Support our right to have equitable access to books

30 October 2015

Media Release

Support our right to have equitable access to books

Blind Citizens NZ applauds steps taken by Hon Paul Goldsmith Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and Hon Nicky Wagner Minister for Disability Issues to issue a discussion document that considers whether New Zealand should join the Marrakesh Treaty.

“Blind people have the same right to read published works as everyone else” says Clive Lansink, National President of Blind Citizens NZ. “But right now, we often have no way to read what everyone else takes for granted, because it is not published in formats we can use”.

Currently, works produced overseas in accessible formats such as braille, electronic text, audio and large print cannot be legally imported into New Zealand. Neither can domestic accessible works be exported overseas. In New Zealand, it is the Blind Foundation primarily that makes books accessible to blind and vision impaired people, and this is largely funded by charitable donations. The current situation causes expensive and unnecessary duplication of limited resources.

Clive said that “New Zealand ratifying the Marrakesh Treaty will give blind people and people with other print disabilities greater access to all published works such as educational material, non-fiction and fiction because these could then be imported from producers in other countries. Blind and vision impaired students for example will have better access to the reading materials they need to complete their studies and gain qualifications. We must ensure anyone with a print disability has the same opportunities as everyone else.”

About Blind Citizens NZ
Founded in 1945, the Association of Blind Citizens of New Zealand Inc (Blind Citizens NZ) is New Zealand's leading blindness consumer organisation and one of the country's largest organisations of disabled consumers. Our aim is to heighten awareness of the rights of blind and vision impaired people and to remove the barriers that impact upon our ability to live in an accessible, equitable and inclusive society.

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