Displaying 1 - 24 of 41 results.

The Minister for Social Development and Employment, Paula Bennett and the Minister for Disability Issues, Tariana Turia, today announced the new Disability Innovation Fund making $500,000 available for innovative ways of getting disabled people into work or retaining them in work.

“A priority for me is to get people into work. This fund supports disabled people into work and also supports employers to retain disabled workers,” said Minister Bennett.

  • Paula Bennett
  • Tariana Turia
  • Disability Issues
  • Social Development and Employment

The Associate Minister of Health and Minister for Disability Issues Tariana Turia today announced the launch of the Choice in Community Living programme in the Auckland and Waikato regions.

Choice in Community Living is about supporting disabled people who want to move from residential services, where they live in a house owned or rented by their support provider, to a home of their own.

The programme aims to assist disabled people to build a life like other New Zealanders through connection to natural supports and the wider community.

  • Tariana Turia
  • Disability Issues
  • Health

Tariana Turia, Minister of Disability Issues, is delighted that her original intention to appoint a full time Disability Rights Commissioner to protect and promote the rights of disabled peoples has been upheld with a new bill introduced to Parliament.

"In late 2009 I began advocating for a dedicated Disability Commissioner in the Human Rights Commission to promote and protect the rights of disabled people."

  • Tariana Turia
  • Disability Issues

Disability Issues Minister Hon Tariana Turia released the review of the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006 today.

The New Zealand Sign Language Act established sign language as an official language of New Zealand.

“The passing of the Act was a landmark day for the Deaf community that sent an important signal about their place in our communities and whānau,” says Mrs Turia.

  • Tariana Turia
  • Disability Issues

Justice Minister Simon Power and Minister for Disability Issues Tariana Turia have today announced the appointment of Paul Gibson as a part-time Human Rights Commissioner responsible for disability issues.

Mr Power said Mr Gibson, who was until recently the senior disability adviser at Capital and Coast District Health Board, brings a wealth of experience and skills to the newly created role.

“Mr Gibson has been a strong advocate for disability rights. He has extensive experience in leadership roles in disability policy, management, and governance.”

  • Simon Power
  • Tariana Turia
  • Disability Issues
  • Justice

Minister for Disability Issues, Hon. Tariana Turia, has welcomed the New Model for Supporting Disabled People launched today in Tauranga.

“The overwhelming priority for me as Minister has been to support disabled people and their whanau with greater choice and control over the supports they receive” said Minister Turia.  “I have been determined to act on the aspirations  disabled people have shared with me, to identify and achieve what represents a good life for them.  

  • Tariana Turia
  • Disability Issues
  • Health

The Deaf, deaf-blind, speech and hearing-impaired community will soon benefit from an expanded range of communication services, Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Steven Joyce, announced today.

New services to be progressively introduced from late this year will include captioned telephony, which allows people to read live captions of spoken phone conversations. People will also be able to contact the relay contact centre by mobile phone, and use a prepaid calling card to make international calls by Internet relay.

  • Steven Joyce
  • Tariana Turia
  • Communications and Information Technology
  • Disability Issues

Disabilities Minister Tariana Turia is bemused by comments made from Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni following the social services select committee hearing into Vote Social Development.

“From the negative tone of her release, I wondered if Ms Sepuloni had attended a completely different meeting” said Mrs Turia.    “The focus of my presentation was the appropriation for promoting positive outcomes for disabled persons”.

  • Tariana Turia
  • Disability Issues
  • Social Development and Employment

Minister of Disability Issues Minister, Tariana Turia, has commended the initiative and the leadership of Nelson advocates for people with disabilities in placing the issue of accessibility on the agenda.

“’It was really positive to see the range of submissions presented by the Accessibility for All advocates, and others working on behalf of disabled persons to the Nelson City Council in their annual plan hearings” said Mrs Turia. 

  • Tariana Turia
  • Disability Issues

The Government will invest $4 million over the next four years in Be. Accessible, Disability Issues Minister Tariana Turia says.

“Be. Accessible is an exciting and innovative social change campaign that aims to influence the attitudes and behaviours of New Zealanders so we can each play our part in creating a truly accessible nation.

