Annual Report 2005-2006 - Waverley Council

Reviewing Our 2005/2009 Management Plan
Did We Do What We Said We Would Do?
Council marked International Day of People with a disability in December 2005 with a number of
activities including a one day consultation and training workshop, Advocating for Access 2005 and a
dinner celebrating the contribution of access committee members to improving access for people with
disabilities across the region.
Guide Dogs NSW/ ACT for people with visual impairment provided Advocating for Access 2005 for
Councillors, relevant staff and Access Committee members from Southern Sydney Region (SSROC)
Councils.
Guest speakers included presenters from Guide Dogs NSW/ ACT, the Independent Living Centre and
the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC). The workshop included a morning
of consultation with local people with visual impairment and an afternoon of education for Council staff
and decision-makers about strategies for improving access in the built environment for people with
visual impairment.
Waverley joined with other Southern Sydney Region Councils to host the dinner celebrating the
contribution of access committee members. Guest speaker Michael Simpson from Vision Australia
spoke about access for people with vision impairment. With 150 people attending representing 11
Councils, the dinner provided an invaluable opportunity for networking and sharing ideas among
committee members.
The Waverley Community Living Project (WCLP) continued to achieve the targets set during
2005/2006. WCLP provided subsidised accommodation for 6 adults with intellectual disability and
provided individualised programs of ‘drop in’ support and training to 15 adults with intellectual disability
The ‘Life Education Training’ series conducted by WCLP continued with 93% of members attending
and reporting satisfaction with this service. At the end of the June 2006 quarter, training included fire
safety and evacuation, ‘Your Rights and Responsibilities’, health and well being, teamwork, personal
hygiene and self esteem.
Access to car parking spaces for people with disabilities was improved with the posting of information
about the location of allocated accessible space on Council’s web site. A hotline telephone number
was established for reporting abuse by motorists parked in accessible spaces without display of a
current mobility parking authority. The number is displayed on all accessible car parking signs, and
was published in the summer 2005 edition of Waverley in Focus.
Services for Young People
A total of 8 programs for youth held at the Pavilion during 2005/2006. These included:
The 2006 Waverley Council Youth Art Award and Exhibition, held over two weeks in June 2006.
Council provided $2000 in award money and the opportunity to exhibit in a public gallery to
encourage young local artists aged12 to 25 years.
Judging was in three age categories, with an additional award for works with an environmental
theme. There were 180 entries and this project continues to be very popular with the young
artists, their teachers and their families, many of whom attended the official exhibition opening and
Awards presentation by the Mayor.
Four of the 2006 grant funded Youth Wave Music Programs were completed during the last
quarter and the remaining programs are on target for completion in the second half of 2006.
The Musician in Residence programs continued to cater for youth and young emerging artists,
assisting with subsidised recording time and mentoring from music industry professionals,
providing ongoing professional assistance with their artistic development. Another two young
groups were assisted with recording during the last quarter.
Annual Report 2005/2006 29