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Blind Citizens NZ Board | National Office Contacts

Submitted: Wednesday, October 7, 2026
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Board

National Office



Membership Renewal Form, to 30 June 2027 

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When depositing funds into Blind Citizens NZ’s bank account to renew your membership, please let our National Office know. You can post this form to PO Box 7144, Newtown, Wellington 6242, phone us on 0800 222 694 or email us at admin@blindcitizensnz.org.nz

As a reference, please include the first letter of your Christian name and full surname, and the reference “MembSubs”. Blind Citizens NZ’s bank account details are: 06-0230-0002634-00.

Full Name: (Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms): ________________________________

Address: _______________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Email ___________________________   Phone No: ____________

Date of Birth: _______________   Ethnicity: _________________

I prefer to receive information (select preferred format):
Braille | Audio | Large Print | Email

Membership subscriptions for Ordinary and Associate Members are $10 per year, or $30 per year for those who can afford it. Please select and indicate the amount you are paying from the options below.

  • Ordinary Membership – for blind | deafblind | low vision and vision impaired (blind) members registered with or eligible to receive full services from Blind Low Vision NZ: $10  or  $30.
  • Associate Membership – for family | friends | whanau: $10  or  $30
  • Membership-for-Life is available to those who meet the criteria for Ordinary Membership: $300.00

I include a donation $________ for National Office | Branch | Network.



Acknowledgement of financial support

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Blind Citizens NZ deeply appreciates the donations and bequests from our members and supporters. Also the grant from the New Zealand Lotteries Grants Board, and essential funding from Blind Low Vision NZ



Membership Renewal Reminder

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This is a general reminder to subscription-paying members that membership renewals for 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 are now due. Subscriptions can be paid in person at a Branch or Geographic Network event. If these options are not suitable, we have alternate, safe options to replace the in-person approach. You can ask your bank to assist by making a one-off payment to the National Office bank account. Alternately consider setting up an annual payment so your membership renewal is processed automatically each year. Internet and phone banking are also options you can use to pay your annual subscription.

We have two subscription rates. For Ordinary (voting) Members and Associate Members it is $10 per year, or $30 per year for those able to contribute this amount. There is no longer a rate that differentiates between working and non-working members. You choose the rate that best meets your circumstances. For Ordinary (voting) Members, keeping your membership current ensures you can participate in Blind Citizens NZ elections, and other democratic processes. The $300 Member-for-Life subscription remains available to Ordinary (voting) Members.

A renewal form follows for anyone wishing to take advantage of this reminder. If providing subscription payment details to your bank, you may wish to take this issue of Focus with you. This will ensure you have the account details at hand.



Global Declaration on Braille Literacy in Education and Global Braille Literacy Survey

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The World Blind Union (WBU) and the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI), have jointly issued the Global Declaration on Braille Literacy in Education.

Blind Citizens NZ along with many other organisations across the world fully support the Global Declaration, and the recently promoted Braille Literacy Survey.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, our mahi has involved Blind Citizens NZ’s Braille Special Interest Network working with Blind Low Vision NZ to promote the importance of Braille.

Led by Chantelle Griffiths Coordinator of our Braille Special Interest Network, this has involved online hui where thought-provoking questions, suggestions and discussions with James Carrick from BLVNZ’s Braille Project Lead have taken place. These efforts, link well to Blind Citizens NZ’s commitment to advancing Braille literacy, and our registered support to the global campaign.

More recently, at the conclusion of its 35th session in August 2026, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) issued a statement in support of the Global Declaration. It described the Declaration as “a significant initiative of organizations of persons with disabilities and civil society organizations to strengthen implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.”

This recognition is an important milestone for the Global Braille Literacy Campaign which anyone can support. That is to say, you do not need to be a Braille user to support this global initiative. The Declaration remains open for additional organisational and individual endorsements until the end of September 2026. We encourage our readers to add your support to this initiative.

To do this, please take the following  shortened URL link https://tinyurl.com/26cpk6oe or the full link
https://icevi.org/global-declaration-add-your-voice/#organizational-and-individual-endorsements

The Campaign is also undertaking a Global Braille Literacy Survey to build an international evidence base about how braille is produced, taught, learned, used and accessed, and the factors that enable or create barriers to braille literacy.

The survey is open to:

  • adults aged 18 years and over who are blind, deafblind, low vision or vision-impaired;
  • parents and guardians of children who are blind, deafblind, low vision or vision-impaired;
  • teachers and other professionals involved in Braille education; and
  • Braille transcribers.

Blind Citizens NZ encourages anyone meeting any of the above-mentioned survey criteria to participate, and to also share this opportunity as widely as you can. The survey is available in a number of languages. You can find out more by taking the following link tiny.cc/braillesurvey

Every response helps strengthen the understanding of Braille literacy around the world and supports future advocacy, including here in Aotearoa New Zealand.

For questions, MS Word versions for offline distribution, or enquiries about additional language versions, please contact info@icevi.org or info@wbu.ngo.



Be part of our online voting pilot

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Although there is no election this year, Blind Citizens NZ continues to explore how we can ensure that voting in our organisational elections is more accessible for everyone. A planned activity is to coordinate a pretend | practice, online election. We already know the system works well for confident blind tech users. We need to hear from financial (voting) members who may not often engage with online systems, or who just do not feel comfortable using them.

If this sounds like you, or if you’ve ever thought, “I’m not very techy”, then we’d love you to take part.

We still need volunteers to make up preferred numbers of around 20 people being involved. You’ll be part of a simple, safe, fake election designed only for testing. There are no real candidates, no real political issues, and no impact on any official organisational processes. We’ll be asking you to tell us what worked and what didn’t.

Your feedback will help shape a more accessible voting experience for our members.

If we already have your expression of interest, you are on our list and you don’t need to do anything else. Otherwise, to be considered, please provide your expression of interest by 9am, Wednesday, 14 October 2026, using one of the following options:



Blind Citizens NZ 2026 Election Outcome

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From Rose Wilkinson, Returning Officer

Although the AGM and Conference is where the official announcement is made about the election outcome, it seems timely to share this important information in this Focus Issue.

Nominations for the two Board Member positions for this year’s election closed at 4pm on Friday 21 August 2026.

At the close of nominations, only one nomination was received. Paula Waby, who is currently serving on the Board, was the sole nominee and is therefore re-elected unopposed to one of the two available Board Member positions. Paula’s new three-year term will commence at the conclusion of this year’s AGM and Conference.

Congratulations to Paula on her re-election.

As only one of the two Board Member positions has been filled, the remaining position is considered to be a vacancy. This vacancy will remain until the next annual election. This means that at the 2027 election, there will be three Board Member positions available:

  • Two Board Member positions whose current terms expire in 2027.
  • One Board Member position arising from the vacancy created in this year’s election.

Provided there are sufficient nominations, the candidates elected to the two positions becoming vacant in 2027 will each serve a full three-year term. The candidate elected to fill the vacancy from this year’s election will serve a two-year term, completing the balance of the original three-year term.

For reference, Rule 14.2.8 applies where an elected Board Member position remains unfilled following an election.



Get ready for this year’s General Election

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Note to readers

Blind Citizens NZ has continued our engagement with the Electoral Commission to assist ensure all elements of the General Election are accessible to blind, deafblind, low vision and vision-impaired people. Our advocacy has included direct engagement with the Electoral Commission, collaboration through the Disabled People’s Organisations (DPO) Coalition, and more recently joint work with Blind Low Vision NZ. We are pleased to publish the following information provided by the Electoral Commission.

Introduction

The Electoral Commission is encouraging New Zealanders to enrol early this election.

The 2026 General Election will be held on Saturday 7 November, with advance voting starting on Monday 26 October.

You need to enrol or update your enrolment details before voting starts. This is by midnight, Sunday 25 October.

You won’t be able to enrol at a voting place. This is different to the last two elections when you could enrol and vote at the same time.

Enrol early

If you enrol or update your details by 4 October, your name will be on the printed electoral roll and you will receive an EasyVote card.

If your email address is in your enrolment record, you’ll receive the card by email. If your email is not in your enrolment record or you’re on the unpublished roll, it will be sent by post. The EasyVote card won’t be sent by text.

When you’re ready to vote, take your EasyVote card with you to the voting place to make the voting faster and easier.

However, you don’t need an EasyVote card to vote.

You can still enrol and update your details after that date, before enrolment closes on 25 October, but you will need to make a special vote, which takes longer.

More information on how to use your EasyVote card will be sent in the letter or email with your card.

Where to go to enrol

Enrol, check or update your details online at vote.nz or call freephone 0800 36 76 56 and talk to our team.

