The campaign, It’s As Easy As ABC, will coordinate thousands of Australians to send postcards to Mark Scott and Stephen Conroy, requesting the service be made permanent beyond the AD trial’s scheduled end date of 4 November.
“Having access to audio description on the ABC has been incredibly exciting as it’s meant that many people who are blind or vision impaired have been able to enjoy television for the first time,” says 26-year-old campaign spokeswoman Lauren Henley, who lost her vision in 2006 due to a motor accident.
“We are encouraging everyone to get behind the ‘It’s As Easy As ABC’ campaign by sending a postcard to Senator Conroy and Mark Scott. Access to television is about so much more than simply watching the latest soap opera. It’s about choice, civic participation and the ability to be informed.”
AD is already widely available on TV in the UK, USA, Canada, Europe and New Zealand. The campaigners say that it is vitally important that the service continues on the ABC and becomes a permanent feature for Australian audiences.
Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes says it is important that all Australians have equal access to television.
“Thanks to the ABC trial for the first time I know what’s happening during a TV program, rather than enduring long periods of silence or dramatic music. I hope that Mark Scott and Stephen Conroy give all Australians equal access to TV by continuing audio description beyond the trial’s end date,” said Innes.
The campaign is being jointly run by Blind Citizens Australia, Vision Australia and the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network.
Postcards are being distributed via blindness and consumer organisations around the country and are available in a range of accessible formats. If you haven’t received any, order yours today. Follow the campaign on Twitter via @ADonTV.
Top of page