Boyack Rachel; Salesa JennyPLAIN LANGUAGE BILLThird ReadingRACHEL BOYACK (Labour—Nelson): I move That the Plain Language Bill be now read a third time. It is a pleasure to take a call today on the third reading of my bill the Plain Language Bill. I want to begin my contribution by acknowledging my colleague and Minister for the Public Service the Hon Chris Hipkins who was the original drafter of the bill. Minister Hipkins drafted the bill back in 2012 based on similar legislation implemented in the United States. The US Plain Writing Act of 2010 requires the Federal Government to write all new publications forms and publicly distributed documents in a clear concise well-organised manner that follows the best practices of plain language writing.The purpose of the Plain Language Bill is to improve the effectiveness and accountability of Public Service agencies and Crown agents and to improve the accessibility of certain documents that they make available to the public by providing for those documents to use language that is appropriate to the intended audience and clear concise and well organised.New Zealand is at its best when we can all understand and easily participate in our democracy. Every day Government agencies are engaged in communication with the public. When Government agencies are explaining services benefits or how to comply with requirements they should use plain language and avoid jargon.As MPs it is common to provide support to constituents who have had difficulty interpreting letters or Government documents. This is particularly the case for constituents who are migrants or who have English as a second language. When people are seeking information it's important that the information is accessible and easy to understand. This bill will help make that happen.Using plain language and simple words makes sentences easier to scan and makes content more accessible to a wider range of people including people whose first language is not English. I want to thank everyone who participated in the select committee process where we made a number of changes to the bill including defining document" as anything that sets out text in a visible and tangible form and medium like print or in a visible form by electronic means like a web page on an internet site; replacing the definition of "relevant document" to make clear what documents must use plain language; clarifying that only documents in English must use plain language; making it clear that the Act would not restrict a reporting agency from including te reo Māori in any relevant document; making it clear that a relevant document is one that is intended for public consumption; clarifying who "the public" is for the purpose of the bill; clarifying that just because a document is made available to the public under the Official Information Act this does not mean it should be a relevant document for the purposes of the bill; stating that agencies must take reasonable steps to ensure that relevant documents use plain language; clarifying that a Public Service agency's legal duty is owed to the Public Service Commissioner; making it clear that the bill does not create any legal rights or obligations that are enforceable in a court of law; requiring the commissioner to issue guidance including accessibility guidance on how reporting agencies may comply with all requirements under the bill; providing that the commissioner must have regard to international best practice on plain language writing when developing the guidance; making it the responsibility of plain language officers to deal with feedback from the public rather than complaints or requests; and removing from clause 10(1) the reference to the commissioner making recommendations to the Minister on guidelines and best practice.Throughout the debate on this bill both in select committee and the public domain we've had submissions and supportive comments from many in the media and I want to make note of some of those in particular. There are two particular agencies that I've had a lot of contact with one being Write Ltd. The brand manager for Write Ltd Penny de Borst said to the media about the Plain Language Bill and the use of plain language "It increases trust and transparency … it supports equity … it works for people with English as an additional language it works for people who use screen readers … it's easier to translate. And it also improves efficiency: if every email that came into your in-box was short crystal clear how much time would you save every day?" And Shelly Davies who's an excellent plain language coach in New Zealand said this: "Academia historically teaches us to use a language to speak to other academics and that's the only way most of learn how to write so we come into our jobs and use this overly-formal language … It doesn't work when we're communicating to a wider audience."We had a number of submissions through the select committee process from submitters in support of the bill. Write Ltd again said "Our work with almost every government agency over many years has given us an in-depth understanding of the colossal waste of money and time that results from un-plain website information government forms and explanatory leaflets. Government agencies spend millions of dollars annually on responding to questions clarifying information following up on poorly completed forms—and on calming upset members of the public who cannot find what they need or understand the information once they find it." And they went on to say "One project we completed several years ago saved an average [of] $1.5 million annually by revising a form that had close to a 100 percent error rate." They've gone on to say again that "Appointing a plain language officer creates a formal mechanism to expect and promote plain language rather than relying on the goodwill and enthusiasm of a few who have no mandate or resources to create change."I want to particularly note some comments from Blind Low Vision NZ who clarified the need to include accessibility guidelines in the bill. They said "The most obvious reason to use Plain Language writing is to make important information and ideas more accessible to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and others with disabilities affecting reading comprehension and other cognitive functions. We know how to replace steps with ramps. We know how to widen doorways and make restrooms larger for wheelchair users. We can accommodate Deaf people with Sign Language and captions on videos. Blind people deafblind people and those with low vision can use large print Braille or audiobooks. We must strive to make information instructions and ideas more cognitively accessible particularly for people with intellectual developmental and learning disabilities. Information and communication to the public must be accessible to people with print disabilities at the same time as everyone else."Another agency the National Building Financial Capability Charitable Trust—FinCap—commented about the impact on financial documents. They said in their submission to the select committee "A recent survey of financial mentors showed that their client cases have become more complex. This reflects the multiple and compounding challenges that whānau can face. Through ensuring that plain and clear language is used by public services time can be saved for financial mentors and the whānau they walk alongside."I'd like to finish with some positive submissions that we received from members of the public and individuals who were supportive of the bill. Amanda Nally noted that "For the past 18 years [she has run a communications business—focused on writing for clarity for business science and medical clients." Before that she worked as a journalist. Before that she was a public servant working with Housing New Zealand and the Post Office for seven years. And she said "It was while working in public service roles I was made keenly aware of the number of clients with low or no literacy—which sadly—in the post office extended to some staff. I quickly learned to avoid embarrassing the clients who were seeking our help to always offer to fill out any paper work for them." She goes on to say "On a more personal level for the past seven years I have supported my elderly mother in her interactions with the health service and WINZ and as such have assisted her in filling out many many forms." This quote from Richard Self really spoke to me. He said and I agree "Everyone who lives and works in Aotearoa gets essential information from the government. We have a democratic right to be able to understand this information. Plain language in government communications means information is easier to understand and act on—it's written with the reader in mind."It has been a privilege overseeing the passage of the Plain Language Bill through Parliament. I thank everyone who has supported the passing of this bill and helped make the improvements to it especially officials the Parliamentary Counsel Office submitters and my colleagues on the Governance and Administration Committee. This bill will make a positive difference to the lives of New Zealanders and I commend it to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): The question is that the motion be agreed to."