You can also text your name and address to 3676 and the team will send you an enrolment form.

Telephone dictation service

If you’re eligible to vote in the 2026 General Election and are blind, partially blind, or have a physical disability that means you cannot mark your voting paper without assistance, you can register for the telephone dictation service.

You can vote using this service if you live in New Zealand or if you are overseas.

You can register to vote by telephone dictation from Monday 5 October by calling:

  • 0800 028 028 from within New Zealand; or
  • +64 4 471 2000 from overseas (international calling rates may apply).

When you call you will need to select option 1 to register.

Registrations close at 12pm, Saturday 7 November (NZ time).

You can visit Telephone dictation service | vote.nz or this link https://tinyurl.com/3dstyscn for more information about this service.

Election Access Fund

The Election Access Fund Te Tomokanga — Pūtea Whakatapoko Pōtitanga is available to support disabled candidates in the 2026 General Election.

The Fund covers costs for things such as assistive technology and hiring support to participate as a candidate.

The Fund is now open for applications for the 2026 General Election.

Take your point of view to more places and find out more about the Election Access Fund at
Election Access Fund | elections.nz or take this link
https://tinyurl.com/yvxy29zzAccessible resources available for the 2026 General Election

The Commission has a range of resources.

Information in accessible formats on enrolling and voting in the 2026 General Election can be found on
Information in accessible formats | vote.nz or this link
https://tinyurl.com/yuhnzn74

Enrolment information is available in English, te reo Māori and 29 other languages:
Enrolment information in multiple languages | vote.nz or this link https://tinyurl.com/3pvhxa28



Blind Citizens NZ 2026 AGM and Conference | Times are changing – Are we surviving or thriving

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From Rose Wilkinson, Chief Executive

Time is racing by, and by the time this September Focus issue reaches you, we will be only a few weeks away from our AGM and Conference. Although registrations officially closed on 14 September, don’t be shy if you’ve overlooked letting us know you’d like to join us. Whether you plan to attend in person or online, email us at admin@blindcitizensnz.org.nz or give us a call on 0800 222 694. We’ll do what we can to make your registration possible.

For those travelling and attending in person, we continue to recommend arriving on Thursday, 8 October. This ensures you have time to settle in and be well rested for the 9am start on Friday 9 October. This approach also gives you the opportunity to attend any of our side-event sessions scheduled that afternoon. We wrap up the formal programme around 5pm on Saturday, 10 October, followed by our Conference Dinner and presentation of awards that evening.

Talking about awards, this year, the Board is proposing that Vaughan Dodd be an inductee to Blind Citizen NZ’s Memorial Hall of Honour. Many of our readers will recall the various roles Vaughan held over a number of years and the numerous opportunities he took to be involved in Blind Citizens NZ mahi. A past National President and a Member-for-Life, the proposal recognises the many contributions Vaughan made that continue to benefit blind, deafblind, low vision and vision-impaired people in Aotearoa New Zealand.

This year’s theme “Times are changing – Are we surviving or thriving?” reflects many of the important conversations planned to happen across Blind Citizens NZ. This aligns closely with the now finalised Strategic Plan 2027–2030, and challenges us to consider membership, relevance, and Blind Citizens NZ’s long-term sustainability.

Thursday Side Events: Members attending in-person are welcome to join any of the following side-event sessions on Thursday afternoon:

  • 1pm-2:00pm: Te Tiriti Advisory Group Aotearoa
  • 2:15pm-3:15pm: Guide Dog Handlers Special Interest Network;
  • 3:30-4:30pm: Braille Special Interest Network;
  • 4:45pm-5:45pm: Blind Women.

This year, instead of a side-event for World Blind Union, we are offering a breakfast catch-up with our two WBU delegates. This will happen on Saturday 10 October – attendees will be advised more about this opportunity.

Guest Presenters: we are delighted to welcome our distinguished presenters and guests, including:

  • Invercargill City Mayor Tom Campbell (Official Opening);
  • Associate Professor Brigit Mirfin-Veitch, Kaiuruki Matua – Director, and Dr Robbie Francis Watene, Kairakahau Matua Whaikaha – Disabled Research Lead, Donald Beasley Institute;
  • Paula Tesoriero MNZM, PLY, Chief Executive Whaikaha | Ministry of Disabled People;
  • Sir Peter Boshier | Patron Blind Citizens NZ;
  • Andrea Midgen, Chief Executive and Dan Shepherd, General Manager Community & Inclusion, Blind Low Vision NZ;
  • Dr Greg Morgan, Acting Head of Planning, Auckland Emergency Management.

A special welcome for first-time attendees: if this is your first AGM and Conference, the President extends a standing invitation to join him for dinner on Thursday evening. This informal gathering is an opportunity to ask questions, learn more about how the AGM and Conference proceedings work, and to gain insight into some of the unique elements of Blind Citizens NZ. Most importantly, it is a chance to meet other members and feel confident about participating fully through the event.

We are looking forward to welcoming members and guests from across Aotearoa New Zealand, both in person and online. If you have not yet registered, please get in touch. We would love to have you join us.



Blind Citizens NZ Strategic Plan 2027-2030

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Blind Citizens NZ Strategic Plan
2027-2030
From Rose Wilkinson, Chief Executive

Introduction, from the Board

At its August meeting, the Board considered feedback to Blind Citizens NZ’s Draft Strategic Plan. The collective feedback and insights have assisted the Board, influencing amendments that have further shaped the Strategic Plan, reflecting Blind Citizens NZ’s priorities and aspirations.

The Strategic Plan 2027-2030 is now finalised and publicised as intended in our September Focus issue. It will also be included in the AGM and Conference Agenda for information and, as previously advised, there will be an opportunity for discussion if members have questions.

Here now is the Strategic Plan, 2027-2030

Strategic Plan – 2027-2030

Purpose

Blind Citizens NZ exists to give voice to the aspirations and lived experiences of blind, deafblind, low vision and vision-impaired people (blind people) living in Aotearoa New Zealand. We aim to achieve this by heightening awareness of our rights and removing the barriers that negate our ability to live in an accessible, equitable, and inclusive society.

Vision

Aotearoa New Zealand is a nation where blind, deafblind, low vision and vision-impaired people are inspired and supported to live life as we choose, and where we can participate fully.

Note: In the context of this document, the word “blind” includes all people who are blind, deafblind, low vision, vision-impaired, or who use any other blindness term to describe themselves. Additionally, unless otherwise stated, wherever reference is made to Networks, this includes both Geographic and Special Interest Networks.

Values

We value equally the following statements:

  • As an organisation, we seek to maximise the self-worth and meaningful engagement of our people – He Tangata, He Tangata, He Tangata.

The principles of Te Tiriti O Waitangi with particular reference to Kāwanatanga (Governance), Rangatiratanga (Self Determination), Rite Tahi (Equality).

  • The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the New Zealand Government’s ratification of it.
  • Respect for the different ways each of us responds to the challenges of blindness.
  • The shared learning and support received from the lived experiences of others.
  • Commitment to democratic processes and inclusive practices that ensure our representations have a mandate from our members.
  • Commitment to sustained effort in our advocacy.
  • Constructive, cooperative, and mutually supportive relationships with other disability organisations;
  • Our history and the role we have played in the lives of blind people since 1945.

Our Aspirations

We aspire to:

  • Advocate that blind people are treated respectfully, our dignity is upheld, and that we are treated equitably.
  • Develop the capability of blind people and the Blind Citizens NZ Branches and Networks in which we are active.
  • Maximise the well-being and independence of our members.
  • Improve society’s awareness of issues affecting blind people.
  • Strengthen the representation of Blind Citizens NZ as an active member and leader throughout the disability sector, both in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally.

Our Strategic Imperative

To create a stronger, interconnected Disabled People’s Organisation which promotes, resources, and fosters the well-being of blind people by increasing their participation in Blind Citizens NZ activities.

We intend to achieve our aspirations and strategic imperative by addressing the following goals, which are to:

  • increase and strengthen our membership year on year;
  • increase the number of members who are actively participating in National, Branch, and | or Network activities;
  • strengthen our Branches and Networks so they can advocate for their members;
  • increase the collective capacity of our community to accept roles as leaders within Blind Citizens NZ and beyond;
  • promote the voices of blind people, and their whanau, in advocating for an inclusive and fully accessible society.


Having your say | From the President Jonathan Godfrey

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“Blind people speaking for ourselves” has been a core feature of what Blind Citizens NZ is, and what it has always been, probably even before anyone decided it would make a good motto. It speaks of both our collectivism and our rights as individuals.

