Gentle reader, be cautioned: comments sections on mainstream media sites tend to not be safe and we here at FWD/Forward don’t necessarily endorse all the opinions in these pieces. Let’s jump right in, shall we?

Wheelchair Dancer writes about Body Matters:

It’s about how we imagine living in other people’s bodies and the value we ascribe to them; it’s also about how we pass on the fear and vulnerability of change, injury, or pain in our own physicality. And that’s just on a personal level; things get more complicated when we think of the body as a political space.

From the Human Rights Watch, Malaysia: Disability Rights Treaty Ratification an ‘Important Step’. The treaty went into effect on 18 August.

“Malaysia has taken an important step to protect the rights of people with disabilities,” said Shantha Rau Barriga, disability rights researcher and advocate at Human Rights Watch. “But the convention should be seen as a springboard for changing Malaysian laws, policies, and practices that violate the rights of people with disabilities.”

[…]

Malaysia entered formal reservations to the Disability Rights Convention concerning the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment (article 15) and the right to liberty of movement and nationality (article 18). It also made a declaration limiting the government’s legal application of the principles of non-discrimination and equality.

It’s Australia’s federal election tomorrow, so I’m devoting the rest of this to Australian issues.

• First up, let’s back up a bit to the end of July when the campaign briefly focussed on disabled people (yes, I’m a cynic). From 29 July at the ABC, you can read about Labor’s election promises: Gillard’s disability pledge ‘an historic achievement’.
• From the next day, Abbott responds to Labor’s disabilities pledge; The Age reports that ‘the coalition is seeking to trump Labor by promising $314 million to support school students with disabilities’. Which is… not precisely what it would do. Do remind me to rant at you about the way disabled students are treated in Australia sometime, I could go on about it for years.
• Our own Lauredhel, writing at Hoyden About Town, writes Accessibility statement = waffle that should be kept out of the Senate, says Abbott. ‘Why exactly, when your mind reaches for an example of pointless disposable wibbling, is “accessibility and social inclusion for people with disabilities” the first thing that leaps to mind, eh?’
• If you’re still undecided on how your preferences will go, check out PWD.org.au’s list of party policies on disability.

From The Age: Anger as disabled pupils spend up to four hours a day on bus in the southern state of Victoria:

Parents say their children have suffered dehydration, toileting problems and emotional distress on the free bus service that runs children to and from specialist schools.

And, to end on a happy note, disabled Australian swimmers are doing beautifully in the ICP World Swimming Championships in the Netherlands. (Swimming is very very popular here in Australia, as I’m sure you can imagine. You can read some of the results in Swimmer Cowdrey wins third gold medal at the Sydney Morning Herald. We also did really well at the 8th World Deaf Golf Championships in Scotland!

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