Disability Advocacy and Information Service executive officer Martin Butcher, who attended a forum at The Cube on Tuesday, argued most people with disabilities still lived in a segregated environment, which often caused feelings of isolation.

“Access is one thing, but inclusion is another,” he said.

“Access (involves) infrastructure, but inclusion is a change of mindset that enables people to be fully included in the community. 

“By increasing access, we can get forward in inclusion.”

The workshop was facilitated by Deakin University health academic Steven Allender, who said its purpose was to start a conversation about what could be done to increase access for people with a disability in Wodonga as the city grew.

“Access to services, education, increasing a sense of belonging and contribution to the community,” he said.

“We’re trying to understand how those things fit together but also recognising that there’s a huge role that people with disabilities can play.”

Wodonga is one of the fastest growing regional cities in Victoria - its population is tipped to reach 50,000 by 2033.

More than 7200 people in Wodonga live with a disability, or 18 per cent of its population.

Mr Dixon pointed to this figure and said people with disabilities needed to be seen as mainstream.

But he stressed the forum, hosted by Wodonga Council, needed to take into account a variety of views from within the disability sector.

“One person may want full inclusion, whereas someone else may want a separate education facility for themselves,” he said. 

“So you have that tension – good tension – in the sector. But I think it would’ve been better to get a broader perspective.”

The council released its safety inclusion and equity strategy, which includes a disability action plan, for public comment on Monday.

For more information, go to wodonga.vic.gov.au.