In my last column, I talked about the introduction of the Disability Support Services (DSS) Bill, which has now had its third reading in Parliament. Plenty of disabled people and families made submissions: three and a half thousand written submissions, many of them from people whose lives are directly affected by what happens to DSS. Once it receives Royal Assent, the bill becomes law and we’ll be talking about the DSS Act. Several political parties have already said that if elected there will be changes, perhaps a repeal process. No matter what your personal choices might be at the General Election later this year, I bet most people reading this column don’t like the idea that disability rights will continue to be a political football.

The Blind Citizens NZ submission affirmed the need to have a proper legal foundation for the provision of DSS. Unlike the Minister though, we didn’t think it needed to be a rush job.

We believe that an apolitical solution could have been formulated, one that also had greater support of disabled people and whānau.

We rejected those aspects of the bill which we believe do not uphold the rights of disabled people. Those rights are conferred by NZ’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and other human rights instruments. We sought inclusion of the UNCRPD as an explicit reference in the legislation; the Select Committee thought otherwise.

The submissions we make are based on agreed policies where possible and long-held organisational principles when our policy documents don’t cover specific issues under discussion. For example, Maritime NZ has been working on policies for ferries and the like. Maritime NZ worked with the DPO Coalition and each DPO was able to nominate a person to a working group to help develop a range of ideas on which Maritime NZ would then consult more widely.

Blind Citizens NZ does not have a policy on anything relating to boats of any kind, but we do have documents on land-based public transport, access to information, and a view that disabled people should be able to travel by boat alongside our non-disabled peers and family members.

Similarly, we don’t have any policies on the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI). One of the remits coming to our AGM in October includes a reference to automated decision-making by Work and Income.

I admit that at first, I had my reservations about the framing of Gen AI being included as a bad thing for Work and Income to be using. In DPO Coalition discussions with Ministry of Social Development (MSD) officials, we were assured that the use of automated decision-making would speed up the process of successful applications and that no machine would reject an application without a human being involved in the process. It was painted as a way to get the good outcomes faster and that safeguards were in place to prevent adverse outcomes.

I am a huge fan of Gen AI. It is making my life easier and more productive. I use it to support my employment, my leisure activities, the sheep-breeding programme, farm chores such as fertiliser optimisation, and sometimes even things I do for Blind Citizens NZ. I will probably ask Gen AI for suggestions on how to make this column more readable for example. I will be given advice by the Gen AI tool of my choosing, but I will then also have to choose how I will use that advice. The end-product has my name on it. I am responsible and I cannot blame Gen AI for any clangers I let through.

What we’ve seen unfold recently though, is that MSD has relied on Gen AI in ways that officials were not capable of working with. Gen AI created a deluge of work that the humans couldn’t cope with. It is what happened next though, that troubles me. Instead of the machinery leaving well enough alone, it seems that in the end, the machines did get to make decisions without humans being involved. Call them benefit cuts or failure to receive entitlements, the outcome is the same – people were denied their rightful payments, and now Gen AI is getting the blame. The people who were opposed to the use of Gen AI are saying, “I told you so”.

But hang on just a moment. Those machines were controlled and designed by humans. Humans chose how to deploy that technology, and humans specified boundaries within which the Gen AI had the power to act. If MSD hasn’t controlled its use of Gen AI properly, then surely it is on MSD’s humans to explain their actions. Maybe it’s also time for the Minister of Social Development to take more responsibility too.

Government has a new agency to assist its other agencies in coming to grips with the continually-changing digital world we are operating in. The Government Digital Delivery Agency (GDDA) is an important agency for us as blind people, not just because it might have some role in the use of Gen AI, but also because it is the agency responsible for the accessibility of Government websites and other digital technology.

Recently, the GDDA wanted people to have our say on its ideas for a new “Digital Accessibility Standard” (DAS). The DAS will replace the existing Web Accessibility Standard and be in place in early 2027. The DAS is an exciting initiative, or could be if it actually has teeth.

After all, we might have had website standards for many years, but we still see a significant proportion of Government websites that just do not meet the Government’s own standards.

One of the nicest things I’ve seen coming from the use of Gen AI is an increasing awareness for meeting accessibility needs. I can use Gen AI to not only tell me what must change about the presentation of a given website, but also to tell me what actual changes are required under the hood to get those changes in place. If the developer wants, the right Gen AI tool will also do the editing of the underlying code for the website. I therefore suggest that fixing basic accessibility requirements for websites has become considerably easier than it was before Gen AI was there to help. In addition, if improvements in websites are possible, then change is also possible for other documents such as those needed for education and other scenarios.

Part of the fascinating discussion with the GDDA people on the DAS during consultation was their initial assumption that Gen AI could solve other problems that exist. In particular, creation of the various alternate formats we make use of.

At first they thought that Gen AI could speed up the production of Braille and make use of digitised audio to replace human narration. This might be a reality in five- or ten-years’ time, but it is not a reality today.

I believe the key individuals at the GDDA heard the evidence presented to them and ultimately recognised that their ideas needed to be withdrawn. As it happens, many of their assumptions hinged on the ability of end-users to make the Braille or audio for ourselves. We stressed that the tools used by professionals to make Braille and audio are not able to be used by anyone who is totally reliant on Braille or audio.

The last item I wanted to highlight in this column, and it links to the last one, is that according to Internet NZ, over 10% of New Zealanders are not getting online. They quite clearly are not all blind, but many folks from our community are totally reliant on the flow of information coming to them in hardcopy Braille or audio of some form.

Blind Citizens NZ spends a considerable amount of money to make sure our people get information in their chosen format. If you receive this magazine by email or are reading it online, it costs practically nothing. If you receive it in hardcopy, then it was printed or embossed and posted to you at an ever-increasing cost. Anyone listening to the audio either got it on a dedicated telephone-based service called TellMe or was sent it on a physical medium. I am not criticising anyone for their need to receive a physical item.

However, I ask those of us who receive the cheaper option to keep something in mind. To ensure everyone continues to have a say, Blind Citizens NZ needs to keep members informed.

We will therefore, continue to communicate our actions and activities to all members and to offer means for members without a digital presence to have their say.

 



In this edition, by Rose Wilkinson, Chief Executive

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Welcome to our September Focus issue. President Jonathan Godfrey’s column discusses the Disability Support Services Bill and the importance of legislation shaped through meaningful consultation with disabled people and whānau. He also reflects on the growing use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) in government decision-making and the opportunities it can create when used responsibly.

We are pleased to share the newly finalised Blind Citizens NZ Strategic Plan 2027-2030, which sets out our direction for the future. With our 2026 AGM and Conference just weeks away, you’ll find key event information and details of late registration opportunities. We also provide information about Blind Citizens NZ’s 2026 Election Outcome, and we invite members to join our online voting pilot as we explore new ways to increase participation in our democratic processes. In addition you will find details about the General Election, including how to register for Telephone Dictation Voting, an outcome of Blind Citizens NZ’s advocacy achieved in 2014.

Recognising Braille as the primary literacy and numeracy tool for many blind people, we share information about the Global Declaration on Braille Literacy in Education and the Global Braille Literacy Survey. Finally, don’t forget to renew your membership and continue supporting the work and future of Blind Citizens NZ



Blind Citizens NZ Board | National Office Contacts

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Board

National Office

Blind Citizens NZ is appreciative of donations and bequests received from our members and supporters and for essential funding from Blind Low Vision NZ



Season’s Greetings | National Office Closing and Opening Dates

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As we each reflect on the past year, there will be highs and lows. While this will always be the way it is, because that is life, hopefully, we will each find some truly positive moments and outcomes that motivate us as we move forward into 2026.

Blind Citizens NZ works across so many issues, advocating for the removal of barriers and challenges that impact the lives of people who are blind, deafblind, low vision and vision-impaired, and we do make a blind bit of difference. This is not about self-praise, but rather reflecting on, and bringing to the fore, the positive feedback we hear from those with whom we work. This includes comments offered by presenters during this year’s AGM and Conference.

Remember the Board’s request slotted in the item about next year’s AGM and Conference, for Blind Citizens NZ members to provide thoughts and ideas, etc, for it to consider.

Bringing our final Focus for 2025 to a close, Blind Citizens NZ Board and staff take this opportunity to wish you and yours seasons’ greetings. Our National Office closes at noon, Monday 22 December 2025. We reopen on Tuesday, 20 January 2026. In between times, and although on annual leave, the Chief Executive remains available for emergencies. Stay safe, and we look forward to engaging and | or working with you in 2026.



Opportunities to engage with the President 

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The President Jonathan Godfrey aims to regularly set aside time to engage with members on topics you might like to raise. These opportunities are quite separate from any others that might be offered for a specific reason. Dates for these regular opportunities with the President are via Zoom, where people can join by phone or using other technology. These will be routinely held from 5pm to 6pm on the following Tuesdays commencing 17 February, 31 March, 12 May, 23 June, 4 August, 15 September, 27 October, 8 December.

