Paralympian fights for access

Paralympic gold medallist Mary Fisher wants better accessibility for those with disabilities written into law.

The 25-year-old is campaigning with the Access Alliance (AA), a Kiwi lobby group set up to introduce accessibility legislation to help all New Zealanders, disabled or not.

Although still competing in the pool, Fisher has made it her personal mission to make a difference to the lives of others who have disabilities, because she knows well that feeling of struggle in New Zealand.

Fisher, from Wellington, is completely blind, reads Braille and walks with a cane. She says there are many areas the country could improve in, such as access, education and general awareness around disabilities.

‘‘I can see that living my life as a disabled woman, there are all these stereotypes that I come up against.

‘‘I’ve always been interested in how we can change things on a big level and if I come up against an issue that affects me directly because I am blind, like a corner not having tactiles or an audio signal that’s broken, I can call the council and I can take these little steps myself.’’

Fisher, who won gold in the 100m backstroke at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, said such obstacles were not hers alone as they were far-ranging, including a lack of ramps for those in wheelchairs, not enough Braille for the blind and poor signage for the deaf.

The proposed act would remove physical, legal, information, communication, attitudinal, technological or other barriers. It would cover all people with disabilities, whether their disability is considered physical, sensory, cognitive, communication or mental health-related and would include visible, invisible, permanent or episodic conditions.

Canada’s Ontario was one of the first states to write accessibility into law. At home, however, there is a collection of old legislation from the Resource Management Act that Fisher said didn’t meet minimal requirements.

The AA was formed more than two years ago, with the aim of amalgamating both disabled and able-bodied New Zealanders in everyday society. As it stood, Fisher said she believed Kiwis didn’t do this as well would like to think.

‘‘There are so many day-to-day things that you become oblivious to as someone with a disability. Because they just happen to you all the time.

‘‘The biggest things are that people and their systems have this idea that disabled people are vulnerable and that they can’t do as much as able-bodied people. There’s not that daily interaction.

‘‘If public transport isn’t accessible to you and you are at home, it really impacts on your physical and mental and emotional health.

‘‘It also impacts those people without a disability, because they are not interacting with the disabled as they population.’’

So far, the AA has got all political parties, except the ACT Party on board. Fisher said she understood that ACT was close to taking part.

The next step would be getting a bill written into New Zealand law.

While Fisher has had a successful career in the pool, she said there had been many obstacles and she had always felt a little different to her peers. She wants sport and recreation for the disabled to be a key focus for the Government as it played a large part in her self-acceptance, and her acceptance in the public eye.

‘‘I happened to stumble into swimming. I bumped into these friends I didn’t know through school, and for them, I was the kid who liked swimming butterfly. I wasn’t the kid who couldn’t see well.

‘‘I feel like we are on the tipping point of something extraordinary, where kids will be coming into school and no matter if they have a disability or not, they will be given physical education.

‘‘Sports clubs will be more inclusive so they can go along to their local sports club just like I had the opportunity of doing.

‘‘The reason we need this is to allow people to live the life they want and that they deserve.’’

The AA’s initial focus is on education, employment, physical spaces and also online. ‘‘Accessibility is going to impact your life regardless. Whether it’s you breaking your leg and you are on crutches for a few months or if it’s a co-worker.’’

Fisher’s immediate goal in the pool is to compete at the New Zealand short course championships in Auckland this year before preparing for the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020.

‘‘As a disabled woman, there are all these stereotypes that I come up against.’’ Paralympic gold medallist Mary Fisher