I sometimes use Adelaide (South Australia), as a backdrop to my stories. It is one of the weirdest and scariest places on earth. It’s known for sex crimes and where ideas go to die. The story below is par for the course.

“Former Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes says he was left feeling distressed and humiliated after going through Adelaide Airport security.

He described his transit through Adelaide Airport security on Friday as “humiliating” and “distressing”.

Mr Innes was returning home to Queensland after a business trip in Adelaide when he tried to use the security body scanner while holding onto his guide dog’s lead.

He said he was refused access to use the body scanner and was asked to use a walk-through X-ray scanner, with his guide dog put through separately.

His colleague then had to intervene and question airport staff once a security guard said Mr Innes needed a pat down despite him not triggering the security alarm. Mr Innes said his dog’s metal harness triggered the alarm, and a supervisor later agreed that only the dog needed a pat down.

The former commissioner said he had previously been pushed back by another security guard at a different airport while attempting to walk through a security scanner and has received multiple disrespectful and negative comments in other airports around the country.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Adelaide Airport said the incident was being investigated.

“Adelaide Airport apologises to Mr Innes for his poor experience, which is not in keeping with our expected high standards of customer service,” he said.

Mr Innes was the national disability discrimination commissioner from 2005 to 2014 and has also served as Australia’s human rights commissioner for almost four years.

“Policies for people with disabilities by airlines and airports treat us in a very negative and limiting way,” Mr Innes said.

“There is a policy where you can only have two wheelchair travellers on one aircraft in many airlines – these sorts of policies are negative and limiting. We’re always the exception to the rule, we’re always the group of people that has to have a particular type of treatment.”

The former commissioner said from his experiences it does not appear appropriate training is given to airline and airport staff when it comes to interacting with people with a disability.”