DPA Bites April/May 2005
EMPLOYMENT
DPA believes that it is the right of all persons with disabilities to have the opportunity to be engaged in productive and meaningful employment which provides flexibility, equal opportunity and career path development.
Abolishing exploitation - a final push required
Disabled Deserve Dignity is the theme of the latest efforts to support repeal of the Disabled Persons Employment Promotion Act (DPEPA). Some last-minute lobbying by those who want to deny workers with disabilities the same rights as all other employees led to confusion and division among members of the Select Committee considering the Disabled Persons Employment Promotion (Repeal and Related Matters) Bill.
DPA, along with CCS, IHC and People First, has written to all MPs making these points and urging them to support the Repeal Bill, and recent negative publicity has prompted DPA and People First to hold a forum on the issue in April in Invercargill.
Consultation, discussion, strategy …
The letter to the MPs refutes claims that consultation has not occurred. 'Most disabled people and their families want the repeal. They have been involved in the issue for five years now.'
Vocational services were reviewed by the Department of Labour in 2000, and individuals, families and organizations all had their say. Then Pathways to Inclusion, with a five-year implementation period starting 2002 was developed and, three years down the track, opportunities for work, study, skill development and leisure have all expanded.
The NZ Disability Strategy received 700 submissions and feedback from 58 meetings, including an overwhelming number urging repeal of DPEPA. Submissions to the Select Committee hearings on the Repeal Bill may have been few but by that stage the five years of consultation had accumulated evidence pointing in one direction.
'A huge amount of consultation among disabled people, research findings and government reports all concur that legislation allowing exploitative work practices and wages has to go,' said Wendi Wicks, DPA National Policy Researcher. 'That it is being ignored is a matter of great concern.
'We are concerned that political points-scoring is using disabled people as weapons, which is evident in the Select Committee report on the Repeal Bill. 'We are concerned that this combined with misinformation and a media campaign might scuttle the opportunity for all disabled New Zealanders to get proper pay for their work.'
Surge in the south
'Like many others, I am a former sheltered workshop worker,' DPA CEO Gary Williams wrote in a letter to the editor of the Southland Times responding to news reports and personal attacks. 'With support, I have gone from earning 50 cents a week to earning more than the minimum wage now.' Refuting the justification for workshops, Gary Williams said that 'despite the romantic rhetoric that some workshop providers have about their businesses, they are still operating in an environment which allows them to deny rights.
'It is morally corrupt for our country to continue to have a law that denies fundamental human rights as enshrined in Articles 23 and 24 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
'Only disabled people are allowed to be discriminated against in this way. If there is a need for productivity tests, then let's be fair and have them for all workers including MPs, the police, rugby players and even sheltered workshop managers.
'Some people have done a marvelous job convincing themselves and others that this legislation is the death-knell for the sheltered workshop industry.
'People with the right vision, values and drive will succeed in a new industry that rewards people for their toil.'
TRANSPORT
DPA believes that transport is a basic right of all people. Recognising this, Government must ensure that all forms of transport and its infrastructure, both in the community and nationally, must be fully accessible to people with disabilities.
'It's being there that counts'
(if Air New Zealand will carry you, that is)
A joint complaint about Air New Zealand's 'no-lifting' policy was made to the Human Rights Commission last year by DPA and NZ CCS, aimed at getting Air New Zealand to rescind it.
The policy is that an Air NZ staff member will only assist with a lower-body lift where transfer from chair to chair and/or chair to seat is required. It means that disabled people who need transfer assistance to and from aircraft seats must pay for a traveling companion to help them board and disembark from the aircraft or a lifter at each transfer point.
After six months of mediation, the talks have entered a holding pattern.
Air New Zealand has offered to review the lifting policy by June 2005. In the meantime they have committed themselves to ensure that only those covered by the policy are actually targeted, and they will attempt to minimize those situations.
Air NZ will also progressively introduce purpose-built lifting equipment to eliminate the requirement for manual lifting, and the company has committed itself to general awareness training and frequent consultation with the disability sector.
DPA and CCS feel that Air NZ is focusing on a technical solution rather than recognizing the issue as one of human rights. However, the company is investing a lot of time and money in trying out different equipment, which would not have happened if the complaint had not been laid.
The DPA National Executive Committee has decided to stick with mediation until the policy is rescinded or it is clear that a different approach is required.
More consultation on Total Mobility
The next stage in the review of the Total Mobility scheme involves consultation about its adequacy, consistency of application, sustainability and coverage across the country. The 28-page Total Mobility Scheme Review document, issued by the Ministry of Transport in March this year, seeks feedback on six main areas of concern.
