Penk ChrisCHRIS PENK (National—Helensville): Thank you Mr Speaker. The Election Access Fund Bill in the name of Chlöe Swarbrick we are supporting on this side of the House and it's pleasing to note that all members are doing so. A couple of issues that should be dear to the hearts of everyone in this House. I was thinking about representing the title of the bill almost in a Venn diagram with elections" in one circle and "accessibility"—I'll just take the liberty of changing the word slightly—and in between those fits this bill. So it seems a no-brainer to support something that increases access to elections and to democracy for members of our society who like all members of our society of course should be held in great value and esteem.I think it's worth noting that there is a certain amount that a law can achieve and I'll go on to talk about some of that in the context of the bill just to add some comments that others have already made. But so too it's important that the attitudes that we all carry around are important in this space and there are some things that we can't legislate for of which we will have to be mindful. A fellow candidate at the last election had an unfortunate incident whereby she was found to have been parking in a disabled space and that was of course the cause of some outrage—you know "How dare a political party candidate be parking in a disabled space."—until it was pointed out that she was in fact entitled to by reason of her disability. I won't give any more detail of that story today; that's her story to tell and not mine. But I would also just add as a note to self as much as anything my electorate office has a ramp beside some stairs and I was only aware of the lack of accessibility with the ramp just the way that it met the ground proper by the occasion of a disabled constituent coming to visit me and pointing that out. So that's something of which I was not aware but I should have been. So just as an example of the attitudes that we must all be mindful of. So technically outside the scope of the bill—of course the bill is able to do a certain amount but it doesn't quite do everything—but I'd sort of encourage all fellow members of the House and indeed all fellow Kiwis to be mindful of the way that we should be inclusive of all New Zealanders in the electoral processes.It seems a really worthwhile thing not just from a basic sort of human rights perspective but also in relation to many Kiwis who would be described as "disabled persons"—to use the phrase in the bill and indeed the phrase in the Disability Strategy—who often are politically very aware and active. Often they will have issues whereby they're interacting with Government departments like the Ministry of Health ACC maybe disability services on a disproportionate basis and obviously other aspects of life and interacting with Government departments with which all Kiwis are familiar. But it's certainly the case that many of my constituents and friends who would be described as "disabled persons" certainly have strong political views and for what it's worth for me to acknowledge today would make excellent members of Parliament or excellent local government candidates and so forth. I'll return to the local government aspect just very briefly in a moment.But moving on I just feel the need as well to acknowledge a certain amount of personal humility. I wouldn't be described as a New Zealander living with a disability in the context of this bill so I approach the task with some sort of consciousness of my own limitations in that regard Even in terms of the bill I haven't been familiar with it through the select committee process so I'm sort of playing catch up somewhat. But reading it carefully and listening to the comments around the House it seems that a number of different issues that are important in the way that it will operate have been carefully considered.In relation to the local government aspect we've talked earlier today and yesterday in the context of another electoral bill which I won't revisit now but I think it's worth saying that in general terms if local and general electoral law can be aligned as well as possible then that's a positive thing. So I think it's a helpful attitude that the sponsor of the bill and the Governance and Administration Committee have taken whereby they are talking about having an opportunity to broaden the scope or the application of the bill in future years to encompass the local government space. That's something on which Lawrence Yule among others has touched and I know that he is someone with a passion for the local government environment and ensuring good democratic processes for that.I think a helpful addition that it seems the Governance and Administration Committee made was around by-elections. Of course they're important no less than general elections—although in an MMP environment they sort of have a very particular role. But there's no good reason to exclude the benefit of the bill for our disabled fellow Kiwis from accessing it so that seems like a positive change as well. I'll leave my contribution there. But I say that I look forward to the remainder of the contributions from others in the House and the continuing support of the bill at this the second reading and beyond."