SpeechTERISA NGOBI (Labour—Ōtaki): Kia ora Mr Speaker. As always it's an honour and a privilege to stand up as the member of Parliament for the Ōtaki electorate but also as a member of the Social Services and Community Committee who heard the 75 submissions all in favour of this bill. It makes sense. It's a common-sense bill so no surprise there that everyone supported it. It is a real privilege to stand in support of this bill the Human Rights (Disability Assist Dogs Non-Discrimination) Amendment Bill—really long quite a small change but really effective.Can I first congratulate the member who's championing this bill through Mr Ricardo Menéndez March. First of all congratulations for pulling the bill out of the biscuit tin—that's amazing—but also for making sure that this is the bill that you chose to champion and bring this kaupapa to the Chamber. It's so important and I know your passion around people with disabilities and being able to support that community. So really proud of that. Thank you very much for that.Also I wanted to pick up—and I know other people have talked about this already—currently we know that the Human Rights Act had guide dogs in there who have got protection and who have got rights to be able to accompany their companion or their person with a sight impairment or who may be blind guide them through buildings on buses and in taxis with no issues—and as it should be; there shouldn't be any issues around that. But as we also know people who are sight impaired and blind aren't the only ones that need assistance from disability assist dogs. So while the guide dogs have those protections and those rights currently we know that the disability assist dogs don't which means like my colleague across the way from our Social Services and Community Committee mentioned that the person with a disability also is discriminated against when people don't allow that person to bring their dog in.Also I would mimic that these are not pets. These dogs have a job to do. Their job is to keep that person safe. We know again that there are many reasons that someone might need a disability assist dog and that isn't again just sight impaired but it could also be for your ears for alerts and for many other varieties of issues. So for that we need to also make sure that when people do go into buildings into taxis or into buses that they don't end up having to justify why they need to bring the disability assist dog that will keep them safe from harm with them on those travels or in that building.This again is just a small change but it's mighty right? So changing it to a disability assist dog" rather than "guide dog" in the Human Rights Act is going to mean that like I said all of our working dogs in terms of disabilities are recognised. But also it changes and modernises the out-of-date language that's currently in the Human Rights Act.I would also say that we heard from many of the 75 submitters and some of those that had real-life lived experience in terms of disabilities. I myself have 12 years' experience both here and overseas in working with people with disabilities and mental health both in the Ōtaki electorate—so working at Kimberley Centre; can't get much more dual diagnosis disability and mental health than that—and also in Wellington as well with supported employment.I can say that I have worked with someone who had severe anxiety due to other things that had happened in her past and it was a real issue to even get past her driveway and out. So when this person did have to venture out to doctor's appointments and what not they were able to take their disability assist dog with them and even though she may still have a panic attack that disability assist dog having been with her for some time knew when that was coming on was able to bring her down by his body language and the way they communicated bring her breathing down get her to calm back down and be able to calmly make her way back home. That's just one of the many.I had another young man that I worked with who had severe epilepsy grade-A seizures and we actually helped to support him into work into a butchery. With him his disability assist guide dog knew when that grade-A seizure was coming on. What that meant was that dog was able to alert him if he didn't already feel it himself but also alert people around him so that they would give him space and hopefully when he could he could get himself into a position or into a space where there would be less harm to him when his episode did come on and that hopefully physically he would be OK once he came out of that. That's what that disability assist dog was able to do. That was that dog's job: to be able to keep that person as safe as they could and warn them like I said as well as warning other people around them. There are so many more examples.This bill makes sure that if we are truly going to say that we're supporting people with disabilities if we're truly saying that we're going to give true accessibility if we are truly saying that we want people with disabilities to be able to be independent live their best lives and be part of our society then this is if you like a tool in terms of being a disability assist dog that they need to be able to do all those things.That is why again while it's a small change it's mighty. We know—and again working in that space and listening to the submitters—the difference that's going to make for many of our people in our disabilities community. I think too having this where it's legal a change in the Human Rights Act they have something to fall back on when they are challenged in terms of entering a shop or they are challenged in terms of bringing their dog on the bus. It's not a pet. It's not there just for company or to look good or in someone's handbag; it's actually there to do a job to make sure that they're keeping that person safe to be maybe that person's eyes maybe that person's ears maybe that person's alertness so they—like one of my colleagues sad earlier—you know prevent a heart attack. That is the significance of one change—well a name change I guess. But within that name change so much good will come especially for our disability community.So again I just want to say that I'm really proud to stand with this bill and support this bill. It absolutely makes sense. It absolutely gets rid of that discrimination and makes sure that everybody in New Zealand gets to live their best lives. So for that I commend the bill to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie): In the words of Winston McCarthy this time I call Nicola Grigg—five minutes."