E nga iwi, e nga reo, e nga karangatanga maha o nga hau e wha, tenei te mihi atu ki a koutou katoa. Tena koutou, tena koutou, a, tena koutou katoa.

Tihei mauriora.

To all people, all voices, all the many relations from the four winds, I greet you all.

One in five New Zealanders has a long-term disability. Many are unable to reach their potential or participate fully in the community because of the barriers they face in doing things that most New Zealanders take for granted. The barriers range from the purely physical, such as access to facilities, to the attitudinal, due to poor awareness of disability issues. The aim of the Government's New Zealand Disability Strategy is to eliminate these barriers wherever they exist. This discussion document is the first step towards that end.

Making a World of Difference: Whakanui Oranga opens the public debate on the development of the Strategy. It has been produced by the Ministry of Health with a 15-member reference group representing people with disabilities. It identifies some of the key issues to be addressed to achieve the vision of a fully inclusive society, and suggests desired outcomes and actions.

The Strategy will be finalised by the Government early in 2001 and will incorporate feedback on this document. It will guide future government action to promote a more inclusive society. This means the primary focus will be on what government agencies and other publicly-funded organisations need to do to remove the barriers faced by people with disabilities. The Government will take the lead - but we will also be doing all we can to influence attitudes and behaviour of society as a whole. For example, a requirement that all government departments identify and resolve disability issues when they develop policy, services and legislation could significantly improve the physical environment for people with disabilities, and create better access to services.

The Strategy will sit alongside other government programmes, such as the Positive Ageing Strategy (which will incorporate strategies for the health of older people), the Human Rights Review, the New Zealand Health Strategy, and the Closing the Gaps programme that is aimed at removing disparities between Māori and Pacific people, and other New Zealanders.

I would like to thank the individuals and groups in the disability sector whose work has contributed to Making a World of Difference: Whakanui Oranga and who have promoted the development of the New Zealand Disability Strategy.

I would also like to acknowledge those people with disabilities who generously shared their experiences and allowed us to use them in the "stories" included in this document.

Making a World of Difference: Whakanui Oranga offers you a chance to have your say on what the strategy should include and how it could be implemented (see page 23 for further details). I encourage you to respond.

Ruth Dyson
Minister for Disability Issues