They are:
- The purpose of the Scheme, which as currently defined does not establish clearly what the Scheme is for and what it does.
- Who is eligible to use the Scheme. It appears that different local authorities interpret the criteria differently. It may also exclude people in areas where there is no public transport.
- How much the fare subsidy should be and whether it should be the same in all areas. Also whether there should be a limit on the maximum fare on which subsidy is paid, introduction of a minimum fare below which no subsidy is paid, and a nationally agreed limit on the number of vouchers issued to one person.
- Assessment before people can use the Scheme, requirements for applicants in some areas to become a member of a voluntary society before they can be assessed, who pays the assessor, and issues about training and consistency.
- Administration of the Scheme varies between areas, with some local authorities using smart cards and others paper-based systems, and lack of national vouchers. Promotion varies across the country and many eligible people are thought to miss out.
- Local and regional variation in contracting arrangements with taxi firms, and shortage of wheelchair-accessible taxis.
DISABILITY SERVICES
DPA believes that every person with a disability, and every family which includes a member with a disability, should receive whatever services and other support or assistance which may be needed to reduce the disabling effects of impairment and the handicapping effects of disability. Services should be designed to make possible for each person a full, meaningful and constructive life of their own choosing.
Disability Support Services
Funding of services for people with disabilities has until now been managed by the Ministry of Health through a national contract, rather than being doled out to District Health Boards.
One of the first tasks for the new Minister responsible for Disability Support Services, Pete Hodgson, has been to look at future funding, which has been inadequate especially in the home support area. DPA has been involved in this work and in developing a paper to support a Budget bid for more funding.
Threats which arise from the review include possible attempts to water down the NZ Disability Strategy, and efforts to dampen down demand by rationing funds to Needs Assessments/Service Co-ordination agencies.
General Election looming - but when?
'This election year is full of uncertainties,' DPA CEO Gary Williams said in a recent interview with the new Bites editor. 'We are looking at the middle of September - the last possible month for the General Election - but planning is well ahead in case it is called earlier.'
Asked what DPA plans for 2005, Gary said that in the previous two election years, DPA has put out its own election manifesto called Our Vision. 'This year one thing we're doing is updating Our Vision so we have something to lobby the next Government about.'
What's been achieved from Our Vision? 'The last three years have been quite good for people with disabilities,' Gary replied. 'We've seen the introduction of the NZ Sign Language Bill, the introduction of the telephone relay service, and there has been movement on the repeal of the Disabled People's Employment Promotion Act. We hope well see that completed before Parliament rises this year.'
But there must be some on-going issues? 'Yes, indeed. They include the seeming lack of funding to implement the New Zealand Disability Strategy. Disability support services still struggle. Access continues to be a major issue because society still hasn't grasped the concept that accessibility is good for everybody, it's an investment in the future.'
Anything else? 'Talking about "disability in the community" is almost a contradiction in terms. "Deinstitutionalisation' simply means moving people from large to small or mini-institutions, which are the preferred option for the funder.
'This points to problems with disability support services generally - options are being further reduced rather than expanded. There is no innovative thinking, they're just tinkering with what we've got now.'
So what specific tactics do you plan? 'We're updating and re-issuing Our Vision, and encouraging DPA members to use it in the run-up to the election. The aim is to get a public commitment from candidates and parties to tackle the issues we raise in it, and then we can use those commitments afterwards to keep the politicians honest.'
[The next issues of Bites will include an election special based on Our Vision.]
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
DPA believes that it has a responsibility to participate in the international community on behalf of New Zealanders who have disabilities to ensure involvement in sharing of new developments and to promote its aims.
Inching towards an international disability convention
The 'house with no steps' was the venue for last month's Rehabilitation International seminar in Sydney, Australia. Among the keynote speakers was the Ecuadorian Ambassador to Australia and to New Zealand, Mr Luis Gallegos. Mr Gallegos, chairman of the first five sessions on the proposed UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, informed delegates of progress on the Convention, which he expects to be available for signing and ratification next year. He is committed to what he calls 'an extraordinary cause' for the estimated 600 million people with disabilities around the world.
Among the panelists at the seminar was DPA CEO Gary Williams. He had attended three of the sessions chaired by Mr Gallegos, and said that having direct influence in the delegation has been very positive. 'Being able to articulate our perspective to the NZ officials has paid dividends. One example is New Zealand's staunchness on NGO participation.'
Gary warned however that the easy part of the negotiating process is almost over. 'As we enter what we all hope will be the last few years of negotiations, my overall impression is that the Convention is going make a huge difference to the world's disabled people. It will clearly elaborate the rights that we all have now as human beings, but in a disability context.
