Further policy statements from political parties

Leading up to the General Election this weekend, many of the political parties have provided information on their policies to the RNZFB and other organisations. Below are links to policy information from CCS Disability Action, Auckland Disability Law and Age Concern.

CCS Disability Action prepared a list of questions on disability issues for all political parties that appear in television polls. CCS Disability Action's questions and the parties' responses are linked below.

• Employment - How will your party encourage employers, both public and private, to hire more disabled employees?
• Support services - How will your party make disability support services more user friendly and responsive to the needs of people with disabilities?
• Community living - How will your party give people with disabilities a variety of appropriate options for community living and phase out inappropriate options, such as housing young people with disabilities in rest homes?
• Income Support - What changes to income support and welfare is your party planning to make and what will the effects be on people with disabilities?
• Transport - What will your party do to ensure that all transport is accessible for disabled persons as required under Article 9 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities?
• Policy Planning - Research has shown that involving people with disabilities in the planning process results in better outcomes. What will your party do to ensure the involvement of people with disabilities in all policy planning that relates to them, including policy on transport and building design?
• Accessibility - What will your party do to promote better physical accessibility in the built up environment?
• Early Education - What will your party do to ensure children with disabilities have equal access to early childhood education?
• Primary and Secondary Education - What will your party do to ensure children with disabilities can attend the same schools, if they choose, as children without disabilities?
• Transitions - What will your party do to ensure young adults with disabilities successfully transition from school to employment or training?
• Ageing - How will your party successfully accommodate the increasing rates of disability that will occur with the aging population?
• Social Justice - How will your party ensure that the rights of disabled people are upheld? How will your party close the gaps between Maori and non-Maori, particularly, for Maori with disabilities?
• Other - Please outline any other policies that you feel will support disabled people to lead the lives they wish to live?

Auckland Disability Law sent four questions to political parties, and responses were shared in their last email newsletter from Labour, NZ First, Green Party, Mana Movement, Act and the Alliance. The four questions were:

• What is your Party’s priority policy in relation to the disability community?  
• How would your Party improve funding for services and supports for disabled people?
• What would your Party do to make Aotearoa New Zealand a more inclusive society? and
• What are the ways your Party would improve education and employment outcomes for disabled people?

For a copy of the newsletter, contact Auckland Disability Law.

Age Concern New Zealand sent a series of questions to political parties on issues for older New Zealanders. Responses are being published on Age Concern's Facebook page this week.

The RNZFB also wrote to each of the registered political parties ahead of the election to ask about their policies on a range of specific issues affecting blind and partially sighted people. Responses are posted in our General Election information hub.