A teenager with multiple disabilities stranded for days in Vanuatu's capital city after a deadly 2024 earthquake is taking the Australian government to the federal court for disability discrimination.
The Australian government is being sued in the federal court over its treatment of a teenager with disabilities left stranded in Vanuatu after a deadly 2024 earthquake.
A teenager with multiple disabilities stranded for days in Vanuatu's capital city after a deadly 2024 earthquake is taking the Australian government to the federal court for disability discrimination. Sean Senbel-Lynch — who lives with cerebral palsy, a visual impairment and epilepsy — and his family allege he was refused access to the Australian Defence Force flights With the Port Vila airport closed to commercial flights in the immediate aftermath, Sean's father Liam Lynch said he repeatedly appealed to Australian authorities for help to evacuate his son.
Mr Lynch, who was in Australia at the time, said he was told by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade it had been informed by the ADF that evacuation flights were not suitable for wheelchair users. Sean uses a manual wheelchair to help with mobility but can walk with assistance, and when he boards flights, he walks onto the plane himself and travels in a standard seat.
" should have been an in-person assessment of what I could do, rather than them making assumptions of what I could do,""All disabilities are different. Even though I might have a milder cerebral palsy, I might be able to do certain things that other people with disabilities mightn't be able to do.
"Sean returned home to Brisbane on a commercial flight when the Port Vila airport reopened, five days after the earthquake struck. He said if he was not allowed on an evacuation flight, the government should have sought the use of an air ambulance or found another way to transport him out of the danger zone. Legal documents were filed by Sean's legal team from the Justice and Equity Centre in the federal court last week, alleging disability discrimination occurred.
"The reason why I am going to court is because … I believe there has to be major reforms," Sean said. JEC senior solicitor Nicola Colagiuri said Sean was unlawfully discriminated against on the basis of his disability.
"Sean was treated less favourably than people without disability when he was trying to access evacuation flights … he was left in Vanuatu for four days when almost 700 other Australians and residents were brought back home," she said. "In our view, the Commonwealth government did not properly assess whether adjustments could have been made in Sean's case to allow him access to and travel on the defence evacuation flights.
" Power outages immediately following the earthquake meant the daily hormone medication Sean takes to manage his growth was destroyed. His vision impairment made it difficult to understand what was happening, while the reflexes associated with his cerebral palsy meant the aftershocks left him in a heightened state of distress. Sean was in Vanuatu with his mother and sister, visiting his grandmother, whose home was significantly damaged in the disaster.
The earthquake caused structural damage to his grandmother's home, including a partial ceiling collapse, cracked walls and buckled floors.
"I frustration and anger, but also guilt that had I not been in Vanuatu, my sister, my mum and my grandma would have been able to evacuate without having those burdens of and hurdles of me being there," Sean said. Mr Lynch said he repeatedly sought clarification about who could travel on evacuation flights and why, but did not receive a clear response.
"I got a sense there was a bit of finger-pointing on DFAT's part, trying to imply that it was out of their control, that decisions were being made by the ADF as to who could or couldn't go on evacuation flights. Mr Lynch said it was "absolutely apparent" to him that "they had no idea what to do with somebody in a wheelchair".
The family's plight made headlines at the time, when DFAT said it was assisting Australians stranded in Vanuatu.
"One of the most vulnerable , a child with a disability, was left behind. It was my child, so I did everything humanly possible to try and get him home.
" Mr Lynch said his son was a determined and resilient boy who had represented Australia internationally in para-athletics and overcome a lot in his life. Ms Colagiuri said it was incumbent on the Commonwealth to ensure that what happened to Sean did not happen to anyone else.
"Australia has experienced an unprecedented number of natural disasters domestically over the last few years. That's only going to increase here and overseas as the climate crisis worsens and geopolitical tensions rise," she said.
"What's important here is that the Commonwealth government seriously reviews its policies … to ensure that people with disability are included and properly accounted for before, during, and after emergencies. " ABC News contacted DFAT and the ADF for comment, but the government said it could not comment on a matter before the courts.
Earthquake Disability Discrimination Evacuation Adf Defence Sean Senbel-Lynch Justice And Equity Centre Vanuatu
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