Sepuloni CarmelHon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Disability Issues): [Uses New Zealand Sign Language] Kia ora koutou. I'd like to welcome individuals and groups from the disabled community who are here on the precinct today and I'd like to acknowledge in particular Access Alliance a coalition of disabled peoples' organisations who are working hard to increase accessibility legislation and create a more inclusive Aotearoa. I'd also like to acknowledge our Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero and also I'd like to say Kia ora. Thank you." to former MP Mojo Mathers who I know has worked so hard to get this piece of legislation started.I commend the Green Party and member Chlöe Swarbrick for carrying this bill forward into this Parliament. This bill is about furthering the participation of disabled people in our general elections and we absolutely support this important work. The Government is working to build a truly inclusive society and supporting disabled people to live their lives to their fullest potential. Removing disabling barriers is pivotal to achieving that.Disabled people make up a large proportion of the New Zealand population. The last disability survey in 2013 found that 24 percent of New Zealanders were identified as disabled. That proportion is higher for Māori at 26 percent. But you would not know that from looking around the House of Representatives. While there have been steady gains over the year in members of Parliament increasingly looking like the people we represent particularly with more women Māori and Pacific people there has yet to be similar representation for disabled people.I know it's not from lack of interest in disabled people wanting to stand. The reality is that New Zealand is still far from being a non-disabling society. Under the New Zealand disability strategy we are working towards a New Zealand where disabled people have an equal opportunity to achieve their goals and aspirations and all of New Zealand works together to make this happen.A part of this is ensuring that disabled people can exercise their full rights as citizens. Not only is this about including the experiences and voices of the disability community it's also about representation and leadership. "Nothing about us without us." is the slogan that underpins our approach to addressing disability issues. We need more disabled leaders to be involved in policy development and in making decisions about New Zealand's future.There is also currently a huge range of skills expertise and experience in the disability community that is being underutilised. This is our loss.This bill helps create a pathway for greater inclusion of disabled people in our elections and in leadership roles by proposing a dedicated fund administered by the Electoral Commission to reduce and remove access and communication barriers that presently arise when disabled people seek to participate in general elections.I applaud an inclusion in the bill of a review of its operation and effectiveness. This will give the Government an opportunity to consider how well the fund is removing barriers to political participation and whether other measures might be needed.As the Minister for Disability Issues my goal is that one day we won't need these targeted supports because there won't be barriers to participation in society. However until we have a truly inclusive New Zealand we need to put these specialist supports in place to make this happen. Our Prime Minister has already shown how we can take these steps to becoming more inclusive by having sign language interpreters at post-Cabinet media briefings.While the fund proposed in this bill cannot alone solve the problem of our lack of disabled MPs it is an important part of making New Zealand a non-disabling place. This bill sends a signal that disabled people of all ages can share in aspirations to become members of Parliament and have the honour and privilege to represent communities and to serve in Government.I look forward to and encourage consideration by the select committee on this bill and again I commend the member Chlöe Swarbrick for bringing it to the House."