Nick Burton

• Blind and vision-impaired voters in NSW affected by decommissioning of iVote

  1st Dec 2022

  iVote enabled blind and vision-impaired people to cast an anonymous, independent vote for the first time, when it was introduced in 2011, through screen reader software that ‘speaks’ the text. But the internet-voting system crashed under the weight of demand in 2021, and three council elections had to be voided by the courts. The NSW Electoral Commissioner has dropped iVote for the March 2023 state election, explaining that the software is being phased out and there isn't time to set up and test a new version. The impact on blind and vision-impaired citizens is inordinate. Nick Burton expresses concern.

• Pattern of mental health discrimination in insurance industry

  24th Feb 2022

  Concerns raised by the Human Rights Commission have been consolidated in a report by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre investigating how life insurers treat people with past or current mental health conditions. Nick Burton discusses the issues and the implications.