‘Continuing Battle’ for David Cawthorn on Parliament Square Access

Media release – Disability Voices Tasmania, 6 May 2022

The continuing ‘David and Goliath’ story

The High Court delivered its decision on Citta Hobart v Cawthorn on 4 May.

The case concerned a complaint by David Cawthorn and ParaQuad Tasmania about access to the development at Parliament Square in Hobart.

The High Court was not asked to make a decision about the actual complaint David made about the lack of adequate access. In more than 5 years of legal argument David has never had an opportunity to put forward his views on why access to Parliament Square is inadequate and does not meet the requirements under discrimination law.

The High Court was asked to make a decision on two questions CITTA Hobart and the owners of Parliament Square put forward. The first was whether or not the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Tribunal at the time of the complaint could hear a case that concerned an issue of discrimination that arguably was dealt with by federal standards. The second was whether federal accessibility standards override state anti-discrimination laws and whether a state could impose higher levels of access than the federal standards. Both these issues relate to rules about courts and laws in the Australian Constitution.

The High Court decided that the Tribunal at the time of the complaint could not hear the case. It did not make a decision on the second issue about whether or not a state could require higher levels of access than a federal standard.

Ironically, the recent establishment of the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal means that in future complaints that might involve constitutional questions will be referred to the Magistrates Court to be dealt with. No-one in the future will have to go through the saga that David Cawthorn has had to go through over the last five and a half years.

The way appears to now be open for David, or anyone else, to make a new complaint about access to Parliament Square. If a new complaint is made it is hoped that for the first time all parties will be able to actually put forward their arguments about the real issue, which is whether families with young children in prams, older people and people with disability have fair, equitable and dignified access to what is described as Hobart’s ‘premier venue’.