• 1. Charities Bill.
• 2. Inquiry into the 2004 Local Authority elections.
• 3. Changing New Zealand's "silver" coins.
• 4. Inclusive tertiary education for students with impairments.
• 5. New Zealand Relay service.
• 6. Accessible public land transport inquiry update.
• 7. "Coping without a car" report.
• 8. Living with disability in New Zealand report.
• 9. Health & Disability Sector Standards NZS8134-2001.
• 10. Year of the Built Environment 2005.
• 11. Copyright.
• 12. Sport and Recreation New Zealand (SPARC).
• 13. Introducing Greg Morgan.

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Greetings!

This newsletter is compiled by Greg Morgan, Manager Research and Development. The schedule of Policy and research newsletters for 2005 will be: January, March, June, September, and December.

The newsletter is emailed to Policy Analysis and Information e-mail list subscribers. It is also available on the Telephone Information Service option 311 and on the Foundation website www.rnzfb.org.nz/Media/advocacy.php.

If you would like more information on the topics covered below or would like to see any of the Foundation's submissions, please contact Greg Morgan: Auckland 355-6961; toll free 0800-243-333; e-mail gmorgan; or fax (09) 366-0099. You may write to Greg in print or braille or on cassette at RNZFB, Private Bag 99941, Newmarket, Auckland.

1. Charities Bill.

In December 2004 the Social Services Select Committee presented the Charities Bill back to Parliament. Government policy changes in respect of the Bill will reduce the cost for agencies to register with the Charities Commission and comply with its requirements. The Ministry of Economic Development has asked several umbrella organisations to provide feedback on "the technical workability" of the proposed changes. For more information see the Charities Commission website.

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2. Inquiry into the 2004 Local Authority elections.

The Justice and Electoral Select Committee invites submissions from individuals and groups on its inquiry into the council and district health board elections last year. Specific topics for consideration are:

• An assessment of the Local Electoral Act 2001 and regulations; this includes the agencies responsible for the conduct of elections, postal voting arrangements, and campaign spending limits.
• Participation and elector turnout, including "whether voting was sufficiently accessible for all groups (for example, people with disabilities)". Was public information for electors (including advertising) adequate? Was the information on the STV (single transferable vote) system sufficient?
• Electoral systems and their review. What impact did STV have on representation? What is the impact of managing STV and First Past the Post through the same ballot paper? Should there be only one electoral system at local level, or could voter education and ballot paper design overcome the potential confusion of having two systems operating at once?
• Electoral management, including the processing of votes and making results available. Are systems in place to avoid the delays experienced last year?

The Foundation is making a submission that focuses on two areas: (1) voters' access to candidate profile statements and other election information, and (2) more accessible voting methods (e.g. telephone voting, internet voting, and braille-card voting).

To make a personal or group submission:

Forward 20 copies of your submission by Friday, 25 February 2005 to the address below. If you wish to appear before the committee, state this clearly with your submission, providing a contact name and daytime phone number. Submissions to select committees generally become public, so you would need to contact the committee secretariat before sending information of a private or personal nature.

Address information is:

Email: SC-JE@parliament.govt.nz
Phone: 04-471-9465.
Fax: 04-499-0486.

Postal:
Justice and Electoral Committee Secretariat,
Bowen House,
Parliament Buildings,
Wellington.

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3. Changing New Zealand's "silver" coins.

In December 2004 the Reserve Bank approached the Foundation to comment on possible changes to some of New Zealand's coins. Any changes will be implemented in mid-2006. Proposed changes include removing the 5 cent coin from circulation. Surveys conducted by the Reserve Bank suggest that the public and retailers are generally in favour of this because inflation has reduced the value of the coin and its size is a nuisance. In fact, the 5 cent coins do not circulate well. The Reserve Bank issues 30 million of them a year, at cost of just over $1 million!

What else is proposed? It is intended that the current $1 and $2 coins will remain as is. There will be a new 10 cent coin: a little smaller than the current one, lighter, and reddish in colour. A new silver coloured 20 cent coin will be much smaller and lighter than the existing one, and will not be as easily confused with the $2 coin. And a smaller and considerably lighter 50 cent coin will replace the big coin we know at present. Pictorial designs will be the same as the coins have now.

It has been suggested that the new 10 cent and 50 cent coins have completely smooth edges, but that the 20 cent be minted with a distinctive pattern around its edge. This is pattern is called "milling" and on the 20 cent will differ from the pattern around the edge of the $1 and $2 coins.

Comments on proposed changes to coinage need to be received by the Reserve Bank on or before 4 February 2005. For further information see the Reserve Bank website.

The Foundation will make a submission, which will be available for viewing on our website.

4. Inclusive tertiary education for students with impairments.

Kia Ōrite: Achieving Equity: New Zealand Code of Practice for an Inclusive Tertiary Education Environment for Students with Impairments was launched on 24 November 2004. The aim of this voluntary code is to assist tertiary education providers identify and remove barriers in all areas of campus life. Achieve, the National Post-Secondary Education Disability Network Incorporated, developed the code with support and input from across the disability and education sectors. The result is a statement of general principles and explanatory examples designed to encourage the provision of inclusive education. The code covers areas such as policy and planning; recruitment, admission, and enrolment; general and specialist support services; funding; services to Māori; building, facilities, and equipment; teaching and learning; examinations and assessment; staff development; and monitoring and evaluation.

For more information see the Achieve website.

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The Foundation is currently working on accessible format versions of the code. These will soon be available from the Library (library) and the Accessible Information Consultancy (aic@rnzfb.org.nz).

