New legislation which would require accessibility barriers to be removed could be on the way, if an accessibility advocacy group has its way.
Accessibility legislation is increasingly appearing in countries around the world and work is underway to introduce something similar here.
Currently disabled people in New Zealand have no effective way to report barriers to their participation fully in society, or get them removed, and there's no one agency to identify and deal with non-compliance.
The Access Alliance is a consortium of 20,000 people, businesses and organisations advocating for the establishment of accessibility legislation in New Zealand.
Independent researchers have now created a blueprint for how the legislation could work, which is now being put to the Minister for Disability Issues, Carmel Sepuloni.
They've proposed a legislative framework that includes an Act, a regulator, a tribunal, accessibility standards, and a way to notify the regulator of barriers.
Kathryn speaks with Chrissie Cowan, the chair of Access Alliance and chief executive of Kāpō Māori Aotearoa, a Hastings-based organisation supporting the blind.
She also speaks to Warren Forster, a barrister and researcher who co-authored the report.
Photo: 123rf
