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New Zealand has won a prestigious international award for the work the Government has done in the disability sector, Cabinet Minister Ruth Dyson said yesterday.
Ms Dyson said the Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability Award 2007 had been given in recognition of the Government's development and implementation of its New Zealand Disability Strategy.
"We are one of the very few countries in the world to have a national strategy with disabled people as its focus," said Ms Dyson, who is Minister for Social Development with responsibility for disability issues.
"The strategy encourages and educates the community to understand, respect and support disabled New Zealanders.
"It recognises that society creates barriers that prevent people with impairments from ... enjoying the ordinary life that the non-disabled take for granted."
- NZPA