5. New Zealand Relay service.

On 15 November 2004 New Zealand Sprint Relay services were launched for people who are deaf, hearing impaired, deafblind, or who have a speech disability. Callers use a textphone (known as a TTY) to dial the toll free number of New Zealand Sprint Relay and type a confidential conversation to a relay assistant. The relay assistant reads the typed message to a hearing person. The relay assistant then communicates the hearing person's spoken words by typing them back to the TTY User.

The voice carry over option allows those who wish to speak but cannot hear to talk directly to the party they are calling, and then, within the duration of the call, read replies sent back through the relay assistant. Hearing carry over allows those with a speech disability to type their end of the conversation to the relay assistant, and listen directly to the replies. The ability to link the service to an internet-enabled computer is planned. See the New Zealand Relay website for further information.

Contact details for the New Zealand Relay service:

TTY: 0800-4713-713.

Voice: 0800- 4715-715.

Fax: 0800-4329-697.

Information email: info@nzrelay.co.nz

6. Accessible public land transport inquiry update.

The Human Rights Commission is currently reviewing all submissions and undertaking further research on matters that emerged during its consultations in 2004. The Commission has noted that around the country there are a number of initiatives that can significantly increase the accessibility and availability of public land transport services for people with a disability. However, the Commission has contacted submitters for further comment on topics such as:

The need for legislative direction to ensure that the needs of disabled travellers are regarded as core in all public land transport planning, funding, and service delivery.

• National standards for the design of all public land transport.
• The need for modifications to the Total Mobility scheme.
• The regulatory framework and funding required for truly accessible public land transport.

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Draft core recommendations have been shared with the Foundation, which will offer further comments by the end of February deadline. If you wish to discuss any aspects of accessible land transport with the Foundation, please contact Greg Morgan. Contact details are listed at the start of this newsletter.

7. "Coping without a car" report.

In November 2004 the Office for Senior Citizens within the Ministry of Social Development released a report on research into "Coping without a car". The research looked into how the lack of private transport affects the lifestyle and quality of life of older people, and how older people who do not have access to private transport meet their transport needs.

PDF and Word versions of the report (executive summary, summary, and full) are at the Office for Senior Citizens website.

8. Living with disability in New Zealand report.

This "descriptive analysis of results from the 2001 Household Disability Survey and the 2001 Disability Survey of Residential Facilities" is on the web.
Read Living with Disability in New Zealand on the Ministry of Health website.

The report is several hundred pages long, and may be read in HTML, Word, or PDF. The Ministry of Health is preparing a summary version which it plans to make available electronically, in audio, and in braille.

9. Health & Disability Sector Standards NZS8134-2001.

In its submission on this review in December, the Foundation noted that it has found complying with the Standards to be straightforward. However, other agencies that have limited contact with blind and vision-impaired people might benefit from suggestions made by the Foundation. Suggestions covered modifying policies and procedures to allow consumers to be more easily accompanied by guide dogs, removing barriers to the employment in health and disability services of people with vision impairment, providing clear, accurate, and accessible information to consumers, orientation and sighted guide support, accessible routes and clear directions, interpreter support for deafblind clients, and ensuring that the individuals who provide transport assistance are knowledgeable and confident.

10. Year of the Built Environment 2005.

This is an opportunity to explore and celebrate our built environment: the buildings, spaces and structures in which New Zealand residents live, work and play. Throughout the year a series of events will focus on and challenge people to recognise the role the built environment in their lives. One happening will be the Building Code review workshops held in Auckland, 14-15 February. A nationwide event will be the Building Research Association of New Zealand road show, 22 February-28 March.

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For further information on any aspect of YBE2005 contact:

YBE2005 Secretariat,
c/o Ministry for the Environment,
PO Box 10362,
Wellington.

Phone: (04) 917 7400.
Email: ybe@mfe.govt.nz

11. Copyright.

In 2002 the Ministry of Economic Development began its review of digital technology and the Copyright Act 1994. Cabinet's policy recommendations in June 2003 were that the Act does not require substantial amendment but should be clearer on existing rights and exceptions in the digital environment. The Foundation has used this review to explain to officials and the Government that digital technology will vastly improve the reading experience available to blind people. An amendment bill to clarify the legislation is expected in the early part of 2005.

Meanwhile, the International Federation of Library Associations has collaborated on a declaration on the future of the World Intellectual Property Organisation. The declaration is a comment on the imbalance between the rights of information owners and legitimate users, and makes explicit reference to the information needs of disabled persons. See The Geneva Declaration on the Future of WIPO for the charter and its signatories, or contact Greg Morgan for more details.

12. Sport and Recreation New Zealand (SPARC).

In December applications closed for the project to audit SPARC's policies, programmes, and systems to assess compliance with the New Zealand Disability Strategy. The timeline sets the end of February for the release of both a report and a disability assessment tool to be used in evaluating compliance.

13. Introducing Greg Morgan.

Greg took up the role of Manager Research and Development late in December 2004. He joined the Foundation in 2000 as Manager Library and Information Services, having previously managed the law and medical libraries at the University of Auckland. Prior to that Greg completed a PhD in English language and literature, editing and analysing the language in a series of fourteenth century sermons. Interestingly, Greg has come back to sermons in another way: as a lay preacher and as a very part-time student of theology.

In his Research and Development Greg is responsible for coordinating research activity across the Foundation, sourcing external research of value to the Foundation, preparing submissions to government, managing the

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development of Foundation policies, and assisting business and strategic planning.