Table of contents

Introduction

Aageants and Disabilities

Disability Discrimination Act

Human Rights Legislation Amendment Act

Australia Today

Works Cited

The Australia Women and Disability Rights Protest of 1981

Introduction

Australia 1981 

Disability rights Activist and one of the founders of the Women with Disabilities Feminist Collective (WDFC), Lesley Hall, and other activists decided to protest on this stage of the, at the time, infamous pageant show Miss Australia for their sexualization and discrimination against women, more specifically disabled women. Due to her protesting and advocating for people with disabilities, Australia faced massive changes in not only taking accountability but also making the necessary changes to ensure that disabled people got the proper care and attention that they needed.

Pageants and Disabilities

Miss Australia (1953) 

Bernard Dowd, executive of a popular lingerie brand at the time, partnered with the Australian Cerebral Palsy Association to help raise funds for the pageant. However, Dowd eventually stopped funding the pageant in 1963; the Cerebral Palsy Association was now the sole provider of funding. This was one of the many reasons why the Disabilities Feminist Collective protest in 1981 ended up happening.

Miss Australia Continued (1908-2000) 

Miss Australia was a highly competitive and infamous pageant in Australia while it was running. It has the equivalent of Miss USA here in America where hundreds and thousands of women will compete against each other to get the crown of being Miss Australia. They would end up associating disabilities with lingerie and even age-shaming a contestant to the point of forcing her out of the competition. While the protests happened over 10+ years outside of the pageant, Lesley Halls stood out the most as people became more aware of the issues this pageant created.

Disability Discrimination Act 1992

The Disability Discrimination Act of 1992 ensures that all people who are disabled aren’t discriminated against whether that be places of employment, school, home or hospitals. It protects people from not getting the proper care that they need, accessibility rights, etc. This Act, compared to the other Acts mentioned in my project is still in effect today which was ultimately the end goal for every single person who participated in the protests before it came into effect.

After Lesly Hall (1993)

While Lesley was still advocating for women’s and disabled people’s rights, another activist, Elizabeth Hastings, was the primary voice for disabled people in the 1990s. She advocated for people who needed resources to have a better quality of life. While Lesley played a role in getting the Disability Discrimination Act passed, Hastings ensured that it was enforced to the utmost degree.

Elizabeth Hastings (1949-2007) 

Elizabeth Hastings was born in London, UK but moved to Australia when she was 7 to 8 years old. What makes Hastings so relatable to protestors, and taken so seriously by the people she is talking to is because she is disabled herself. She even created a term that she often used for people who aren’t disabled. She dubbed them the N.Y.D population. Which stands for the “NOT YET DISABLED” population. Hastings worked together with people who advocated for Disability rights, even becoming a Commissioner for the Disability Discrimination Act. Being the point of communication between the disabled people of Australia and the Australian government.

Commissioner Elizabeth Hastings

Disability Discrimination Commissioner  Elizabeth Hastings was the first with her term lasting from 1993 to 1997. She ended her term by documenting just how much Australia changed throughout the years. While Hastings is a Commissioner she has put her author and politician skills to just as much use during her term. She was at the front of it all from the Disability Discrimination Act being passed to becoming Australia’s first disability commissioner it‘s important to her that she talks about what has changed and what still needs to change after she is gone as she has a disability as well.

How Hastings Changed Australia (1993-1997)

An article published in December of 1997 titled  “Reflections – first 5 years of the Disability Discrimination Act.” published by the Australian Human Rights Commission. Goes through Hastings’s personal opinions as she goes into detail explaining how she views the act as “ground-breaking,” delving deeper into how politeness is not sufficient to get the point across, how to define disability, and lastly how to approach discrimination with disabilities. Hastings addressed the important in her article which is How will the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) make a difference? An important question to ask and one that she discussed for a long time in the article mentioning how relying on goodwill won’t go well as some people will fail. She ended her article by listing numerous complaints that people with disabilities have and ways that we can work toward fixing them in the future. She didn’t have to study or do research on discrimination as she went through it firsthand. Her dealing with her polio diagnosis and attending the University of Melbourne for a Bachelor in Arts and a Diploma in Education. She witnessed these changes happen in real-time and even helped put some of them into motion. She addressed the problems at hand such as subways not being wheelchair accessible, as well as buildings not being wheelchair accessible. She gave ideas on how to fix them and a majority of them ended up happening. For example, how people who are deaf deserve proper technologies to help them which they ended up getting.

