Yule LawrenceLAWRENCE YULE (National—Tukituki): I want to begin my contribution by congratulating and thanking Chlöe Swarbrick for sponsoring this bill into the House and through this process and also pay a significant tribute to Mojo Mathers for the work she did in coming to this House. I remember the media stories at the time when she entered this House and there was some debate at the time about things she needed to support her in her role as a member of Parliament.I've only recently joined the Governance and Administration Committee so this is a late entry for me into this realm. But just at the outset can I say I am completely supportive of this approach. I do—with some regret I think—say that we couldn't get it done in time for the local government elections and we couldn't get it done in time for the 2020 elections. That's a frustration of the sort of way things operate in Parliament and the slowness of members' bills particularly when you get significant bills in front of it like the End of Life Choice Bill. But that's the way it is: better late than never.I in my life have had quite a lot to do with disabled persons in various roles and it is a real disadvantage for them to have access to the parliamentary and local government process. They can do it and they should be encouraged to do it but it's a lot harder. I am really comfortable with where the select committee got to and where we are at the second reading. I am pleased that we did include by-elections and that change was made. I on balance think that the right decision was made on NGOs and political parties. It wasn't a unanimous view but it was clearly thrashed out and I think this really goes to the heart of what this bill is about. It is about helping individuals overcoming barriers to participate in the political process. I remind viewers—if anybody's listening on a Wednesday afternoon at 20 past 4—that this is not about funding signs or newspaper ads or things like that; this is about providing candidates with access to things that they need to be a candidate—whether that's travel whether that's sign or other interpretive language assistance or whether that's even assistance in completing paperwork to be able to participate in a campaign. So I think this is a very responsible thing for this Parliament to do. I'm thrilled that it's got cross-party support. But I do want to in my contribution pay tribute to the Electoral Commission to what it's done in terms of disabled persons having access to the voting process. The Electoral Commission has attempted—and this came out in the select committee—to make voting more accessible for members and my colleague Dr Jian said that previously. People who are blind and have low vision or other physical disabilities that prevent them from voting without assistance can now vote by telephone. A DVD resource kit is available for voters with learning disabilities. An easy reading guide to voting is available for people who have learning disabilities low literacy levels or who use English as a second language and a support person can help fill out enrolment forms. Wherever possible return officers place advance voting booths where people live work and congregate and they also provide mobile voting services to remote locations corrections facilities hospitals and rest homes. Now that is all about improving access to the disabled person and in some cases to the general population. What this bill does though is actually help right at the beginning where somebody has an interest in standing for in this case Parliament at the general election—and hopefully in the long term we can roll this out into local government where somebody can participate. It is my view over a number of years that we are greatly enriched in our thinking if we have a diversity of people in this Chamber or in council chambers around New Zealand and that includes disabled persons. We all bring a unique perspective. Disabled persons bring a unique perspective to me. I did listen to—in a very powerful moment in the end of life choice debate—a young woman that is disabled who's now rallied against end of life choice. I listened to that and that was a very unique perspective to have. I think this Parliament could do with as many of those perspectives as we can get.Chlöe Swarbrick said about boomers and the differences between us all. We're not that different and I have seen a number of examples in this House where we can reach out across the Parliament. This is a relatively simple thing to do. It makes common sense. My only criticism is that we haven't gone far enough and fast enough but that's something that needs to be addressed another day. This side of the House is very happy to support this legislation and to get it through to its final reading to get Royal assent even though it won't become effective until 1 July 2021 and effectively it won't be available for candidates until 2023. But for people that want to stand for Parliament in 2023 they now know that there is some assistance available to get them into the process to take away some of the barriers that are very real and understood by this Parliament and myself. I commend this bill to the House.