Nicola Owen - Development Manager Susan Martell – Lawyer

1. Legal Aspects of Access Tourism Nicola Owen - Development Manager Susan Martell – Lawyer Paul Brown –Disability Researcher, Trainer and Consultant from the UK

2. Overview of presentation • Introducing the Human Rights Act 1993 • What does this mean for tourism in NZ? • What the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says about tourism • Next steps towards accessible tourism

3. Human Rights Act 1993 The Human Rights Act 1993 protects people in New Zealand from discrimination in a number of areas of life. Discrimination occurs when a person is treated unfairly or less favourably than another person in the same or similar circumstances.

4. What the HRA says about disability It is unlawful to discriminate on the basis of disability in any of the areas of public life covered by the Act. The Act covers impairments which people have presently, have had in the past, or which they are believed to have. It is also unlawful to discriminate against relatives or associates of disabled people, because of that disability. This can mean, for example, a spouse, carer or business partner.

5. What is disability? The prohibited grounds of discrimination are set out in section 21 of the Human Rights Act. The ground of disability covers people with: • Physical disability or impairment (e.g. respiratory conditions). • Physical illness. • Psychiatric illness (e.g. depression or schizophrenia). • Intellectual or psychological disability or impairment (e.g. learning disorders).

6. What is disability? Grounds continued: • Any other loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological or anatomical structure or function (e.g. arthritis or amputation). • Reliance on a guide dog, wheelchair or other remedial means. • The presence in the body of organisms capable of causing illness (e.g. HIV/AIDS or hepatitis).

7. Areas of life covered by HRA The Act prohibits discrimination in the following areas: • Government or public sector activities • Employment • Access to education • Access to public places, vehicles and facilities • Provision of goods and services • Provision of land, housing and accommodation • Industrial and professional associations, qualifying bodies and vocational training bodies • Partnerships

8. Provision of goods and services Section 44 of the Human Rights Act states: (1) It shall be unlawful for any person who supplies goods, facilities, or services to the public or to any section of the public (a) To refuse or fail on demand to provide any other person with those goods, facilities, or services; or (b) To treat any other person less favourably in connection with the provision of those goods, facilities, or services than would otherwise be the case, by reason of any of the prohibited grounds of discrimination.

9. Exception in relation to disability Section 52 of the Human Rights Act says that A provider of goods and services can:- • refuse to provide the goods and services if a person's disability requires they be provided in ‘a special manner' and the provider cannot reasonably be expected to provide them in that ‘special manner' • provide the goods and services on terms that are more onerous than those which are available to other people if a person's disability requires they be provided in ‘a special manner' and the provider cannot reasonably be expected to provide them without requiring more onerous terms

10. What does this mean for tourism in NZ? • What are ‘reasonable accommodations’? Reasonable accommodation is defined in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as: “necessary and appropriate modification and adjustments not imposing a disproportionate or undue burden, where needed in a particular case, to ensure to persons with disabilities the enjoyment or exercise on an equal basis with others of all human rights and fundamental freedoms”. • Anticipatory ‘reasonable accommodations’

11. What the UNCRPD says about tourism Article 30 - Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport 1. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to take part on an equal basis with others in cultural life, and shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities: c) Enjoy access to places for cultural performances or services, such as theatres, museums, cinemas, libraries and tourism services, and, as far as possible, enjoy access to monuments and sites of national cultural importance.

12. UNCRPD Article 30 - Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport 5. With a view to enabling persons with disabilities to participate on an equal basis with others in recreational, leisure and sporting activities, States Parties shall take appropriate measures: c) To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to sporting, recreational and tourism venues;

13. Next steps • Using the legislation as a driver for change • Developing anticipatory reasonable accommodations • Staff training and development - for all staff • Using UNCRPD to develop a NZ Code of Practice for the Tourism sector – led by the industry and disabled people

14. Useful links • Human Rights Act: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/0082/latest/DLM304212.html?search=ts_act_human+rights_resel&p=1 • Human Rights Commission:www.hrc.co.nz • UNCRPD www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?navid=13&pid=150