DPA New Zealand

DPA Bites July / August 2004

DPA SUBMISSION ON THE DISABLED PERSONS EMPLOYMENT PROMOTION (REPEAL AND RELATED MATTERS) BILL

DPA has recently made a submission to the Social Services Select Committee concerning the Disabled Persons Employment Promotion (Repeal and Related Matters) Bill. DPA is pleased that Parliament has decided to repeal this bill which has been widely regarded by disabled people as utterly improper and an abuse of human rights. However DPA is very concerned with some aspects of the repeal bill and would not support the current wording, particularly in the proposed new section 13. DPA is disturbed at this section's proposal to retain a provision whereby disabled workers can be subject to an underrate workers permit and believe it is contradictory to provide such a base rate or minimum wage as a safeguard in relation to work, then to provide for exceptions. The implicit justification for having this section in the DPEP Act is the concept of productivity which has not been imposed on any other group of workers. It is DPA's position that retention of section 13 is likely to constitute a breach of the Human Rights Act. DPA recommends that the bill be withdrawn for intensive revision by a working group in which there is adequate representation of disabled people acting as advocates for themselves, in particular that section 13 of the repeal bill is deleted, and that disabled people are not subjected to discriminatory provisions for minimum wage exemptions.

AIR NEW ZEALAND

DPA continues to be concerned about Air New Zealand's change in policy that has affected disabled travellers who use wheelchairs and cannot transfer independently. The effect of this policy is that a substantial group of disabled travellers are both actually and potentially excluded from using Air New Zealand. DPA has now lodged a formal complaint with the Human Rights Commission and will keep members fully informed as progress is made. DPA would also ask regions or individuals to consider writing to the Human Rights Commission saying that they support the complaint.

REHABILITATION INTERNATIONAL 20th WORLD CONGRESS, OSLO, JULY 2004

Mike Gourley, as National President of DPA and Anne Hawker from ACC have just attended Rehabilitation International's World Congress, which is held every four years, as New Zealand representatives. Throughout the conference Mike reports that he felt the continuation of the tension that exists between the human rights approach to disability and the rehabilitation framework which stresses the repair and recovery of disabilities or illnesses. The RI World President, Michael Fox from Australia demonstrated his leadership in this area by suggesting that rehabilitation should include a rights inclusion perspective, as advocated in New Zealand, rather than being an end in itself. There was some discussion on whether RI should campaign for a separate article on rehabilitation to be included in the UN Disability Convention, so that rehabilitation is separated from other health issues. However, the New Zealand delegates felt that, while rehabilitation can be seen as a 'clinical' or 'therapeutic' process and can indeed help to achieve human rights outcomes such as work and education, it should never be seen as a human rights outcome in and of itself. At the personal level, Mike enjoyed some powerful key note addresses, in particular Pat Deegan, a US advocate for mental health consumers, who is reported as saying "we have the right to be incurably ourselves", rather than being fixed or corrected in the way we function. He also appreciated Tom Shakespeare who made the point that those associated with genetic discoveries or alternative reproductive technologies see these 'advances' as having the potential to remove impaired people from existence. While it is not the technology itself that is wrong it is the philosophy behind it that is dangerous.

Mike feels that it is very important for DPA to continue to be involved in RI Congresses, even though they seem to be operating from a rehabilitation philosophy. Without our representation, New Zealand's human rights perspective on disability would not be heard.

THE NEW ZEALAND DISABILITY STRATEGY:

MAKING A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE?

National Assembly and Conference, Palmerston North, 29-31 October

As you can see from the title, this year's National Assembly and Conference is going to be asking some hard questions about the NZDS: Is it making a world of difference? Are the barriers to our participation coming down? Are we being valued for who we are and included on our terms? If not, why not? In what ways can the Strategy be improved? We will also be asking some hard questions of ourselves: Now that the Strategy is in place, have we become complacent and just expect the non-disabling society to arrive as if by magic? Are we actually using the Strategy as the measure of the services we should be getting and demanding providers meet those standards? How and in what other areas of my life can I use the Strategy? So you can see that this is going to be a very important Assembly for us to review the NZDS for ourselves and on our own terms and then report our conclusions back to Government.

