Good evening and welcome. This is the moment we've all been waiting for - the launch of the New Zealand Disability Strategy: Making a World of Difference, Whakanui Oranga.

The Strategy will help to remove the barriers which prevent disabled people from participating fully in our communities. It delivers on a key Labour-Alliance pre-election promise. And it marks a turning point in the relationship between Government and disabled people.

It is my great pleasure to welcome the Prime Minister Helen Clark, who will officially launch the Strategy. Her presence here tonight indicates the seriousness with which this Government takes disability issues and our ongoing commitment to implementing the New Zealand Disability Strategy.

I welcome my other Cabinet colleagues in the audience: Annette King, Mark Burton and Marion Hobbs, and Mr Speaker, Jonathon Hunt. I welcome Liz Gordon from the Alliance, and record the apologies of Leader of the Opposition, Rt Hon Jenny Shipley and Dr Linda Scott, National's spokesperson on disability issues. I am confident that there will be genuine cross-party support for the New Zealand Disability Strategy, which is something that the Disability Sector Reference Group identified as important.

I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the significant contribution made by Ruth Dyson, the first Minister for Disability Issues. The document we are launching tonight owes much to Ruth's dedication. It is she who laid the strong foundations on which the Strategy is built and she continues to work tirelessly to raise the profile of disability issues, both inside and outside Government.

There are many other people who must be thanked:

Firstly, the 15 members of the Disability Sector Reference Group, ably led by Jan Scown and Robyn Hunt. The members of this group were specially appointed for their wide range of knowledge and expertise, to assist the Government in developing the Strategy. They largely wrote the discussion document on which we consulted with the wider community. They facilitated and attended many of the consultation meetings, using their own networks to involve as many other people as possible.

I want to thank DPA, (the Assembly of People with Disabilities), especially the local representatives who hosted consultation meetings. Their chief executive, Gary Williams, will be speaking tonight, and I am sure his comments will be as relevant and challenging as ever.

Thanks also to the Auckland Disability Providers Network, who were very much involved in the consultation process in their region. It was Judith Lunny's idea to have regional functions marking the launch, and I want to welcome all those who have gathered in Auckland, Hamilton, Christchurch and Dunedin to be with us in spirit.

Many others, I know, have tuned in to the internet individually to listen to an audio-broadcast of the launch from the Strategy website. Welcome. Your support reassures me that the Strategy is in very good hands all around the country.

I want to thank the Royal NZ Foundation for the Blind and IHC who have helped prepare accessible versions of both the discussion document and the final Strategy, and the New Zealand Sign Language interpreters who provided their services at consultation meetings and this evening.

Finally, I want to thank everyone who took part in the workshops, hui, fono and focus groups around the country and everyone who put in a submission. We received 700 submissions, an indication of the exceptional level of interest in the New Zealand Disability Strategy.

Those of you who are familiar with the discussion document will see that the final Strategy has similar objectives, with the addition of two new ones: "to support quality living in the community", and "to support lifestyle choices, recreation and culture".
You will see that, as a result of the consultation process, the vision statement is now sharper. It says that New Zealand will be inclusive when people with impairments can say they live in 'a society that highly values our lives and continually enhances our full participation'.

And you will see that there are many more actions required under each objective and that they are more detailed and specific.

In all, the Strategy outlines 15 objectives and 113 actions. They cover: educating society; rights; education; employment; leadership; public service; support systems; living in the community; lifestyles and recreation; information and research; participation of Maori, Pacific peoples, children, youth and women; and valuing families, whanau and others who provide support.

Reaching consenus on a public document is never easy. There have been many interesting discussions along the way, and I know there are some of you who would have liked the Strategy to go further. But that should not cloud what represents a significant achievement.

The fact remains that the New Zealand Disability Stratetgy is a major step forward in policy design and implementation. It is an excellent starting point on which to build a fully inclusive society where disabled people are able to participate in our communities and reach their full potential.

And now I would now like to hand you over to the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Helen Clark, who will launch the New Zealand Disability Strategy and show how, together, we can make a world of difference.