Vision Australia lobbies govt for audio descriptors

Representatives from Vision Australia, along with a number of people who are blind or have low vision, met MPs in Canberra yesterday.

They met with Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull MP, Shadow Communications Minister Jason Clare MP and Greens Senator Rachel Siewert, who recently put forward a motion for audio descriptors on Australian TV.

Earlier this year Vision Australia lodged complaints with the Australian Human Rights Commission against Seven, Nine, TEN, SBS and Foxtel over a lack of audio descriptors.

Retired Vision Australia employee Stephen Jolley has created a petition on change.org calling on Minister Turnbull to require audio transcription on Australian TV.

“You get a more complete idea of what’s going on in a program and it’s so nice not to have to ask my wife about what’s happening or ‘what’s on the screen?’” he said.

“Audio description really feeds the imagination and enriches the experience of television.”

“Fortunately, there are laws that require TV stations to caption shows for people who are deaf, but that’s not going far enough.”

“I’d like Minister Turnbull to lead the way in changing the laws and provide the same access to television programming for the blindness and low vision community,” he said.

The UK, US, Ireland, Germany, Spain and New Zealand already provide audio description on free to air or subscription television.

“Audio description has been available on US television since the late 1980s. Since then it has been introduced in many European countries and in New Zealand in 2012,” said Maryanne Diamond, Vision Australia’s General Manager of Advocacy and Engagement.

“Without audio description on television, the 350,000 Australians who are blind or have low vision miss out on important news and current affairs, entertainment and other information.”