In December 2011 the Commission released The Wider Journey discussion document, which raised issues relating to the built environment, independent voting processes and access to information.
The purpose of The Wider Journey was twofold: to invite further information and input from disabled people and experts, and to gain a more accurate picture of the issues in order to inform monitoring and implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Disability Convention). The discussion document also sought feedback on draft recommendations to progress improvements.
The Commission received 32 submissions on The Wider Journey, 20 of these responding to the chapter on access to information.
Submitters were unanimous in agreeing that access to information remains a significant and worrying barrier to disabled people’s participation in society, and called for action to reduce the resulting marginalisation experienced by disabled people. All submitters supported the recommendations of The Wider Journey. In particularly, there was strong support for making the New Zealand Government Web Standards mandatory for district health boards, territorial local authorities, other Crown entities, and schools.
Poor access to council and school information received several mentions in submissions. Accounts of inaccessible council information related to rates, and public documents on their websites being only in Portable Document Format (PDF), which can be difficult to access for many disabled people. Schools were reported as giving poor access to information and communications on the legal rights of children who were suspended. Many submitters called for more information in plain language, and highlighted the often forgotten accessibility needs of people with learning disabilities and people experiencing mental illness.
A common theme through all submissions was a general lack of respect for disabled people’s information accessibility needs, with service providers failing to ask "How can we provide this information to you?" Submitters reported frequently not receiving answers to requests for accessible information, or receiving them only after considerable time and/or lobbying. Several submitters commented on the need for closer consultation with and involvement of disability representative organisations in the development, planning and implementation of communication strategies and plans. Details submitters gave of current problems are in the relevant sections of this report.
In addition to information from submissions, this report has drawn on complaints made to the Commission, previous Commission reports and other information shared with the Commission. This report covers:
1 human rights standards on accessible information
2 issues in New Zealand with accessible information
3 international and domestic good practice
4 ways forward
5 recommendations.