1. Home
2. Policy Portfolios
3. Children and young people with disability

Inquiry into Children, Young People and the Built Environment

Conclusion

The children of NSW need to live, grow and participate in communities that are free from the negative effects of disability discrimination and the disadvantages that flow from social exclusion. For children with disability, the design and construction of built environment need to improve if our hopes for all children are to be realised.

We live with the consequences of decisions made in the past about how the built environment would look and could be used. Some of those decisions have resulted in the exclusion of some sections of society. Children with disability are among those whose social exclusion must be addressed by remedial action in the existing built environment. We must also ensure, however, that the new environment we plan, design and construct is built with social inclusion of all, including children with disability, as fundamental, first principle.

The NSW Government needs to co-ordinate infrastructure and investment, guide industry investment, engage all stakeholders (citizens and industry) in issues and directions and provide leadership and vision about the type of city we want for the future.

As the future, children and young people are needed to provide their views to develop the kind of society in which they wish to live. These views should be sought from children and young people from different social strata and experience. That experience will be moulded by the environment in which they develop. From Council's perspective to be sustainable that environment needs to be accessible to all. Equality of access is seen by Council as essential to the State as it needs to address the needs of all its citizens regardless of their ability or age.

The Disability Council of NSW
31st January 2006

top