Time is running out for Kiwis to make submissions on legislation aimed at making Aotearoa a more inclusive place for those with disabilities.
Advocates say the Accessibility for New Zealander's bill as it stands, is “a paper tiger with no real teeth”.
Concerns were discussed in an online panel tonight.
Barrister and Researcher Warren Forster, who’s an expert in disability law told 100 participants tuning in for the panel, “at best it won’t make a difference to our lives and at worst it could do harm”.
It comes as the number of signatures on an online petition calling for the bill to be strengthened has soared past 10,000.
The bill had its first reading in Parliament in August.
It's been introduced alongside the new Ministry of Disabled People, Whaikaha, which launched in July.
The bill will see the creation of an Accessibility Committee, of which the majority of members must be disabled.
It will work alongside the Ministry and it's chief executive, Paula Tesoriero.
But advocacy group Access Matters feels it's a committee for the sake of a committee, and that their recommendations will carry no real power.
The bill had its first reading in Parliament on Tuesday afternoon, but advocates want greater accountability. (Source: 1News)
Spokesperson Amy Hogan told 1News, "
Community leaders are not only concerned about the bill’s content, but also have ongoing concerns that even the process to share feedback has too many barriers.
Founder of organisation All is for All Grace Stratton said, “The Minister did make an extension on the amount of time that you have to put in a submission... it shows an acknowledgement we do need to make our systems more accessible.”
But she said, "We've got a great deal more work to do to make sure that the democratic processes more broadly, but the submission process for this bill, are more accessible.
“It’s very much a written submission, there’s not a lot of information about alternate ways to submit.”
Hogan agreed it hasn't been accessible enough, telling 1News, “there’s a lot you need to know before doing it”.
She says Access Matters has tried to bridge the gap for people, creating resources online.
All is for All has also worked to gather feedback from the community to put forward to select committee.
“We invited our community to make a submission by responding to survey we created,” Stratton said.
1News asked Disability Issue Minister Poto Williams for an interview but was told she's not able to talk about the bill while it's before select committee.
But she’s previously said she wants to hear from the community and has written to the select committee's chairwoman with recommendations for making the process accessible.
The consultation period ends on November 7, and the relevant documents can be found here.
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