Be The Possibility Event Night John Allen Speech

E mihi ana kit e a toe ke tai ano mi nia katoa Tena koutou Minister Kia koe rangatira to whana ki to whanau, me to iwi Tena koutou katoa E tu ana ahau hei mangai O to Be. Accessible e mihi a kei nei Te na koto kia ora mai tena koto Ladies and gentlemen my name is John Allen. As you have heard it is my privilege to lead a group of enthusiasts who are changing the world and I know there are plenty of people think it can't be done, I know there are plenty of people who tell us that it will cost too much that it will require too much change that people's attitudes cannot be shifted on something as fundamental as disability and I want to say to you here on this Marae in this our place that those people are wrong. I want to say to you here in this place, in a place that honours our treasures and there are many treasures in this room tonight in a place that honours our history and there is much in the history of the struggle for accessibility in this room tonight. In a place that tells our story as a nation and there is an enormous story, a rich story and an exciting story in the lives of the people in this room and in this city and in this country will be impacted by the work we do here tonight. In a place that lays the foundation for our future I want to tell you you're in the right place, you're in a change place and together we are going to be the change. The simple point is no one of us can do it on our own, the simple point is it is a team exercise and I want to acknowledge that for us to be the change for us to deliver the change we are going to need to work together, we're going to need to work with the cities and I want to recognise Ian and thank him for the very kind words and very inspiring words that he gave us. We're going to have to work with the politicians and I want to recognise Tariana and her colleagues and the extraordinary contribution they are making. We're going to have to work with the bureaucrats, I am one the grey passionless sort of people, apparently they are grey, apparently they are passionless and they are in Wellington but I can tell you they're not any of that, I can tell you that there's wonderfully inspirational people who desperately want to make this happen amongst the bureaucracy amongst my colleagues as leaders in government and I want to say they're on our side, i want to recognise the employers, we've talked about the employer disability network that Be. works very closely with, we've talked about the disability employer forum that Be. is working very closely with. The people that have done economics, the people who get it, that the 20% matter. They matter as customers, they matter as employees, they matter as talent and contributors. And then I want to recognise the disabled community itself, I want to recognise the people that are leading the change within that community and are working in partnership with us and i want to thank them for their generosity of spirit, their generosity of teaching and their willingness to allow us to work with them to achieve real difference but particularly i want to celebrate the potential of the community tonight. It is remarkable the potential that is wasted in this country and Ian's already referred to it. It is remarkable the opportunity that we have to unleash that potential to the benefit of our country. And I want to read you some really cool words alright, they're in a book that you want to read, you want to read cover to cover it's far more exciting if I might say so myself than the plan of the city council. Because it is not an action plan it is a crusade document, it's a mission document that describes how to change the world and here's how you do it, you get really talented people and you support them to be the best they can be and in the Be. Leadership programme at the moment we have There's a drum roll of something and there they all are. And the Be. Leadership programme at the moment we have as we know Sonia Pivac, we know Gerri Pomeroy, we know Ross Livingstone and there's been reference to work Ross is doing. Kim Eruera, I might have got that slightly wrong, have I pronounced that right Minnie? No? That's alright. Brent Macpherson, Layla MacKay, Kim Silvey, Neelu Memon, Tony Howe, Carol Waterman, Rachel Mullins, I'm not sure if there're flashing up with their names as I go, they should be because they deserve recognition. Rachel Mullins, Alexandra Smith, Genevieve McLachlan, Simon Atkinson, Judy Small, you can feel the tension and excitement building, you can feel the possibility and that's this years team. Add it to last years team, many of whom are here and there's a real opportunity for combustion, there's a real opportunity for change and I want to salute them for the work they're doing, the risk they're taking and I want to recognise the enormous opportunity and potential they have and will have to make a contribution to Aotearoa New Zealand. Now I didn't know it was poetry day but I'm delighted to know it is and I thought I would end with a very short poem by a poet call Anon and it goes like this. Come to the edge, it is too high. Come to the edge, we might fall. Come to the edge, and they came and she pushed them and they flew. And ladies and gentlemen what we at Be. are doing in partnership with so many is insuring that all of us kiwis can fly. No reira huri, huri noa, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa.