Hague Kevin: Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind Act Repeal Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHague Kevin: Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind Act Repeal Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 02 March 2016. Volume:711;Page:9351. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]KEVIN HAGUE (Green): I want in this contribution to refer to two kinds of transformation that are perhaps embodied or exemplified in this bill. The first of those is a transformation in the stance taken by organisations such as this because the way in which the Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind was first constituted exemplified almost a paternalistic view of how services ought to be provided. I guess that was in common with the approach to charitable works that was prevalent at the time as well. Under that approach people who were blind or others who were the recipients of such charitable services were seen as passive recipients who ought to be grateful for the largesse of the State or of the charities that provided for them.Things have moved on quite a bit from then and part of that is demonstrated in the change of name of the foundation itself becoming first of all the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind to make the point that in fact the foundation sets out to be an organisation that comprises people who are blind or have visual impairment. This next step that the bill provides for—cutting the ties to a statutory basis for the foundation—I think is the next logical step. That accompanies the 2012 registration of the Blind Foundation as an incorporated society marking that full transition away from an arm of the State—or an entity of the State—through to a fully independent organisation of blind people themselves. Empowerment is one of the two pillars for achieving independence.The other pillar for achieving independence that I want to speak about is changing the environment that surrounds blind people because when we speak of disability there is an ongoing debate about whether we should talk about people who have disabilities as being disabled. Indeed that is the preferred term because people who have disabilities are disabled by the failure of the society around them to provide space to adequately integrate those people into the full life of society. That is another of the changes that the Blind Foundation has made. It has now emphasised the importance of services that enable blind people to participate fully in society.In the few minutes that I have remaining I want to talk about two extraordinary New Zealanders: Joan and Jim Newcombe. They are my parents-in-law. Jim Newcombe is 86. He is blind—has been now for some decades. Jim is the person whom I go to when I am at home when I want to know what is really going on in the world because it is Jim who will have read all of the latest magazines and all of the latest books and he does that through the services of the talking book service from the Blind Foundation. It is Jim who actually gets around the town and he does that using his guide dog—again from the services of the Blind Foundation. He has got his watch from the Blind Foundation; he has got his globe from the Blind Foundation. A more connected man—a man more in touch with what is going on in the world—I cannot think of. He could not have achieved that without the services of the Blind Foundation. Joan Newcombe is one of the principal fundraisers for the Blind Foundation. Her efforts are what enable Jim to participate fully.So I fully commend this bill to the House and I thank the Blind Foundation for its work. Thank you.