“It will inspire and enable businesses, individuals and organisations to step up to the economic and social opportunity to improve accessibility for people with disabilities,” Mrs Turia says.

  • Tariana Turia
  • Disability Issues
  • Budget 2011

Disability Issues Minister Tariana Turia is welcoming New Zealand’s first report to the United Nations on implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

“The report illustrates that New Zealand is relatively advanced in its implementation of the Convention and considerable work has been achieved across all articles,” says Mrs Turia.

  • Tariana Turia
  • Disability Issues

Changing attitudes is the key to ensuring people with disabilities are treated equally, says Disability Issues Minister Tariana Turia.

Mrs Turia says she is deeply disappointed and saddened by recent comments from a media commentator criticising disabled sportspeople.

“Disabled people should not have to put up with such derogatory comments"

“We should be enabling people to participate in all aspects of life rather than marginalising them because they have a disability,” says Mrs Turia.

  • Tariana Turia
  • Disability Issues

Disability Issues Minister Tariana Turia is welcoming the historic delivery of the Treaty of Waitangi Day celebrations in New Zealand’s three official languages –te reo Maori, English and New Zealand Sign Language.

“Waitangi Day is a very important day in New Zealand for the very first time more than 7,000 deaf New Zealanders will be able to follow and understand the proceedings in New Zealand Sign Language.”

  • Tariana Turia
  • Disability Issues

Disability Issues Minister Tariana Turia is welcoming the release of a report on the human rights of disabled people in New Zealand.

The report, Disability Rights in Aotearoa New Zealand, was written by the Convention Coalition, which is a collaboration of New Zealand’s disabled peoples’ organisations.

The Coalition comprises the Disabled Persons Assembly, Association of Blind Citizens of New Zealand Inc, Deaf Aotearoa NZ, Ngati Kapo, Nga Hau E Wha and People First New Zealand.

  • Tariana Turia
  • Disability Issues

Disability Issues Minister Tariana Turia has welcomed a photographic exhibition in Parliament showing the experiences of disabled people and their families in other countries.

The Access for All exhibition will be on display in Parliament’s foyer until Monday December 13 and has been organised by CBM, an international disability and development organisation working to improve the lives of people with disabilities.

  • Tariana Turia
  • Disability Issues

Employers in the state sector have been recognised for going the extra mile for staff with significant disabilities.

Disability Issues Minister Tariana Turia presented the Mainstream Awards at a ceremony in Wellington today.

Newlands College was named the 2010 Employer of the Year in recognition of their success in providing high quality supported employment.

  • Tariana Turia
  • Disability Issues

The Minister for Disability Issues, Hon Tariana Turia, is inviting public comment on a draft government report on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

  • Tariana Turia
  • Disability Issues

Disability Issues Minister Tariana Turia today announced further measures to promote, protect and monitor the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilit

  • Tariana Turia
  • Disability Issues

A new system that enables deaf and hearing impaired people to contact the emergency 111 service by text was launched by Police Minister Judith Collins in Auckland today.

  • Judith Collins
  • Pansy Wong
  • Disability Issues
  • Police

Disability Issues Minister Tariana
Turia has today welcomed the release of the Start Strong Draft Framework for
Action
report.

  • Tariana Turia
  • Disability Issues

Disability Issues Minister Tariana Turia is encouraging New Zealanders to support World Arthritis Day by taking the time to better understand the impact of this incurable disease.

  • Tariana Turia
  • Disability Issues

The launch of the first of the Matangi Trains on Thursday September 9 has been welcomed by the Acting Minister for Disability Issues Pansy Wong.

  • Pansy Wong
  • Disability Issues

Civil Defence Minister John Carter has today launched a DVD designed to give potentially life-saving advice on emergency planning to the deaf and hearing impaired.

  • John Carter
  • Tariana Turia
  • Civil Defence
  • Disability Issues

Broadcasting Minister Jonathan Coleman and Associate Disability Issues Minister Pansy Wong are today applauding funding for a new pilot service that allows people with impaired vision to follow tel

  • Pansy Wong
  • Jonathan Coleman
  • Broadcasting
  • Disability Issues