Adelaide Fringe
05/06/2013
A question asked by the Hon. Stephen Wade MLC in relation to accessible venues at the Adelaide Fringe Festival.
4th April 2012, The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:28): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Disabilities a question about the Adelaide Fringe festival.
Leave granted.
The Hon. S.G. WADE: By way of preface, the No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability production Sons and Mothers won four Fringe awards this year, including best theatre production. I acknowledge that the Hon. Kelly Vincent is the patron of that theatre. On a less positive note, the opposition has received a complaint from a constituent regarding accessibility to the Adelaide Fringe festival. I would like to quote his correspondence which states: Could somebody please fix the discriminatory behaviour at the Adelaide Fringe organisers and ticketing office. Every year I attempt to see Adelaide Fringe shows and every year I am turned away at the gate because they new venue is not wheelchair accessible or mistakes with ticketing has allocated me the position that is not wheelchair accessible. This has happened every year for the past five years. My questions are:
1.Can the minister please advise the number of venues which have held shows during the Adelaide Fringe this year and which have provided wheelchair access to their audiences?
2.What steps is the government taking to make the arts and entertainment venues accessible to people with disabilities?
The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (14:29): I thank the honourable member for his very important question about the accessibility of Fringe theatre events at the recent Fringe festival. These are issues that are very important to the government. The government has recently undertaken a program of checking the accessibility plans of our agencies and departments. We hope that, having completed that process, we will be able to encourage non-government organisations to follow our lead in that regard. With regard to the specific questions asked by the honourable member, I will refer those to the Minister for the Arts in the other place and seek a response from him.
5th June 2013, in reply to the Hon. S.G. WADE on the 4th April 2012
The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations): The Minister for the Arts has been advised:
1.Out of the 343 venues operating in this year’s Adelaide Fringe, 271 were wheelchair accessible.
2.As a condition of funding from the South Australian government through Arts SA, major arts organisations are required to develop action plans that address the issue of disability access. The Adelaide Fringe is one of these organisations; however, as the Fringe is an open access festival, it does not directly control all the venues that register with it. It does encourage venues to be as accessible as possible and it provides the comprehensive access information it gathers from Fringe registrants to its customers via its website and printed Fringe guide. Through Arts SA, the government is also providing funding assistance to support increased access to arts and cultural activity by South Australians with a disability, through the Arts and Disability Access funding program.