Timely reminders along with Zoom details will be provided.



For Sale – Large Print Calendars 

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Produced by Blind Citizens NZ

We still have some of our 2026 Large Print Calendars available. These are ideal for anyone who needs or prefers larger print when checking dates. The calendars are approximately 59 cm wide and 42 cm in height. They can be purchased for $13 through our National Office, or your local Blind Citizens NZ Branch or Geographical Network. When posted from our National Office there will be additional costs.

The most cost-efficient option is to purchase these directly from your Branch or Network. Phone our National Office on 0800 222 694 if you want to purchase one of our Large Print Calendars. We can put you in touch with your local Branch or Network, or we can arrange delivery to you directly. As mentioned, postage incurs additional costs that vary depending on the number you require and the destination.

Below is an image of the first month of 2026. This gives an indication of what our large print calendars look like. While a somewhat smaller version, this indicates the size.
Image description: Blind Citizens NZ largeprint calendar page for January 2026. January appears top left and the year is top right. A yellow border frames the calendar grid. Below the month and year, days of the week are shown in black text on the yellow background using the first three letters (Sun–Sat). Public holidays are marked with a black background and white numbers. Greyedout dates indicates school holidays. Beneath the grid organisational information is to the left, with a notes section on the right.

 



Moderator, Blind Citizens NZ email lists | Expressions of interest needed 

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Expressions of Interest Welcome

Blind Citizens NZ is seeking expressions of interest from Ordinary Members for the role of Moderator for two of our email discussion lists. The position is re-advertised. The Board’s approach is consistent with the practice of periodically opening up long-held roles to call for expressions of interest. Carl Halliburton has been the moderator of Blind Discuss since 2020 and of the Member Forum since its inception in 2022. He is eligible for reappointment and may also express interest.

The Moderator is responsible for:

  • Monitoring activity on the email lists;
  • Ensuring all communications are respectful;
  • Supporting members to follow established list guidelines.

The two email lists for which we are seeking expressions of interest are:

  • Blind Discuss: This is open to anyone in the blind community to join. It is a place for wide-ranging discussion on blindness-related topics. It assists in keeping members and interested people informed about blindness issues and events.
  • Member Forum: This is exclusively for members of Blind Citizens NZ. Topics are specific to organisational matters relating to Blind Citizens NZ.

If you would like to learn more, or put yourself forward, please contact us by:



Join one of our Special Interest Networks

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Blind Citizens NZ has two Special Interest Networks for people who are blind, deafblind, low vision or vision-impaired. One of these is for Guide Dog Handlers, anyone aspiring to be one or who may have retired their Guide Dog. The Braille Special Interest Network is for anyone from the blind community who is a Braille user or who aspires to learn Braille.

You do not need to be a member of Blind Citizens NZ to join our Special Interest Networks. Meetings for the 2026 Special Interest Networks are scheduled as follows. Each of these is typically held from 6pm to 7pm. Any changes are advised on a case-by-case basis:

  • Guide Dog Handlers: 26 February, 28 May, 27 August (AGM), and 9 November.
  • Braille: 18 February, 15 April, 17 June, 3 September (AGM), and 18 November.


National Information Line Coordinator Appointed

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Kathryn Stevenson has been appointed as our new Coordinator. The Board is appreciative of Kathryn’s expression of interest and looks forward to the influence she will bring to this important information mechanism. It may be towards the end of January 2026 before Kathryn is up and running, so please do bear with us as we work to revitalise the National Information Line.



Establishing a Women’s Special Interest Network 

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If you’re a blind, deafblind, lowvision or vision-impaired woman, or you identify as feminine, you’re invited to join our online hui from 5pm to 6pm on Thursday, 12 February 2026. This is a welcoming space, open to both members and non-members of Blind Citizens NZ. This hui builds on the initiative and momentum from our AGM and Conference in October. With Network Coordinator Judy Small, participants will decide on a name for the Network, identify key focus areas, and agree on any additional membership criteria. Once there is agreement, decisions will be shared with the Blind Citizens NZ Board to enable the Network to be formally established.

If you meet the criteria mentioned above, you’re warmly invited to register using any of the options provided. If you’re interested but can’t make it on the day, we still want to hear from you.

  • Phone: 0800 222 6940 (leave a message if you reach voicemail, and we will return your call); or
  • Email: admin@blindcitizensnz.org.nz; or
  • Post: PO Box 7144, Newtown, Wellington 6242.


2026 Award Nomination Timeline 

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The closing date for receiving nominations (and supporting information) for all awards to be considered for presentation at the 2026 AGM and Conference has been set. These must be received no later than 5:00pm, Wednesday, 5 August 2026. This applies to:

  • Extra Touch Award;
  • Beamish Memorial Medal;
  • Johnston Cup for Leadership;
  • Memorial Hall of Honour.

Information concerning these awards will be publicised in each of the 2026 March and June Focus issues.



Adoption of new Constitution 

Categories: Uncategorized

A formal process to introduce the proposed new Constitution to Ordinary financial (voting) Members began on 8 September this year. An eight-week engagement period that ended on 2 November 2025 included a scheduled korero during this year’s AGM and Conference. The Board considered all aspects of feedback during its November Meeting. This led to two further amendments being made. The first of these removed the President’s right to have a casting vote at Board Meetings.

The second removed the requirement for anyone standing for election to the Board to have been financial for 24 months cumulatively during five consecutive years. At the Special Meeting of Members on Tuesday, 9 December (held via Zoom), Ordinary financial (voting) Members unanimously adopted the new Constitution. This meets all requirements of the Incorporated Society Act 2022. All that remains now is to register the new Constitution with the Incorporated Societies.



Leadership | Advocacy Workshop, We’re calling for expressions of interest

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We’re calling for expressions of interest

In May 2026 Blind Citizens NZ is holding our next combined Leadership | Advocacy Workshop. This will have a strong focus on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, linked across leadership and advocacy.

Board Member Maria Stevens and Chief Executive Rose Wilkinson will be co-facilitating this workshop.

The workshop will be held from Monday 11 to Wednesday 13 May 2026 inclusive, at the Brentwood Hotel Wellington.

Are you interested in developing your leadership and advocacy skills and knowledge? If so, and you are a financial Ordinary Member of Blind Citizens NZ, we encourage you to send through an expression of interest for the workshop. Highlight the skills and | or knowledge you bring. As well, tell us what you hope to achieve from the workshop.

If successful with your expression of interest, expenses for travel and accommodation will be Blind Citizens NZ’s responsibility. You will arrive on Sunday, 17 May, and return home late afternoon | early evening, Wednesday, 19 May.

Details for the workshop, which will include up to eight participants, will be finalised in mid-March 2026. In the meantime, expressions of interest are welcome. These must be received by 9am, Monday, 30 March 2026. Please send your expression of interest for the attention of the Chief Executive to:

  • Email: admin@blindcitizensnz.org.nz and put “Expression of Interest, Leadership | Advocacy Workshop” in the subject line; or
  • Post: PO Box 7144, Newtown, Wellington 6242;
  • Fax: 04-389-0033


Preparation for 2026 AGM and Conference

Categories: Uncategorized

From Rose Wilkinson, Chief Executive

Preparation is already underway for our 2026 AGM and Conference event. The Board finalised dates, venue, and the theme during its November Annual Planning Meeting.

Theme: ‘Times are changing – Are we surviving or thriving?’ is the chosen theme. This stems in part from the declining rate of Ordinary financial Members and is intended to focus on what Blind Citizens NZ needs to do to remain relevant and sustainable into the future. A key outcome of the Board’s decision is to engage with members, asking for ideas about guest presenters and topics, along with a request for additional input that could be utilised towards the work happening on a new organisational Strategic Plan.

For example, when thinking about the digital divide, in our communications with members, and our organisational advocacy with government agencies and others, we do all we can to remove challenges that contribute to the digital divide. In a world where Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming more and more a way of working and communicating, this can add to challenges. At the same time, it may well assist in removing them. This may be an area to comment on. Therefore, in addition to sharing your thoughts about topics and presenters, let’s know ‘what is changing in your world that we should all know more about?’ Ideally, the Board would prefer to receive your thoughts and ideas in time to consider them at its first meeting in 2026. You are encouraged to send these via one of the following options no later than Sunday, 8 February:

  • Phone: 0800 222 6940 (leave a message if you reach voicemail, and we will return your call); or
  • Email: admin@blindcitizensnz.org.nz; or
  • Post: PO Box 7144, Newtown, Wellington 6242.

