Australian community rejects donation of wheelchair-accessible swing for park

From The Daily in Australia:

Sunshine Coast Regional Council has been threatened with legal action over a decision to reject an application to install a disabled swing at Caloundra.

Brisbane barrister Brian Stewart, who donated the $25,000 wheelchair swing to Variety Queensland, said the council’s decision to bar the swing from Kings Beach was “totally inexplicable”.

“The rationale for the decision really sounds like bureaucratic gobblygook, which is that parks should provide inclusive requirements for both the disabled and non-disabled – and that proposition just defies logic,” Mr Stewart said.

“For example, how many disabled children have you seen on monkey bars lately?”

The former Caloundra City Council refused a separate application by Caloundra RSL to install a wheelchair swing, or Liberty Swing, as it is also known, last December.

Mr Stewart said his application was knocked back without councillors voting on it.

“We have some middle-level council officer taking it upon himself to decide what Sunshine Coast Council should do in this instance,” he said.

Mr Stewart said if mayor Bob Abbot did not reverse the decision he would initiate legal action to get attorney general Kerry Shine to amend the anti-discrimination act so he could seek an order stating the council’s stance was discriminatory.

“There’s a fantastic opportunity here for Bob Abbot and his councillors to be Santa Claus for the disabled visitors and children of the Sunshine Coast, or the opportunity for them to be scrooges and reject the limited amount of pleasure that these children can have while they holiday,” he said.

What makes the council’s decision more difficult to fathom is that a Liberty Swing already exists at Lions Park in Noosaville and dozens have been erected around the country.

Variety also wants to install a swing at Tickle Park in Coolum.

Variety Queensland chairman Les Riley said councils across the state had welcomed the swings and helped with installation.

“We acknowledge (Sunshine Coast) council has the right to make that determination, but we regret the fact that wheelchair-bound people in that region will not enjoy the immense benefits the Liberty Swing provides,” Mr Riley said.

The council stands by its decision to bar the wheelchair swing, despite conceding there is a need within the disabled community for free-movement infrastructure.

A spokeswoman said the decision was made in support of disability services Queensland, following consultation with specific user groups.

“As demonstrated at Pioneer Park (Landsborough), council actively encourages inclusive play experiences, which unfortunately the Liberty Swing does not allow for,” she said.