'My continual concern as I have listened to hours and hours of the discussions in the Ad hoc committee, is the sense of being out of touch with the realities of disability. The committee can spend hours on an academic discussion about a particular word or phrase in the draft text of the Convention, and at the same time many disabled people around the world continue to live in sub-human conditions.
The Convention development process must speed up, Gary urged.
He also spoke against the trend among some delegations to attempt to qualify the rights for disabled people, by suggesting phrases such as "within available resources" and "except as provided by law". The first is discriminatory for disabled people because it turns our human rights into a commodity.
'The second, "except as provided by law" is the ultimate nullifier. The Convention should not legitimise practices that should become extinct as the world evolves. By allowing countries to have a fallback position of their national laws, their bad laws take precedent over the Convention.
Gary pointed out that another Convention currently being developed by the UN is on the rights of indigenous people, and noted there has been very little lobbying by NGOs for the inclusion of indigenous people somewhere in the disability convention text. He asked that Rehabilitation International convince the Disability Caucus to make indigenous peoples issues a priority for inclusion in the Convention.
'Some countries have asserted the view that the Convention cannot give more rights to disabled people that aren't available to non-disabled people,' Gary concluded. 'It seems ironical to me that while it is okay for us to have less rights, we can never have more rights. People don't make a conscious choice to be disabled and remedying the imbalance of rights isn't going to make disability more attractive as a lifestyle option.
'My pragmatic view is that the final Convention that countries will sign up to will be a result of countless compromises. We need to be careful that the compromises do not render the Convention too weak or worse.'
Report from the National Executive Committee
People
Minnie Baragwanath has been co-opted to fill a casual vacancy on the Committee.
Bill Wrightson has been re-confirmed as the DPA representative on the Barrier Free New Zealand Trust.
Website development
Robyn Hunt and Judy Knighton from AccEase, an accessible-website developer, have been engaged to make the DPA website more usable. They have already made it accessible and are now working to make it more interactive.
Regional Assemblies
DPA regional assemblies are being established in Oamaru and Wanganui.
During their discussion about participation at regional meetings, the NEC agreed that the most effective way is to hold open meetings and minimize formality. This makes them more inclusive and more people feel able to have a voice.
Strategic Relationships
The National Executive Committee met with the Board of Parent to Parent. Issues discussed included how the two organizations might support each other on common issues, and how to get young people involved in DPA.
The two groups plus others were also addressed by Jim Murphy of the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services. Major topics included the rights of disabled children to remain with their parents and the rights of disabled parents to care for their children. Jim said that natural parents should if possible be the primary care-givers, and be supported in their caring roles. However, while informal caregivers may receive training, the training for caregivers who look after disabled children is in the 'early stages'.
DPA women's caucus is looking at this issue and at the rights of disabled children when care and protection issues arise.
Planning and directions
The 2005 DPA operational plan was agreed to at the February meeting of the National Executive Committee.Future strategic directions for DPA are being developed, with work on sharpening the issues in election year and in meetings with Government representatives.
Art experience
Prior to their February meeting, the NEC along with Wellington DPA members, DPA National Secretariat staff and Vincent's Artworkshop staff and committee celebrated the opening of the solo exhibition of NEC member Wendy Randall in Vincent's Gallery.
Vincent's is a unique fully-integrated creative space which has grown from a place for people with psychiatric disability to a space with an open door policy where everyone's skills and contributions are valued equally in a non-judgmental environment.
At international conferences, Vincent's has won two awards for community integration of people who are disabled and often not accepted by the community. For all those involved the exhibition was a celebration of achievement and acceptance of each of us as unique individuals with real value in our communities, as well as a time for NEC to meet socially before their quarterly meeting.
The exhibition itself was very successful.
Small Bites
DPA AGM
The National Secretariat has begun organizing the national Annual General Meeting. This one-day event will take place in Christchurch on 19 November 2005. More details in the next issue of DPA Bites.
Regional Capacity-Building Forums
A series of fora are underway to provide Regional Assemblies with more knowledge to be able to be more effective in their local communities.
Each forum will be co-facilitated by DPA National President Mike Gourley with the help of a fellow Executive member.
Three individuals nominated by each regional assembly are being funded to attend these opportunities to share experiences and learn from each other.
New DPA Bites editor
Julia Stuart has taken over compiling DPA Bites from Christine Newman. Julia has been a journalist for more years than she will admit, including writing for NZ Disabled Magazine and more recently being correspondent for the medical publication NZGP. Her personal interest in disability began at university (where she took science and later media studies) and sharpened with the birth of and life with her daughter Teresa who has cerebral palsy. She works from a corner on the same floor as the DPA national office in Wellington and can be found at 0274 44 22 44, email julia.stuart@clear.net.nz