Venue: The Ascot Hotel in Invercargill is the confirmed venue for the 2026 AGM and Conference, and is a facility Blind Citizens NZ has used on a couple of occasions. The aim is to have registration costs available no later than 31 March 2026.

Dates: Held over two full days, the AGM and Conference will start at 9:00am on Friday, 9 October, finishing at the conclusion of the Conference Dinner, on Saturday, 10 October. As in the past, attendees are encouraged to arrive the day prior and leave on Sunday.

Side Events: This is a heads-up that side events are planned. These are in-person opportunities for those people travelling to attend the AGM and Conference event. Although there is a little time to go before these are finalised, the aim is to hold those we’ve held previously, while potentially including some new options that may be held in parallel, such as for men and women, and older and younger people. Advanced information about side events assists people with early travel bookings. On this basis, information on the finalised side events will be published no later than 30 May.



Where do you think we’re going?

Categories: Uncategorized

Jonathan Godfrey, National President

The world around us is changing—how blind people connect, advocate, and organise is changing—and Blind Citizens NZ must decide whether to adapt boldly or drift quietly. I’m hoping that some of what I write below is therefore seen by some people as somewhat provocative. I think it needs to be, because Blind Citizens NZ needs everyone reading this column to ask what the future of a membership organisation of blind people speaking for ourselves will look like in the future. You will get your chance to respond when we formulate a new Strategic Plan in the first half of 2026.

It seems to me that if we don’t like what the status quo offers, we must find ways to change it. I’m not talking about minor tweaks here and there; I mean doing things that help redirect effort, to find a reset button that sets us up for a long and proud future.

I share the following personal story not to compare people to sheep, but to illustrate how sometimes the systems we build with care still need radical reshaping to meet our future needs. I signalled the need for change in my address to the AGM this year. I didn’t mention in that speech what was happening for me behind the scenes to make me want to talk about change. Shearing sheep is hard work. While Amy and I have proven we can do it, we’ve also worked out we don’t want to be doing it.

We’d invested a lot of time and energy into building a small flock of sheep that are well-suited to our constraints. We do not want to spend the rest of our lives rounding up sheep. We want them to come to us because they enjoy us as much as we enjoy them. Our flock definitely needed some new blood if we were to transform it into the flock we want in five years. We started a strategic direction which would see us gradually work towards a flock that has less shearing and less dagging. What we learned, though, is that we needed to make more change than we first thought, and some ruthless decisions had to be faced. This experience made me reflect on Blind Citizens NZ too. What will our ‘flock’ look like in five years? And what must we change now to make that possible?

I want to use the three years given to me by way of re-election to promote change without straying from our fundamentals. I believe the reasons I found Blind Citizens NZ an attractive proposition for my time and energy are as true today as they were when I paid my life membership, but membership only formalises commitment. It is engagement that creates momentum. Without momentum, even the best structures or organisations will fail.

I keep hearing people say that all membership organisations are in trouble. It isn’t that people don’t value the existence of organisations like ours, but that people just don’t pay membership fees to as many organisations as we used to.

As it happens, I pay more memberships today than I’ve ever done before, but only to organisations that I see having benefits to my future. I am also guilty of freeloading off the good work of organisations I don’t actively join or actively engage with.

Hundreds of people know that Blind Citizens NZ exists, but for some reason, they choose not to engage with our work, either at a local level or with issues we face at a national or even international level. Some of those people say they don’t want to join an advocacy organisation. That’s okay, but many of them also join with our members to discuss issues they face in life. They value the connections and benefit from the work done by our Branches, Networks, and yes, our National Office. They follow our Facebook page; they read this magazine. They participate in email lists, which we moderate. I observe other organisations uplift content we create, or that we share with our members, and pass that on to people who are not our members.

This is why I continue to claim that Blind Citizens NZ is actually benefitting many more people than our membership database suggests we do. That wider community represents a silent majority, though. We assume they’re content with what we do and say, but I’d actually like to meet more of them and know why they aren’t more actively engaged with our movement.

I seriously doubt the need for blind people to voice the needs of the wider blindness community will magically disappear any time soon. There will be opportunities for a new generation of leaders to emerge in the coming decade, and I have every intention of those leaders inheriting an organisation that is well placed to do what we have done well for eight decades thus far. I don’t pretend to know who will stand up above others, but I have met plenty of people who remind me of my former self; people who are doing OK in life, but want things to be better for themselves and other blind people around them.

I know what ongoing value Blind Citizens NZ could play for my future, but I need to be sure that once I end my time as President, the organisation will carry on delivering for blind people. That poses some challenges related to succession planning, but for the purpose of this column, let’s assume there are people willing to commit to being Board Members and that they are as committed to our advocacy agenda as others have demonstrated in the past.

To lead, though, requires followers. In the case of a membership organisation, that means having members who contribute to discussions, either locally, online, or at specially organised events away from home. The more people we have contributing to our collective movement, the stronger our organisation will be.

This is why I believe the most critical issue facing us today is to make sure that all blind, deafblind, low vision and vision-impaired people who want to participate in our discussions are getting the chance to do so, and maybe I don’t care enough that they aren’t financially committed. Even social media influencers (individuals who share information that is valued by hundreds to thousands of other people) need a following. Their success is not accidental. It is earned, but their following doesn’t pay a subscription either.

I suggest that our Branches are not recovering. Networks work in some places but not others. We need more sustainable structures. The question for us is not how to revive the past, but how to structure ourselves for the future we actually live in.

In the 20th century, we had 15 branches that held regular face-to-face meetings. We didn’t need any other structures because the Branches were doing well for our people. By the end of the 20th century, though, our membership was already falling, and the future of many Branches was on the line. Today we have just six Branches, and if we are honest, none of them is as strong as they were 20 years ago. It is the Branches which I liken to my sheep. Some are bigger than others, and some are louder.

Networks are working in some places (for example, Taranaki and in my area, Manawatu and Districts).

We also have functioning Special Interest Networks for guide dog handlers and people interested in Braille. One of the best outcomes from our AGM and Conference in October was the group of women who collectively decided that they’d like to see a women’s network formed. The Otago network returned to Branch status after years of effort to keep the movement alive in the years following the demise of the Branch there. At this point, Otago is the only Geographical Network to Branch success story. Unfortunately, most of the Branches that became networks have continued to decline, and members living in those areas are now without coordinated activities. The centres that have had a Branch in the past, which now have no Branch or Network, form a disappointingly long list: Waikato, Rotorua, Gisborne, Napier, Hastings, Nelson, and Canterbury. That’s a lot of blind, deafblind, low vision and vision-impaired people not getting the benefits of community, which many longstanding members sought when we came to Blind Citizens NZ and continue to enjoy today.

It is clear to me that the Branch model is only sustainable in a small number of places, but that Networks aren’t necessarily a perfect solution. Some Branches continue to truck along, but even the Branch with the highest number of members has a very low proportion of the potential membership in their area. Even the strongest of our Branches cannot afford to sit back and relax. They must find new members before they too dwindle. Networks are like the second breed of sheep we tried on the farm. They haven’t been uniformly successful.

So, where are the people who might be our future members? What would bring them to our events and activities? Are we doing enough to maximise our outreach and make sure we welcome all comers? Are we still too hung up on people coming to physical spaces? After all, our Special Interest Networks don’t just survive, they thrive, and do so primarily online. I’m not sure, though, if a virtual organisation is what many of us want. I know my kids play online farming games, but I would find that unsatisfying to say the least. Maybe, though, I need to look further afield (okay, bad pun) for other types of sheep. Maybe Blind Citizens NZ needs something different to Branches and Networks, which create productive spaces for blind people to share our aspirations and lived experiences.

About half of the paid-up membership Blind Citizens NZ has today are Members-for-Life. These people decided that a large lump sum payment was justified because Blind Citizens NZ offered a value proposition, and they had enough disposable income to make that investment. I do accept that we also have members who cannot afford that lump sum payment but are just as committed to the longevity of our organisation as any life member. They make sure they pay what they can afford, when they can afford it. The number of Members-for-Life has remained relatively constant over the last 20 years or so. It is in decline, but nowhere near as much decline as the number of people who pay an annual subscription.

Is our future in trying to continue to seek annual subscriptions? We don’t see each other as much in a face-to-face setting as was common in the 20th century, and many people just don’t carry the cash that used to change hands at Branch meetings. The ability to pay subscriptions by way of a cheque is a thing of the past, and not everyone in our community is able to use online banking with confidence.

