Disabled Persons Assembly NZ

The AGM will be held on Sunday 26 November at 10am at the Mercure Dunedin Leisure Lodge, 30 Duke Street, North Dunedin.

Disabled people are more than a quarter of the voting age population. Our families and allies make an even bigger block. At least 30% of us are open to changing our vote, so that’s at least 13 seats of disabled “floater voters” who can turn the political tide. We will determine the…

DPA is going to respond to a Ministry of Health discussion document on the proposed Action Plan for managing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder( FASD). We would like your feedback on the proposed key principals and outcomes outlined below. Key principles Focus on empowering families/whanau…

DPA is going to make a submission to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) about the Marrakesh Treaty - an agreement that will help remove barriers for those who, because of their disability, find accessing printed material difficult. If you are in this position please read…

In a moving ceremony, former Chief Executive of DPA Gary Williams (Ngati Porou) was inducted into the Attitude Awards Hall of Fame for his life-long service on behalf of disabled people, on 3 December 2015. Gary was part of the committee who developed the United Nations Convention for the Rights…

On 3 December, our members around the country attended all sort of events and distributed wristbands, produced by the Human Rights Commission, featuring this year’s International Day theme of “Inclusion Matters”. Among these events, Auckland members joined an orange-themed morning…

DPA member Paula Booth from Wellington says, “I use a chair to get around after an accident several years ago so the physical accessibility of buildings and the built environment is something I have experienced and thought about. The stated objective of the Building Code as it stands is…

In February 2015, pilot education workshops were held in Auckland and Wellington to teach disability support services staff and disabled people more about the human rights framework and the Disability Convention. Using the Disability Convention for advocacy purposes Support Worker Stephen…

DPA recently sent a hard hitting report to the United Nations about social protection programmes for disabled people in New Zealand. Our Chief Executive Rachel Noble urges people to read the report, written by Dr Heather Barnett, saying “The report provides an excellent way to understand…