But this Assembly is not just going to be a case of all work and no play. Janice and Michael Feyen of Footprints, the Conference organisers, have promised us a Saturday evening full of fun, food, drink, entertainment and socialising based around a "futuristic theme event". I'm not exactly sure what this will involve, but I do know from personal experience that Mike & Janice know how to party.

Keynote speaker: Venus Ilagan, President, Disabled Peoples International

Workshops: the objectives of the NZDS have been divided into 4 workshops for closer scrutiny in terms of how effective they have been in supporting disabled people to participate as citizens in their communities. Each delegate will have the chance of attending two of four workshops: 1) Rights & citizenship; 2) Support for citizenship; 3) Prerequisites for citizenship; 4) Life-choices & Lifestyle

Registration: If your registration packs have not already arrived, they will shortly. Points to note:

Costs: every attempt has been made to keep costs to an absolute minimum. Generous sponsorship from Invacare NZ Ltd and Enable NZ have helped significantly in this area.

This is going to be an important, positive and fun Assembly & Conference which all DPA members should be planning to attend. Our strength lies in not only our numbers but also in our participation. See you there.

Martin Sullivan,
Convenor, Local Organising Committee

MAXIMISING OPPORTUNITY

By Dot Wilson

DPA Southland has recently held their AGM with invited guest Mike Gourley, the national president of DPA, as the speaker. Mike then extended his visit so we could have him meet and speak with as many parties as possible to help build membership, raise the profile of DPA both locally and nationally and plant seeds among potential employers.

All the media in Southland were utilised i.e. television, radio, and newspapers including the local free publication, making sure that with these was a photo opportunity. An advertisement in two issues of the DRC (Disabilities Resource Centre) yielded other engagements.

Tapping into the networks of DPA members enabled the support of national service club Altrusa to organise a fundraising breakfast with money raised going towards supporting guide dog training. This was a seed sowing initiative to prospective employers. Among the attendees were two owners and their working guide dogs and one in training with trainer. This was a most positive and successful event with 80 tickets sold.

Another engagement for Mike was attending the Combined Disabilities Groups six weekly forum. Mike updated everyone with an outward-looking perspective that invoked good discussion and questions.

The Social Work team at Southland Hospital was a different area again with Mike bringing a positive and interesting perspective and many good questions were asked. Membership forms were requested along with more information about DPA.

The only consumer group Mike spoke with was a recently diagnosed group of people with MS. This was hard for some as they were still coming to terms with their impairment and were struggling with what their loss was rather than looking outward to the larger picture. However in saying this it must be noted that again this was more sowing of seeds that will grow to maturity when the time is right.

Attending the DSAC (Disabilities Services Advisory Committee) at the District Health Board was Mike's last engagement. This was a very timely meeting as currently members of the DSAC are working towards a framework for the NZDS (New Zealand Disability Strategy). Mike invoked good discussions around the proposed framework, commending the committee for their work to date.

Included in Mike's busy itinerary was time to see the sights, like the best accessible 'look out' that Mike had ever seen, and sample the local fare including the famous Foveaux Straight Oysters.

NEW DISABILITY FUNDING WEBSITE

Enable NZ has announced the launch of a new website on environmental support services funding. The website provides comprehensive information on Ministry of Health funding for equipment, housing modifications and vehicles, and includes a section on eligibility, how to apply, what is and is not funded and how the funding process works. It can be found at www.disabilityfunding.co.nz

DISABILITY TRIBUNE

DPA have recently received a copy of the Disability Tribune, a British bi-monthly bulletin produced by Disability Awareness in Action and intended to keep the international disability community aware of important news and events. This magazine can be accessed via the DAA website at www.daa.org.uk

Of particular interest to some will be their six page briefing paper which looks, from the disability communities point of view, at current international attempts at providing definitions of disability. "We have responsibility to the future generations of disabled people that firstly there is a future to look forward to, but also to ensure that we claim as our own, the political and social definition of disability. We must no longer allow others to decide, for us, who we are and what we have a right to be". Again, this article can be accessed through the website.