A subscription does reassure us that a person is committed to the kaupapa of the organisation. In future, we need to check in with all Members-for-Life to be sure that they continue to support our work. Finding the best way to do so to meet the new legal requirements must be found, and we must remember that not all of our existing members are digital citizens.

Some people might work out that getting a person’s subscription actually creates costs to the organisation. If a person receives this Focus magazine in print, Braille, or audio, the cost of producing and posting the four issues per annum exhausts the annual subscription people pay. In effect, a person who pays a subscription and lives in a Branch area gets this magazine for free because their subscription goes to that branch. They are supposed to get Branch newsletters to keep them informed and included.

Geographical Networks also send out newsletters.

This process may well be part of the list of things people think or have found too onerous and therefore dissuades them from more active involvement in a Branch Committee or taking a Network Coordination role.

I challenge every Branch and Network to think about what makes them sustainable, and how much we are each doing to make sure our Branch or Network is remaining sustainable. I invite every one of you, whether you are a paid-up member or just an interested bystander, to tell us what you want for the future of Blind Citizens NZ. What would make you more engaged, active, or interested in what we’re doing for each other as a community? Please do provide feedback. Details on how and when are elsewhere in this issue.

Blind Citizens NZ has been a powerful voice for eight decades—not because we stayed the same, but because we adapted with purpose. Obviously, I believe we must change our organisation, and that we must get on with this job now. Change cannot be a single event; it must be a sustained process, and every former, current and future member can play a part in helping shape what Blind Citizens NZ will be in 20 years’ time when we turn 100. Will you be there? I hope so.

In the meantime, I hope your summer finds you in places you want to be, with people whose company you enjoy, and the kinds of pleasures that get you ready for an exciting 2026.

For me, summer means deciding which sheep to back as the winners and which will be replaced. I’ll continue to enjoy my time on the farm, getting plenty of fresh air and exercise. I expect many of you are hoping for a more relaxing summer. All the best.



In this edition

Categories: Uncategorized

Welcome to our December Focus, the last for 2025. Readers will see from the contents that we have a mixture of items, including a few operational topics, some of which are really important to know about. We encourage you to read through, as each of these is relevant in some way to everyone.

While not intending to comment on all items, the President’s contribution highlights that the Board will shortly begin working on a new organisational Strategic Plan. He also reflects on the past and future of Blind Citizens NZ and how members might contribute to a Strategic Plan that will embody Blind Citizens NZ’s needs to remain vibrant into the future.

Preparation for our 2026 AGM and Conference is underway – dates, venue, theme, etc, are all in place. Then we include an ‘In Brief’ section, where updates and | or information are provided about several items relevant to Blind Citizens NZ. Special Interest Networks are amongst items that get a specific mention, so do check this out.

We continue to call for expressions of interest for a Moderator for our organisational email lists – this is not an onerous role.

A reminder that we welcome member contributions for consideration and inclusion in Focus. You’ll find our ‘season’s greetings’ towards the end of this Focus issue. Happy reading…



The Tale that Wags the Dog | From the President 

Submitted: Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Categories: Uncategorized

Jonathan Godfrey, President

Editorial Note: This article reflects the President’s personal views. These perspectives may overlap at times and inform and | or be reflected in Blind Citizens NZ’s formal submission. However, the organisation’s submission is a separate document. In brief, it focuses on reasons we do not support the Disability Support Services Bill, and on areas where the Government is in breach | inconsistent with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This includes placing the burden of support on families, whānau, carers, and others. Our submission is available on request.

Article begins…

I love Parliament, its processes, and its rules, both formal and moral. I will have Parliament TV going in the background while I supposedly work on other things. I especially enjoy Question Time, and I attend in person when I’m in Wellington and time allows. I write submissions as an individual, and of course, I contribute to submissions made by Blind Citizens NZ. There are some things I don’t like about Parliament. Without exception, those dislikes relate to the conduct of MPs, the way some speak to each other and the trivial and sometimes inane comments they make about topics they clearly do not understand.

I’ve seldom read Hansard, but it has proven useful when I’ve needed to check that I really did hear what I thought I heard, such as comments made by MPs in the first reading of a bill being introduced. It’s that first reading and the subsequent referral debate that tells me so much about the level of engagement MPs have with the subject matter of the bill. One thing I’ve often wondered is how often MPs check the Hansard when they’ve used homonyms in their speeches. Let me be clear, I’ve intentionally misspelt the word “tail” in the familiar phrase used in the title of this column.

So, for this column, I’ve decided to tell you a tale about a tail that wags the dog. There is a tiny bit of speculation, but practically everything I am about to say is a verifiable fact.

Before we get into it all, I’ll just quickly state that I believe disabled people in need should never become a political football.

And, my track record suggests I’ve criticised Governments and Ministers of all flavours for not doing the right thing for disabled people and our families. We do not need one Government to enact legislation that underserves us. Nor do we want another Government to kick disabled people and their families while they’re down, but this is what we have seen. Sustainable processes, especially any legislation that puts core principles into law, must have broad support across political parties of all kinds.

In the case of matters affecting disabled people and our families, it must also have support from disabled people and our families.

OK, let’s get into the tale.

On Monday, 22nd May, I was part of a group of people who were told by the Minister for Disability Issues, Hon. Louise Upston, that a bill was about to be introduced into the House. We were informed what the bill does and its rationale. It was then given its first reading in Parliament on Thursday, 25 May, immediately followed by its referral to Select Committee. There’s nothing sinister about the process as I’ve described it thus far, but the devil is in the detail. First of all, this Bill is a rush job. All processes from the point of introduction have been shortened considerably compared to the normal Parliamentary practice.

I will submit on this bill, and so will Blind Citizens NZ, but I suspect many others will not manage to meet the deadline of 12 June.

The bill seeks to “lay a foundation” for how Disability Support Services will be managed by the Government. This legislation is needed because it establishes the legal basis for funding the provision of the services that disabled people and their families are relying on today.

I will come back to this “foundation” soon, but it is what else the Bill does that I believe is the tail wagging the dog.

In late 2025, the Supreme Court made a decision that found two family members were in fact, employees of the State (Ministry of Social Development, to be specific) when they were paid to provide necessary support to their disabled family members.

The new Bill stops anyone else other than these two people from gaining this recognition through the courts. The response to this employment situation and limiting the ability of the judiciary to have a role in interpreting the legislation is in keeping with the current Government’s track record. My opinion is that the Government’s response is consistent with its broader approach to judicial decisions it disagrees with, and would have happened sooner if there had been a way to do so.

The problem is that without any foundation legislation in place for how Disability Support Services will be managed, there was no existing legislation to amend in order to progress the Government’s response to the Supreme Court decision. I won’t unpick the merits of the court decision or the finer details of employment law. I’d be foolish to try because I’m not a lawyer trained in such matters. I’m a statistician, so I deal in probabilities, data, and evidence.

I’m left asking, “Would we have this Bill and the associated timeframes for its passing through Parliament if the Supreme Court decision were different?” I think not.

So, there’s the tale of the tail. Let’s take a look at the dog.

It is my opinion that the “foundation” aspects of the Bill are a dog. I’ll put it bluntly: In my view, the legislation is inconsistent with the intent and principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which the NZ Government ratified in September 2008. It aims to do two things in laying a foundation.

1. It says Government support is a “contribution” towards disabled people living an everyday life.

2. It states quite categorically that responsibility for caring for disabled people is the responsibility of the family first.

This shift of responsibility can be challenged on both legal and moral grounds. First, let’s look at the law of New Zealand.

In September 2008, the Government bound itself (and all future Governments) to progressing the UNCRPD. Article 19 of the UNCRPD is about “living independently”. Article 19 is so important that in 2017, the UN Committee responsible for monitoring implementation of the Convention issued additional guidance in General Comment No. 5, which elaborates on what independent living and community inclusion mean in practice.

Article 19 and General Comment 5 place the disabled person in the position of making decisions, make it clear that the Government is responsible for their support needs, and also that the Government is responsible for helping families. Nowhere in the UNCRPD or any of the General Comments (there are eight in total) does it say a Government can move its responsibilities onto anyone else, let alone families. Nowhere is the responsibility of the State to provide a “contribution”.

It is therefore my opinion that this Bill is contradictory to the UNCRPD. It is inconsistent with the efforts of past Governments (of both kinds) to empower disabled people to live independently, and it demonstrates the worst possible way to create legislation that affects so many disabled people and their families. The Minister herself admitted on Facebook that there was no proper engagement with disabled people or their families. She should know, therefore, that the Government is in breach of Article 4(3) of the UNCRPD.

