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Greens welcome commitment to make Parliament accessible

11 December 2014

Green Party welcomes Speaker’s commitment to making Parliament accessible

The Green Party welcomes the commitments made in the Speaker's report on improving the accessibility of Parliament for disabled people.

The Speaker’s report was a response to the recommendations of the Government Administration select committee report on its inquiry into the accessibility of services to Parliament that was released earlier this year.

“Parliament is a place that should be accessible to all New Zealanders,” Green Party disability spokesperson Mojo Mathers said today.

“The inquiry showed that Parliament is not regarded as accessible by disabled people and fell short of meeting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

“The Speaker’s report is a constructive response to the inquiry and it is good to see that an audit of physical access has already been undertaken.

“This audit has come up with some innovative solutions to long-standing access issues which I look forwards to being implemented.

“The Green Party also welcomes the specific commitments made by the Speaker to developing an accessibility policy, establishing an accessibility reference group, and upgrading Parliament’s website to be accessible.

“One huge step forward is the commitment to live captioning of Parliament TV that is planned for this term and the fact that captioning of all on-demand parliament TV is also being looked at.

“It is important for our democracy that all New Zealanders are able to feel they have access to Parliament.

“I look forward to seeing these commitments being carried through, and a more accessible, inclusive Parliament becoming a reality,” Ms Mathers said.

ENDS

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