Human Rights Legislation Amendment Act (NO. 1) (1999-2016)

This Act is a more revised version of the Disability Discrimination Act, which was created in 1992. Instead of having the people say what they want and advocate for themselves, the Federal Court of Australia would be the one to complain about the country’s disability inequalities. Thus, the people would be able to choose what was most important in terms of change. The Act was ultimately put out of effect in March 2016.

Australia Today (2022-2024)

Australia has faced a lot of changes when it comes to the rights of people with disabilities. While I don’t have the stats for 2024 as the year is not over yet, it’s not bold to assume that the numbers won’t differ a tremendous amount from 2022. According to Social Support in Australia in 2022, 17% of disabled people thought that they would have been treated better by social workers if they weren’t disabled while 94% of disabled people felt they were respected by mainstream services. While there is still a lot of improvement to be made, Australia has made great progress when it comes to ensuring that people with disabilities are supported.

Histography

Elizabeth Hastings (1997-2024)

Hastings had a very important role when it came to her voice in the DDA. Her being the first person in this commission while also having a disability herself has changed the trajectory of people with disabilities in Australia just as much as the protests did. The complaints filed have made Australia more livable for everybody. Such as having public transportation be more accessible. This was put into effect as soon as the complaint went in. She mentions in her article that the government sees no need for her position but she begs to differ. Stating that there needs to be a policy focus. Removing her/ not having a commissioner for the DDA will be a hindering step for the disabled community, not a helpful one. It helped to pioneer Disability Rights in Australia. While they were already working toward changes, having a massive organization back up those complaints and put pressure on the government to make change it ends up happening. Buildings with steps required a ramp after, Subways required wheelchair accessibility, health care was more inclusive in terms of disability, etcetera. Hastings, Hall, and the DDA helped make Australia livable for everyone, especially those not looked at as equals.

Lesley Hall (1981-2024)

Despite Lesley Hall being remembered for her protest in 1981 people are still upholding her legacy by ensuring that she still advocates and provides for people with disabilities by creating a scholarship titled the Arts & Disability Advocacy Scholarship in her honor. Which states “This program supports Deaf or Disabled artists…who use their creative practice to advocate for Deaf and Disabled people.” Art Acess Victoria. The scholarship is still in effect today in 2024 and was won last year in 2023 by Sophie Smyth. Who stated, “Lesley’s legacy empowered me to step into my full-bodied, authentic artistry.” Art Acess Victoria.

Works Cited

“Disability Discrimination Act 1992.” n.d. Federal Register of Legislation – Disability Discrimination Act 1992. Accessed November 09, 2024. https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A04426/latest/text.

Henningham, Nikki. n.d. “Hastings, Elizabeth – Woman – The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.” The Australian Women’s Register. Accessed November 12, 2024. https://www.womenaustralia.info/leaders/biogs/WLE0125b.htm.

“Lesley Hall Arts and Disability Scholarship 2024 Opens Today!” n.d. Arts Access Victoria. Accessed November 20, 2024. https://www.artsaccess.com.au/lesley-hall-arts-and-disability-scholarship-2024/.

“Timeline.” n.d. National Museum of Australia. Accessed November 12, 2024. https://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/miss-australia/timeline.

“People with disability in Australia, Social support – Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.” 2024.

https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/disability/people-with-disability-in-australia/contents/social-support.