Logie Jan: Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind Act Repeal Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLogie Jan: Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind Act Repeal Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 02 March 2016. Volume:711;Page:9346. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]JAN LOGIE (Green): I rise to take a call on this the first reading of the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind Act Repeal Bill which has been brought to this House as a private bill I understand by the Hon Nicky Wagner.It is in its essence a very simple bill. The heart of the bill is the intention to repeal the existing 2002 Act because the Act which was established by Parliament in 2002 enabled changes to the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind including enabling the foundation to choose whether it wanted to become an incorporated society or not. It specified within that Act that if the foundation chose to become an incorporated society then the 2002 Act would be spent and would need to be repealed. Subsequent to that of course the foundation did go through the process of becoming an incorporated society so it has asked that the 2002 Act be repealed. Specifically it wishes for it to be repealed because keeping the Act on the statute book would cause confusion and would suggest that the foundation may still be a statutory body when in fact it is not. The repeal of the Act will emphasise the foundation’s status as being completely independent from Parliament.I understand that for the foundation the 2002 Act was a very significant event because in its words it made the foundation truly accountable to those living with blindness or low vision rather than to the State or Parliament. That of course is a change that is to be respected and now it is reinforcing that change by asking for the Act to be repealed.There has been a little bit of history given already this evening and I am going to add to that though not by talking about the buildings and so on but by talking about some of the philosophical changes that have happened over the time from when the foundation was established in 1890 as the Jubilee Institute for the Blind. Its purpose was to provide services to people who were blind or who had low vision and the way that it existed at that time was by having the first formal service school and a residence in Parnell. It offered over many years sheltered employment opportunities workshops and residences. But it is nice to reflect now I think on the social change and—probably in part as a result of the advocacy work that it has done—the change in the late 20th century away from separating people who are blind or impaired by low vision into ghettoes rather than having a focus on acknowledging their strengths and inclusion and roles to play alongside everyone else as part of our diverse society.So today we see that the foundation’s first object is the independence integration enablement and well-being of New Zealanders who are blind or who have low vision. I think it absolutely makes sense for the foundation to be independent and accountable to its members and to be off the books of Parliament as a sign of that independence and enablement and focus on its membership. Of course the work it does is very broad and part of that is around advocacy and part of it is about services and I am sure that everyone in this House would like to offer their appreciation for the more than 125 years of advocacy and enablement that the foundation has provided.