Paul Hutchison MP National Party Disability Issues Spokesman
27 October 2005
Disabled face discrimination in public transport
The Clark/Peters Government must act on the recommendations of a Human Rights Commission report and improve access to
public transport for the disabled, says National's Disability Issues spokesman, Paul Hutchison.
The report, entitled 'The Accessible Journey', recommends mandatory levels of access for buses, taxis, footpaths, bus
stops, stations and other transport infrastructure.
An appendix to the report states that measured against best practice in overseas jurisdictions, 'New Zealand compares
very poorly'.
"It is an indictment that after six years of a Labour-led Government disabled people continue to have 'acute and ongoing
difficulties using public land transport services'," says Dr Hutchison.
"It is also an indictment on Labour that disabled people feel disempowered in terms of participation in public land
transport planning, because their needs are not considered to be a core requirement of the current statutory process."
Dr Hutchison says the Government should at the very least address the report's recommendations for 'core changes to
legislation, regulations, policies, procedures for funding arrangements, and improvements that can be achieved in the
short term with minimal expenditure'.
ENDS