By Brendan Foster
A Perth woman in a wheelchair said she felt dehumanised and humiliated after being told by staff at a concert at nib Stadium she couldn't go onto to the dancefloor because her wheelchair would rip it up.
Marina Nelson was at the East Perth venue last week to see a host of international artists as part of the RNB Fridays Live concert.
Marina Nelson says she was discriminated against because she was in a wheelchair.Credit: Facebook/Marina Nelson
But when she and a bunch of mates headed to the dancefloor for a boogie, Ms Nelson was told by a staffer she wasn't allowed on it with her wheelchair.
"I asked her what the problem was and she said the wheelchair would damage the pitch underneath this plastic matting," she told Radio 6PR on Tuesday morning.
"When I say matting, it was like this temporary flooring and was like one, two centimetre thick hard plastic flooring.
"I thought that was ridiculous because I knew the wheelchair wasn't going to damage it – I mean there were hundreds, if not thousands of people on the dance floor.
"And there was also an extremely large scaffolding structure that was holding sounding and lighting equipment, as well as several crew members who were controlling it.
"I'm only a small woman - I only weigh 50 kilos and my wheelchair is 12, so to say that 62 kilos would damage the matting or pitch more than that massive scaffolding or all the other people on the dance floor seemed ridiculous."
After arguing with staff for more than 30 minutes, Ms Nelson was then told the reason she was banned from the dancefloor was because she posed a safety risk.
"Once I suggested the wheelchair wouldn't damage the matting they actually changed their reasoning and said well it's because 'what would happen if you got crushed on the dance floor'?" she said.
"I said to them 'what would happen if my friends not in wheelchairs got crushed on the dancefloor' and she said well, they enter at their own risk."
"Apparently I wasn't allowed to enter at my own risk, which I found dehumanising and demeaning."
Ms Nelson took to Facebook to vent her anger at being booted off the dancefloor.
"It marred our night and it was an extremely humiliating experience for me," she wrote.
"I will not stay silent about "health and safety" or management policies that are blatantly discriminatory and in breach of the law. Some people in wheelchairs like dancing, dance floors and crowds too."
Acting CEO Venue West Janis Carren said the woman was a victim of misunderstanding.
"As you can appreciate at our major entertainment events the noise level is quite high and we had a few difficulties with communication," she told Radio 6PR.
"I believe our organisation has spoken to Marina and we have agreed that was the case and we are working on a resolution together.
"We welcome all patrons to our world class sport and entertainment events and we certainly try to cater for various needs and abilities."