JR Mitchell lives with multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis and spends most of his time getting around in a wheelchair.
Dr Mitchell lived in Broken Hill for about 12 years before travelling for several years and, since coming back this year, said he found the town to be "one of the most inaccessible in Australia".
"It has opened my eyes to what is available elsewhere in Australia, in other regional centres and other cities, and what Broken Hill is missing out on," he said.
Getting out of home is inaccessible
Dr Mitchell has been advocating for disabled people for more than 20 years.
He said better accessibility began from the outside of his home, where access was anything but wheelchair-friendly.
Instead, he must go up a dirt footpath towards his neighbour's house to access their driveway, then head onto the road for him to catch a taxi.
He contacted Broken Hill City Council about access before moving in.
A council spokesperson told the ABC they were "awaiting a quote for this work and will continue talks with the contractor this week".
Disability inclusion on the agenda
Broken Hill City Council has introduced its second Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) from 2022–2026.
"It's really just making it easier to be included in the whole of society," Mayor Tom Kennedy said.
Mr Kennedy highlighted the new Queen Elizabeth Park as being completely inclusive of all abilities.
There are 723 NDIS recipients in Far West New South Wales as of March 31, 2022.
"That's a considerable percentage of the community, we want to make sure that all members of the community are involved in the social fabric of the city," Mr Kennedy said.
Western/Far West Disability Advocacy regional manager Eveleen May said the DIAP was "quite achievable" for the city.
"There's a lot of beautiful older buildings and footpaths that do need a bit of work to make them truly physically accessible," she said.
Ms May said there should be more awareness in the community about people with different disabilities as well as respect and equity for them.
'Long overdue'
Mr Kennedy said council had been working on making the town more accessible for years, but it was still dependent on "more funding" becoming available.
"It's not something that council deliberately isn't trying to do straight away … you can only do so much at a time."
But, Dr Mitchell said it was "long overdue" to see action from council after seeing another Disability Inclusion Plan being introduced.
"They simply aren't acting on them, we're not achieving any weight, we're not going forward," he said.
"It's a joke. It reads well, but where's the action?"
