Annual Report 2002
Advocating for Disabled People
Goal 3: To empower people with disabilities to have equality and full participation in society
Disregard and discrimination in fire safety provisions
Requiring public buildings to be wheelchair-accessible has won only half the battle for an equitable physical environment. In its fire safety provisions, our building law still allows building industry bureaucrats to disregard the needs of people with sensory disabilities, and to act against the housing rights and liberties of people with intellectual and psychiatric disabilities. These two situations illustrate the need for DPA now to seek still further changes to the Building Act's requirements and regulatory processes.
(1) Unfair fire alarm systems
Because fire alarm systems rely almost wholly on audible alerting signals, they cannot alert people with hearing impairments to escape quickly from any imminent fire danger. So fire alarm systems need to provide visual alerting signals wherever people with hearing impairments can become isolated from others in the same building. This reasonable requirement has been law in the USA for over 10 years, under the "Americans with Disabilities Act" — but is not yet required in New Zealand.
While representing DPA on the revision of the NZ Standard for fire alarm systems it became evident that nothing could be done to the Standard to improve the present almost total disregard for the safety needs of people with impaired hearing. First s.47A of the Building Act needs to require appropriate fire safety provisions for people with disabilities, then the Building Code needs to require visual fire alarm alerting signals in the appropriate parts of buildings.
Consequently, detailed recommendations on how best to go about getting the Act and the Code changed have now been made to the National Foundation for the Deaf, the Deaf Association, the Hearing Association, the most appropriate member of DPA's National Executive Committee and to DPA's National Office. Because amendments to the Building Act are to be introduced to the new Parliament, all these bodies will need to find out how to act in concert on this matter well before the end of 2002.
(2) Unfair requirements in private housing for people with disabilities
In providing for fire safety in the "nstitutional care" of people with high needs disabilities (eg, in forensic psychiatric facilities, and special care facilities like Kimberley) it is accepted that many occupants will not be able to escape from a fire without hands-on assistance from staff, and that there may not be enough skilled staff to provide this quickly enough. So it is normal that such institutions are required to have high-cost automatic fire suppression systems, special fire alarms and regular fire alarm drills under Fire Service supervision.
In contrast, there are no fire safety requirements in any private housing, largely because houses are so small that it is easy for anyone (even with restricted mobility, or needing personal assistance) to escape in good time. So, imposing fire safety requirements on private housing is seen as an unwarranted intrusion on the personal rights and liberties of the occupants.
So, when people with disabilities avoid institutional care by getting service providers to help them set up their own private households, we should expect that they are entitled to the same rights and liberties as all other people in all similar private housing.
However, in 1998 the Building Industry Authority (BIA) arbitrarily decided that all supported housing for people with disabilities is not "private housing" at all, but only a form of "mini-institution" which requires all the "institutional" kinds of high-cost, intrusive fire safety requirements to be imposed.
On the one hand, the BIA appears to have assumed that all people with disabilities require special fire safety protection measures, simply and only because of their disabilities.
On the other hand, the BIA seems to have made a unilateral social policy decision about the social function of supported housing. As the BIA actually had no lawful reason to make any such decision, this was a classic instance of blatant discrimination.
Consequently, two years ago, when the BIA tried to incorporate its decision into its major fire safety code of practice, IHC took it to court - but with a poorly-conceived legal argument. I have acted as an observer for DPA while this action has unhappily dragged on for the past two years with no certain outcome.
In fact, the situation could and should have been resolved two years ago by a firm policy direction to the BIA from the Ministers involved. Unfortunately, the Ministers are not allowed to direct the BIA until government has a relevant policy — and the much-vaunted Disability Strategy totally failed to provide one. Also, some government officials have been unable to grasp how to deal with the complex factors in such a way as to formulate an effective policy.
So, at this point, the relevant policy, along with the necessary set of directives to the BIA, is being drafted for DPA to present to the Ministers in the new government.
Roger Hay, DPA representative on building standards
Women's Caucus
Report from Huhana Hickey
Members of the Women's Caucus hope it will give a greater voice to disabled women and address disabled women's issues and those of relevance to us within the structure and format of DPA. Some of the issues often raised with me are such questions as what women want from DPA and how women want us to represent them. There may be issues for disabled women we are not raising or giving important time and energy to, or women may just want to be kept up to date on what's happening for disabled women in New Zealand and internationally.
DPA Women's Caucus can raise awareness, concerns, issues and information affecting us specifically. The Caucus aims to make visible our ideals and our identity within the DPA community, the wider disability community and society in general. Some of you may wish to also contribute and it is hoped you will so that we can develop a regular article within our regular newsletter DPA Bites that reflects our community as we hope it will.
As a disabled Maori woman of Tainui descent, a mum, a lover, a daughter and a sister I find I have a lot of issues of various subject matters relating to being a woman, disabled and being indigenous. I know that being a member of the Women's Caucus is a good way of addressing the issues that may rise from time to time. However, raising issues between ourselves is not the only function of the Women's Caucus, I believe the extra zing it has is the ability to liaise and lobby at a government level on behalf of disabled women and therefore it is your voice we hope to represent. It's that voice we need to hear.
With all the talk of feminist issues, human rights and disability rights, you would think policy makers and the government would by now understand our issues … right? Wrong! Despite the feminist movement of the 1970s making changes for women, disabled women in the statistics are still lagging behind their non-disabled sisters and it is this inequality that drives us to address the issues that need addressing. We are members of every sector of the community, we have children, we work, we study and we partake throughout all areas of society so is it not about time we began to claim a better level of equality?
The Women's Caucus is about coming together and sharing those concerns, those dreams and those hopes for a fairer and more equitable society. For the NEC women to represent you, we need you the women of DPA to give us your voice. Consider starting a Women's Caucus regionally and having that voice carried through to the national level. Let us hear your concerns and let us hear from you.
E noho ra, Huhana Hickey
Huhana Hickey, flanked by Beverley Grammer (left) and Victoria Manning (right)
Maori issues
Hamilton member and an elected member of the NEC , Huhana Hickey, was in early 2002 appointed by the NEC as National Maori Advisor until such time as DPA has further developed the Maori Advisor role, to reflect all issues for Maori. Huhana aimed to contact all Maori DPA members as part of developing a strategy for disabled Maori people.
DPA takes this opportunity to thank former National Maori Advisor, Tamehana Tai-Rakena for all his efforts on behalf of DPA on many occasions, for representing Maori people with disabilities and for providing DPA with a Maori perspective. Tamehana retired in November 2001 from the position he had held the since October 1997.
More from the 2002 Annual Report
Index
Vision, Mission, Philosophy
Acknowledgements
President's Report
Chief Executive's Report
National Executive
Goal 1: Lead
2001 AGM Photos
Relay Service Rally Photos
Goal 2: Advise
Goal 3: Empower
Goal 4: Monitor
Goal 5: Community
Obituaries
Financial Statements
For previous reports contact gen@dpa.org.nz.