Meet the Australian Disability Rights Commissioner The Talks Today

May 2024 · 4 minute read

Meet Elizabeth Hastings, who was honored by Google for making a particular seventy fifth birthday doodle.

Elizabeth Hastings was a pioneer of the incapacity rights motion in Australia. He was the Australian Disability Rights Commissioner.

He was born in London in 1949 and contracted polio when he was six months previous, leaving him with extreme paralysis in his legs, trunk and arm.

He immigrated to Australia together with his household in 1957 after overcoming immigration obstacles that discriminated towards folks with disabilities.

He attended a particular faculty till he was 15, then moved on to highschool, the place he excelled academically.

He went on to check psychology at the University of Melbourne, the place he loved the freedom and equality of being a college scholar.

Elizabeth Hastings Wikipedia: The Life and Legacy of Australia’s First Disability Rights Commissioner

Hastings has labored as a psychologist, researcher, public servant and incapacity advocate.

he was included In numerous organizations and campaigns that promoted the rights of individuals with disabilities and inclusion in society.

The Commissioner was a founding member of the Victorian Disability Women’s Network and a board member of the Victorian Council of Social Services.

He was additionally Chair of the Australian Disability Advisory Council and President of the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations.

In 1993, Hastings was appointed Australia’s first Disability Discrimination Commissioner, giving him duty for administering the new federal Disability Discrimination Act 1992.

The regulation prohibited discrimination towards folks with disabilities in quite a lot of contexts, together with the office, classroom, transportation, housing, and entry to services.

Hastings has used her place to lift consciousness, educate, examine complaints, conduct investigations, and provoke authorized actions to guard and advance the rights of individuals with disabilities.

In addition, he supported Australia’s ratification of the 2007 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

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Hastings was extensively revered and admired for his intelligence, braveness, humor and compassion.

The lawyer challenged stereotypes and prejudices that demeaned folks with disabilities and violated their dignity and autonomy.

He has impressed many together with his private {and professional} achievements and his imaginative and prescient of a society that embraces range and equality. He died in 1998 at the age of 49 after a protracted battle with most cancers.

Google celebrated the seventy fifth birthday of the Australian Disability Rights Commissioner

Google honored Elizabeth Hastings with a particular doodle on its homepage in January.

The featured doodle Hastings smiles in his wheelchair, surrounded by symbols of his work and achievements as Disability Rights Commissioner.

It additionally featured “Happy Birthday Elizabeth Hastings” in Braille. The doodle was designed by Australian artist Jessica Walton, who can also be a disabled individual and writer of youngsters’s books celebrating range.

The doodle was a part of Google’s initiative to rejoice influential girls from totally different fields and backgrounds round the world.

Google mentioned Hastings was chosen as a result of she was a “researcher who has championed the rights and dignity of people with disabilities in Australia and beyond”.

Google additionally mentioned that Hastings’ legacy “continues to inspire generations of activists and advocates who strive for a more inclusive and accessible society.”

Elizabeth Hastings Partner: Who Was The Commissioner Married To?

Elizabeth Hastings by no means had or had youngsters, however she had a long-term associate who supported her all through her life and profession.

His identify was John Knowles, a psychologist who labored in incapacity companies.

They met at a convention in Canberra in 1976, the place they found their shared ardour for psychology and social justice.

They moved to Melbourne collectively in 1978 and remained collectively till Hastings’ dying in 1998.

Knowles was Hastings’ companion, caretaker, colleague and confidant. It helped him overcome the challenges of a disabling and terminal sickness.

He additionally assisted him in his work as a commissioner, accompanying him on journeys, taking notes at conferences, conducting analysis and giving recommendation.

He was happy with her achievements and revered her independence. John described their partnership as primarily based on love, mutual respect and shared values.

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