard Educational Review 1, 1.

Hehir Thomas , New Directions in Special Education: Eliminating Ableism (2005) ch 4.

See for a case example where universal design was upheld in relation to inferior wheelchair access: Cocks v State of Queensland [1994] QADT 3.

Pynoos Jon , ‘Aging in Place, Housing, and the Law’ (2008) 16 Elder Law Journal 77, 88.

Klein Olivier , ‘Hidden profiles and the consensualization of social stereotypes: How information distribution affects stereotype content and sharedness’ (2003) 33 European Journal of Social Psychology 6, 755–777.

Corrigan Patrick W. , ‘Mental Health Stigma as Social Attribution: Implications for Research Methods and Attitude Change’ (2000) 7 Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 1, 48.

Campbell Fiona Kumari , ‘Exploring internalized ableism using critical race theory’ (2008) 23 Disability & Society 2, 151. I have had personal experience of the internalisation of ableist beliefs. At a conference, a senior colleague commented that I had ‘achieved a lot for a blind person’. At this point, I had been awarded a Masters of Laws (GPA 6.5), a prize for my PhD candidature, an International Law Association of Australia prize and been successful in practice since 2003. Underlying the comment is a disturbing message that people with disabilities confront substantial barriers imposed by society and that they are unlikely to break the mould and be successful.

(2003) 217 CLR 92, 162.

Ibid.

Ibid.

See Campbell Colin , ‘A Hard Case Making Bad Law: Purvis v New South Wales and the Role of the Comparator under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth)’ (2007) 35 Federal Law Review 111, 113–115; Dickson Elizabeth , ‘Disability Discrimination in Education: Purvis v New South Wales (Department of Education and Training), Amendment of the Education Provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) and the Formulation of Disability Standards For Education’ (2005) 24 The University of Queensland Law Journal 213, 219; Roberts Susan , ‘The Inequality of Treating Unequals Equally: The Future of Direct Discrimination Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth)?’ (Speech delivered at ANU Public Law Weekend, Canberra, 6 November 2004), 30; Smith Belinda , ‘From Wardley to Purvis – How far has Australian Anti-Discrimination Law come in 30 years?’ (2008) 21 Australian Journal of Labour Law 12, 1.

Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs , ‘Disability Discrimination and Other Human Rights Legislation Amendment Bill 2008’, above n 10, 43.