“Access is a right, not a privilege”

With approximately 50,000 people commuting on any given weekday, the railway station is the gateway to South Sydney. Why is it that, only now, the redevelopment of the station becomes a key concern for local government? Money.

Redfern station still has no ramps, no lifts, and no wheelchair accessible toilets. According to the RWA's Built Environment Plan: “The stairway access to the platforms is inequitable for elderly, young children and less mobile people.” Despite its significance as the 10th busiest and 2nd most accessible train station in Sydney, the lack of amenities for less mobile passengers proves yet another obstacle for the less mobile.

This poses a physical disincentive for less mobile people coming to the Redfern-Waterloo area and has the follow-on effect of restricting access to businesses, social networks and organisations.

Mathew Bowden, acting CEO of the Disabled Complaints Service situated on Pitt Street in Redfern, claims that Redfern station's failure to provide for the less mobile has forced many colleagues and visitors to alight at Central station and make their way up Chalmers Street – “a very tiresome detour for someone with impaired mobility”.

For residents of the Redfern-Waterloo community with disabilities or limited mobility the railway station's lack of easy access effectively confines the pursuit of employment, education and leisure to their immediate surroundings. Thus “indirect discrimination”, as defined by the Disabled Discrimination Act 1992, directly impacts on the living standards of many people in and visiting the community.

The construction of disabled access facilities at Redfern Railway Station has been promised to the South Sydney community for over 10 years now, and according to Bowden should not be considered as a “special upgrade or feature.

“Access is a right, not a privilege. It's a basic requirement of all public services as much so as the installation of lighting, toilets and signage.”

In spite of this, the Department of Commerce's 2004 report on the redevelopment of Redfern station found: “It is important that the redevelopment of the station occurs in parallel with the redevelopment of the general area” in order to secure and maximise commercial returns for investors, which could not be achieved by redeveloping the station in isolation. By applying authority planning rules, that bypass normal planning rules and heritage laws, the Government would make almost $18 million profit on the upgrade of Redfern station, the documents say.

This line of reasoning brings the commitment to social and moral imperatives, like human rights and sustainability, of local government into question. Doesn't the aim to secure and maximise returns for investors undermine the capacity for a community-based redevelopment of South Sydney? Why are the sales of government land/commercial redevelopment of Redfern and access to fundamental utilities by all members of the community mutually exclusive?

Photo: Bill Sheridan - Local resident, Poppy, finds access to Redfern station difficult

Source: South Sydney Herald August 2008 www.southsydneyherald.com.au