I suggest to you that there is no excuse for the foundation elements of this Bill failing to meet NZ’s obligations under the UNCRPD. Except that in rushing to respond to the Supreme Court decision, there was not adequate consideration of the legal or moral rationale for the foundational aspects of the proposed new DSS system. Maybe the foundations would be better if there had been more time, and some actual engagement with disabled people and our families through our respective representative organisations.

Over the years, I’ve been accused of not acknowledging the plight of families when advocating for the needs of disabled people.

I’m not about to apologise for my disabled-person-centric approach to advocacy, because that’s my role. I am, however, very aware of the situation faced by many families whose lives are turned upside down when someone in the medical world presents a diagnosis for their loved one. It happened for my parents over fifty years ago, and it is still happening today. Gaining independence was a key mission my father had for me when I was a child.

Not because he wanted me out of the family home, but because he knew blind people could have a decent life if we had the right skills and sufficient opportunities. He had the same hopes and expectations for me as for any of his other children. I’m sure many among us can say the same thing about one or both of our parents.

Even as an adult, I am materially interdependent on my family, but it is a choice I have as an adult, not a state imposition.

I’ve put professional time and energy into the plight of households in which a disabled person is living by working with researchers to show that poverty affects our households at an alarming rate. Households with a disabled person are twice as likely to be in material hardship, and three times as likely to be in severe material hardship, using Government data and Government-defined hardship measures. This analysis used data collected before the recent geopolitical turmoil we are inheriting from offshore.

It was collected when things were supposedly better than before, but now, I suspect it is worse. I further suggest that households with disabled family members are doing it tougher today than households with no disabled family members.

Disabled people do not want to be a burden on their families. Even feeling like a burden devalues us as people because we put ourselves out. We might allow our needs to become secondary to keep the peace, and we might even pull back on developing meaningful relationships because it questions our hard-fought independence and autonomy. I suggest to you that the current Bill therefore devalues disabled people. But it also adds a burden to families who are already our natural supports.

When I meet parents of disabled people, I am often confronted by the decisions they’ve made in the best interests of their disabled loved one. The first and often most obvious one is the reduction of what would otherwise be a two-income household to a household where one person works and the other has to support their disabled younger (or older) family member. This is just not sustainable. If the burden is too great, families will burn out. For example, I’ve had interactions with a taxi driver in recent times who “looks after” his brother all day and then drives taxis in the evening. He’s putting so much time into the care of his loved one that he does not have a life of his own for more than a handful of hours each week.

This burden will take its toll, perhaps not soon, but eventually.

We need to see foundation legislation for the way disabled people are seen by the State to uphold the UNCRPD. We must be seen as equal holders of rights in our communities and in our families. We do not need the State to portray us as a “responsibility for our family”. That’s just sugar coating a life of dependence for disabled people.

I’m going to close by reflecting on the speeches of MPs from the first reading. I felt, and the length of speeches in Hansard confirms this, that the current Government MPs had considerably shorter speeches than the opposition MPs. Government MPs wanted to get the “good legislation” to Select Committee as soon as possible.

Opposition MPs wanted to take stock of what the Bill was actually doing. Even opposition MP speeches, however, did not focus heavily enough, in my opinion, on the needs of disabled people or their families.

Too much time was spent on having a go at the Government for its track record against disabled people and on reducing the rights of people to pursue action through the court system. The question before Parliament is not simply how to respond to a Supreme Court decision. It is how New Zealand understands disability, independence, family responsibility, and the role of the State. Those foundations deserve careful thought, broad consultation, and enduring political support. They are too important to be treated as an afterthought. I suspect that if more MPs in Parliament truly knew what disabled people want and how our families are faring, that maybe, just maybe, we’d get more sustainable legislation that will support us for years to come.



Blind Citizens NZ Draft Strategic Plan 2027-2030

Categories: Uncategorized

Introduction, from the Board

The Board has completed its draft of Blind Citizens NZ’s proposed Strategic Plan 2027-2030. This outlines opportunities for and expectations about how Branches and Geographic and Special Interest Networks will contribute to achieving our collective outcomes.

The Board genuinely wants and needs to hear from Ordinary (voting) Members, Branches, and Geographic and Special Interest Networks. Your feedback and insights are essential to shaping a Strategic Plan that reflects Blind Citizens NZ’s priorities and aspirations.

As the Board will be finalising the document at its August meeting, all feedback must be received at National Office no later than 9am, Monday, 10 August 2026 (contact details are provided at the end of this Focus issue). The Board will consider all responses at its meeting and, from these, decide whether amendments to the draft Strategic Plan are needed.

Once finalised, the Strategic Plan 2027-2030 will be published in our September Focus issue. It will also be a topic for discussion at this year’s AGM and Conference.

Here now is the Draft Strategic Plan, 2027-2030

Draft Strategic Plan – 2027-2030
Purpose

Blind Citizens NZ exists to give voice to the aspirations and lived experiences of blind, deafblind, low vision and vision-impaired people (blind people) living in New Zealand. We aim to achieve this by heightening awareness of our rights and removing the barriers that negate our ability to live in an accessible, equitable, and inclusive society.

Vision

Aotearoa is a nation where blind, deafblind, low vision and vision-impaired people are inspired and supported to live life independently and where we can participate fully.

Note: In the context of this document, the word “blind” includes all people who are blind, deafblind, low vision, vision-impaired, or who use any other blindness term to describe themselves. Additionally, unless otherwise stated, wherever reference is made to Networks, this includes both Geographic and Special Interest Networks.

Values

We value equally the following statements:

  • As an organisation, we seek to maximise the self-worth and meaningful engagement of our people – He Tangata, He Tangata, He Tangata.
  • Respect for the different ways each of us responds to the challenges of blindness.
  • The shared learning and support received from the lived experiences of others.
  • Commitment to democratic processes and inclusive practices that ensure our representations have a mandate from our members.
  • Commitment to sustained effort in our advocacy.
  • Constructive, cooperative, and mutually supportive relationships with other disability organisations;
  • The principles of Te Tiriti O Waitangi with particular reference to Kāwanatanga (Governance), Rangatiratanga (Self Determination), Rite Tahi (Equality).
  • The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the New Zealand Government’s ratification of it.
  • Our history and the role we have played in the lives of blind people since 1945.

Our Aspirations

We aspire to:

  • Advocate that blind people are treated respectfully, our dignity is upheld, and that we are treated equitably.
  • Develop the capability of blind people and the Blind Citizens NZ Branches and Networks in which we are active.
  • Maximise the well-being and independence of our members.
  • Improve society’s awareness of issues affecting blind people.
  • Strengthen the representation of Blind Citizens NZ as an active member and leader throughout the disability sector, both in New Zealand and internationally.

Our Strategic Imperative

To create a stronger, interconnected Disabled Peoples Organisation which promotes, resources, and fosters the well-being of blind people by increasing their participation in Blind Citizens NZ activities.

We intend to achieve our aspirations and strategic imperative by addressing the following goals, which are to:

  • increase and strengthen our membership year on year;
  • increase the number of members who are actively participating in National, Branch, and | or Network activities;
  • strengthen our Branches and Networks so they can advocate for their members;
  • increase the collective capacity of our community to accept roles as leaders within Blind Citizens NZ and beyond;
  • promote the voices of blind people, and their whanau, in advocating for an inclusive and fully accessible society.

Organisational procedures

1. Each year, the Board will invite Branches, Networks and Ordinary Members to propose advocacy projects they would like Blind Citizens NZ to prioritise in the coming year. The advocacy project’s invitation will happen alongside the Remits process.

2. Branches and Networks will discuss all shared proposals at their AGM and report their level of support for the identified projects at Blind Citizens NZ’s national AGM and Conference. Branches and Geographic Networks will also be asked to share how they would like to progress advocacy projects at a local level.

3. The Board remains responsible for assessing all feedback from discussions held at Branch, Network, and the national AGM and Conference, when finalising prioritised advocacy projects at its Annual Planning Meeting. The Board reserves the right to prioritise other advocacy work over the proposals received via this process.

4. The Board will provide regular updates on the progress and completion of agreed targets for the chosen advocacy projects. Branches and Networks that have worked on the selected advocacy projects are asked to report on their efforts as a part of their reporting to Blind Citizens NZ’s national AGM and Conference.



Blind Citizens NZ 2026 Scheduled Election 

Categories: Uncategorized

From Rose Wilkinson, Returning Officer

This is our final call for nominations for the 2026 Blind Citizens NZ Board election. Two Board Member positions are up for election this year, these being Andrea Courtney and Paula Waby. The current terms for these positions end at the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting and Conference (9–10 October).

For the information of voting members, Andrea Courtney has advised that after serving the Board of Blind Citizens NZ for over 20 years, she has decided not to seek re-election in 2026. Andrea hopes that by announcing her decision early, people interested in joining the Board will put themselves forward at the upcoming election in the knowledge that a genuine vacancy exists.

