Tauranga resident Claire Dale is calling on the community to help support her petition to Parliament for making mobility parking enforceable.
'In my view, mobility parking spaces make life substantially easier for disabled people and misuse of mobility parking is rampant,” says Claire.
'I believe we need national enforcement, larger fines and legislation that covers both public parking and private-land parking.”
Private-land parking includes supermarkets, blocks of flats, schools and shopping malls. Claire says that public parking is currently only covered by by-laws, and that the 24 per cent of Kiwis who have a disability need support in making mobility parking enforceable.
'The shop owners, the mall owners and the supermarkets are not the bad guys. As usual it is the government, and they've got broader shoulders. Instead of shopping centre owners saying ‘please remove your car from my shopping centre', now it can be the law nationally.”
Claire managed to launch her petition an hour-and-a-half before the August lockdown, but found that the timing meant that people were unaware of it.
'That is why the word hasn't been heard as well as other voices. I have done everything I can think of to contact people. I wrote to news media, CCS Disability Action and a press release went out.”
She also enlisted the help of students from Otūmoetai College.
'I called the college and asked if they had a couple of students who could help with the webpage and the technical side of things, as I'm technologically handicapped.”
She's delighted with the support received from the students as well as help from Grey Power.
'I believe fines must be enforced equally across New Zealand. Help uphold the rights of the 150,000 mobility parking permit holders.”
Claire's petition states: 'That the House of Representatives change the law to substantially increase fines nationally for misusing any mobility parking spaces, including on privately owned land that is used publicly; and urge the government to run an education campaign to desist able-bodied people from misusing mobility parking spaces for public use.”
So far, 1735 have signed the petition which closes on February 14.
To support Claire's petition, go to: