30 April 2001: Rt Hon Helen Clark, Prime Minister

Banquet Hall, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 5pm, Monday, 30 April 2001.

Thank you to everyone who has come tonight. Your presence in such large numbers shows the importance of both the strategy and of it being successfully implemented.

There were two major underlying factors which governed the development of this strategy: the social model of disability and a commitment to human rights.

Our society is built in ways which assume we can all move quickly from one side of the road to the other, that we can all see signs, read directions, hear announcements, reach buttons, climb stairs, open heavy doors, interpret complex information, and that we all have stable moods and perceptions.

For the one in five New Zealanders with a long term disability, that is not necessarily the case. Many can't reach their full potential, or participate fully in our communities because of the barriers they face doing everyday things.

These barriers arise from our physical environment, social attitudes, education and employment opportunities, access to services, income levels, and other factors which affect people's goals and aspirations.

Those barriers are socially constructed - and they can be removed. That, in a nutshell, is the aim of the New Zealand Disability Strategy.

The strategy incorporates a vision of a society based on human rights, empowerment and participation of all its people; and of a society which values and celebrates diversity and which recognises the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

With fifteen objectives in the strategy, supported by 113 actions, there is obviously a lot to do. We all want to see practical changes and initiatives which will really impact on people's lives - the sorts of things which, over time, will make New Zealand a truly inclusive society to live in.

The New Zealand Disability Strategy provides the direction and context in which to develop these initiatives. The initiatives range from practical, commonsense things which can have a big impact on people's lives, like effective rehabilitation and making sure public information is accessible to all New Zealanders, to ensuring that all government agencies collaborate so that we provide the best possible services and support.

During the development of the New Zealand Disability Strategy, work was begun on a number of initiatives related to it.

There is an almost completed review of vocational services for disabled people, looking at the way services are organised and funded. Disabled people are, quite rightly, demanding meaningful employment opportunities and community participation, and this review is a long-overdue response to that demand.

We have funded the 2001 Disability Survey, following on from the Census. This is the second such survey. It will provide timely and authoritative statistics for policy, planning, research, and advocacy, which will help inform us as we implement the strategy.

Then, at the beginning of April, Standards New Zealand launched its improved and expanded code, covering design for access and mobility in buildings and associated facilities. It is the only standard cited in the Building Act, giving it a unique status and a weight it would not otherwise have. This is a good example of mainstreaming the interests, rights and needs of disabled people into important everyday legislation and codes. I hope it becomes a model for other areas. Access is a basic human right and it is too important to be left as a discretionary 'add on'.

Just last week, I launched the E-Government Strategy with State Services Commission Minister Trevor Mallard. It has the catchy title, government.nz@your.service, and it aims to make government information accessible to people with widely different knowledge and skills.

New technologies have the power to revolutionise access to information for disabled people . But unless their needs are taken into account, there is potential for roadblocks and barriers to be created on the internet as they have been in our physical environment.

With the New Zealand Disability Strategy we have, for the first time ever, a national framework which will enable us to address disability issues across agencies, policies, services and legislation. Within that framework, we will be able to address issues before decisions are made which affect disabled people , rather than as an afterthought, as happens so often at the moment.

The strategy sets out what we want to do. The next step is for government departments to respond by telling us how they're going to implement the strategy.

To kick this process off, the government has asked for a report later this year on the equity of access to and the coherence of services and support for disabled people. These have been matters of concern for many years.

Over the next month, eleven key government departments will develop a one-year work plan under the Disability Strategy. Next year, all departments will develop work plans, showing how they will remove the barriers facing disabled people . This practical checklist is the way in which we will measure our progress and achievements.

Many of the strategy's objectives will take time to achieve. That is to be expected. Government departments will be monitored against their annual work plans and will be required to report on progress. We will also have overarching reviews after five years and ten years.

We have not made final decisions about monitoring arrangements for the strategy yet. But we are agreed that the monitoring must involve disabled people. We are requiring government departments to consider the Sector Reference Group's advice, as well as the strategy itself, when they develop their work plans.

The primary focus will be on what government departments and other publicly-funded organisations need to do to remove the barriers faced by disabled people . But it is also important to reflect on some of the key findings from consultation on the Strategy.

Disabled people have made it clear that attitudes which lead to discrimination are the biggest barrier they face. That challenges us to ask ourselves whether we judge people by what they can't do, rather than by what they can do."

Those consulted have also consistently stressed that local authorities can have a huge impact on the lives of disabled people . The issues raised at consultation meetings were often about the frustrations faced in communities when disability issues, especially physical access, and the right to live in and move around the community, are not considered.

We hope that local authorities, and other public bodies, will fully support the New Zealand Disability Strategy. The government will be discussing the Strategy with them, and suggesting ways in which they can help implement it. Their support is essential, if we are to become an inclusive society for all.

Finally, can I say that the publication of the New Zealand Disability Strategy is the beginning of a process, not the end. It provides a blueprint for a nation which respects and celebrates diversity and difference. Thank you all for your goodwill and contribution. I look forward to your continued support during the implementation phase.

It is now my great pleasure to launch the New Zealand Disability Strategy.