Board members agreed that Andrea has kept the Board grounded, particularly in the realities of life for people with multiple impairments. The Board of Blind Citizens NZ wishes to take this small opportunity to thank Andrea for her service.

Andrea writes…

“I’ve really enjoyed my time on the Board, but it’s time for someone new to bring fresh ideas to the table. I’ve had opportunities to be involved in some really important discussions and to attend key events, such as representing Blind Citizens NZ in meetings with Members of Parliament. I think I have served on every subcommittee over the years at one time or another.”

Call for nominations

Rule 14 Elections, clause 14.2 directs Blind Citizens NZ in its election procedures. This is the second of two notices publicising this year’s scheduled election and the call for nominations. Only those members who comply with the criteria provided in Rule 14.1 are eligible to participate in the election, i.e. you are unable to stand for election if you:

  • have been removed as a Board Member following a process under this Constitution or any Bylaw;
  • are disqualified under any of the factors for disqualification outlined in the Charities Act 2005 or the Act, or you have been found to have breached any qualifying criteria for office in this Constitution;
  • are an employee of, or contractor to Blind Citizens NZ.

Please note that :

  • people currently in these positions are eligible for re-election;
  • the term of office for all positions is three years;
  • successful candidates will commence their term immediately following the conclusion of this year’s Annual General Meeting and Conference (9-10 October);
  • the election of the two positions happens at the same time by a ballot of all eligible Ordinary (voting) Members;
  • nomination forms and | or email nomination procedures are available upon request from the National Office.

The Board has the issue of succession planning “top of mind”, and it hopes that future Board members will possess some of the following qualities, these being that you:

  • are financially savvy;
  • would like to help Blind Citizens NZ modernise itself;
  • like developing policy;
  • understand how blind people outside our membership are faring in life;
  • are prepared to stand up for our beliefs.

The Board meets face to face over five weekends per annum. Meetings are also held in between. Board members need to actively participate in a range of activities, including subcommittees and other irregular meetings held online.

There is substantial preparation time required to be ready for scheduled meetings. If you have any questions about the time commitment, please reach out to any current Board member. Contact details are provided at the end of this Focus issue.

Anyone standing for election is encouraged to take the time to become familiar with the duties and responsibilities of Blind Citizens NZ’s Board Members.

Now to details about timelines and the procedure for the election of all positions. Ordinary financial (voting) Members who are listed as financial on the Member Register | Database by 21 August 2026, held at the National Office, are eligible to take part in the 2026 election of Board Members.

Nominations require two people to support the candidate, i.e. one to move and another to second the nomination. There are two ways nominations can be completed and submitted, i.e. using the paper form or the email process.

If using the paper form, signatures of all three members involved in the nomination are required. Email procedures similarly require the same people to confirm their respective roles in the nomination process. If choosing the email procedure, you are required to contact the Returning Officer at our National Office before commencing this process.

This is important, as there are instructions unique to the email procedure that must be followed.

The email procedure mirrors, as closely as possible, requirements for the paper-based option.

The closing date for nominations is 4pm, 21 August 2026. Candidates are required to provide their CV at the same time as their nomination is submitted to the Returning Officer. Nominations and CVs should be sent to the Returning Officer at one of the following:

If, when nominations close, there are two or fewer nominees for the two positions, no election will be held.

Nominees will be elected unopposed. Any unfilled positions will be treated as vacancies under Rule 14.4 (Filling Elected Board Member Vacancies). If more than two nominations are received, an election will be held.

Voting in the election

Ballot material (names of people standing for election, information they have provided about themselves, etc.) will be sent to all Ordinary Members recorded as financial on the Member Register | Database at National Office as at 21 August 2026.

Ballot material will be distributed in the voting member’s preferred format no later than 11 September 2026.

When does voting close? Completed ballots (votes cast by voting members) must be received at the National Office no later than 4.00 pm, 29 September 2026. Vote counting will take place no later than 6 October 2026.

Ways to get election information for Blind Citizens NZ’s elections: there are several options available for members to participate in the election process. Election (ballot) material about candidates standing for election is available in large print, audio, Braille, by email, and via our National Information Line bulletin on TellMe.

Choose your preferred voting option: When voting in Blind Citizens NZ elections, you can choose one of three options. It is important to remember that the way you vote can be different from the way you choose to receive your election (ballot) material. You can cast your vote using the large print form, the Braille-card option, or TellMe.

TellMe gives voters a fully independent, confidential, and empowering way to vote. You can listen to information about the candidates and cast your vote without assistance. Using TellMe also means you are in control and ensure your vote is received on time. There’s no worrying about postal delays or whether your ballot will arrive before voting closes.

If you’d like to learn more about using TellMe to cast your vote, please contact our National Office (details at the end of this Focus issue).



Blind Citizens NZ 2026 AGM and Conference | Times are changing – Are we surviving or thriving

Categories: Uncategorized

From Rose Wilkinson, Chief Executive

This is another of those gentle reminders about this year’s AGM and Conference – we hope you have put the dates into your calendar as a placeholder, and that you are considering joining us. This year, we are at the Ascot Park Hotel, Invercargill. All registrations are made through our National Office – details are a little further on.

Arrival for most will be Thursday, 8 October, ready for either the side events that day, and | or the 9am start on Friday, 9 October. The two days are full, but enjoyable, where business and guest presenters are interspersed. The work side of our event ends at approximately 5pm on Saturday, 10 October. That evening, award presentations are made during the Conference Dinner. As guest presenters are finalised, we will share this information as widely as possible.

As you will have noticed from the draft Strategic Plan 2027-2030, our theme ‘Times are changing – Are we surviving or thriving?’ is already a focus of our organisational work.

As mentioned in earlier Focus issues, this in part stems from the declining rate of Ordinary (voting) Members, and what Blind Citizens NZ needs to do to remain relevant and sustainable into the future.

Financial assistance for first-time attendees: For Ordinary (voting) Members who are coming to our event for the first time, there is the opportunity to receive financial assistance. To be eligible as a first-time attendee, in addition to this being the first time you would be attending a Blind Citizens NZ AGM and Conference, three requirements need to be met. You must:

  • be in a position to make a financial contribution (each situation is determined on a case-by-case basis);
  • be an Ordinary (financial voting) Member of Blind Citizens NZ; and
  • commit to attending the full two days of the AGM and Conference, including the Conference Dinner (attendance can be daily, or staying at the Ascot Park Hotel).

If you meet the above requirements and would like to take advantage of this opportunity, please contact the Chief Executive for further information via one of the following options:

  • Email: admin@blindcitizensnz.org.nz and put “2026 first-time attendee” in the subject line;
  • Post: PO Box 7144, Newtown, Wellington 6242; or Phone: 0800 222 694.

Applications for financial assistance for first-time attendees close 9am, Monday, 10 August 2026. Final decisions about the number of members that can be supported will be made following the close of expressions of interest.

On Thursday evening, the President extends a standing invitation to all first-time attendees to join him for dinner. This is a relaxed opportunity to ask questions about the AGM and Conference and to learn how things are done. You will also hear about some of the unique features of Blind Citizens NZ’s programme, and above all, be encouraged to participate fully.

As per recent AGMs and Conferences, side events will be happening, although there may be new ones that the Board has yet to finalise.

While times are yet to be firmed up, in the meantime, be assured that the following side events are happening:

  • Guide Dog Handlers;
  • Braille;
  • Blind Women;
  • Te Tiriti Advisory Group Aotearoa;
  • World Blind Union.

Registration: Registering for our AGM and Conference is easy, and you can choose whichever option that suits you best. You’re welcome to register online, download a form and send it in, or you can opt for registering using the paper form.

A quick heads-up that registrations close at 4pm, on Monday, 14 September 2026, so be sure to get yours in on time.

Registration details – you will find all the information you need, such as costs and registration categories, available when completing the relevant registration form online, downloading it or completing the hard-copy version. If paying the full registration cost all at once is a challenge, you are welcome to use our instalment option. To find out more and set up a payment plan, simply get in touch with the National Office. Each request is considered individually, and you’ll receive support that fits your circumstances.

If you would prefer to have a paper copy of the registration form, or you’d like to talk things through and get more information, feel free to reach out to your Branch, Geographic or Special Interest Network, or our National Office. You will find National Office contact details at the end of this Focus issue.

We will also be sharing registration costs | forms, and updates with Branches, Geographic and Special Interest Networks and updates will be posted on our TellMe Bulletin and other organisational social media options. You can also check in with our National Office any time for information for the latest information.