DPA New Zealand

Annual Report

1st July 2008 to 30th June 2009

Vision


A fully inclusive society.

Mission statement


To maximise the value, rights and choices of disabled people.

Philosophy


Disabled people must have the right and opportunity to:

DPA provides:

DPA Goals 2008/2009

GOAL 1: Optimise disabled peoples' leadership.
GOAL 2: Provide a coordinated, informed disability perspective at all levels of Government policy development and decision making.
GOAL 3: Provide an avenue for the collective voice of disabled people within New Zealand.
GOAL 4: Take an active role in the monitoring of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the New Zealand Disability Strategy and any other legislation, policies, treaties and practices that impact upon the lives of disabled people.

Contents

DPA (NZ) Inc Vision, Mission statement, Philosophy, what DPA provides, Goals 2008/2009
Acknowledgements
Summary of the Year
President's Report
Chief Executive Officer's Report
DPA National Executive Committee & Secretariat
GOAL 1: Optimise disabled people's leadership
GOAL 2: Provide a coordinated, informed disability perspective at all levels of Government policy development and decision making
GOAL 3: Provide an avenue for the collective voice of disabled people within New Zealand
GOAL 4: Take an active role in the monitoring of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the New Zealand Disability Strategy and any other legislation, policies, treaties and practices that impact upon the lives of disabled people
Auditors' report and financial statements

Acknowledgements

DPA (New Zealand) Inc acknowledges the generous support received from the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board for general operating costs, the production costs of DPA Bites (our newsletter) and help with the 2008 National Assembly and Conference.

We also thank the Ministry of Health for supporting our international involvement and policy advice and the J R McKenzie Trust for contributing to our administration costs and AGM.

We gratefully acknowledge receipt of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability Award grant, which was jointly presented to DPA, CCS Disability Action and People First New Zealand.

We also thank Workbridge Inc for funding a project to create a lobbying tool (yet to be published) on employment issues for disabled people.

Thank you to Telecom NZ Ltd for providing four telephone lines at reduced commercial rates. We are fortunate, too, to benefit from a reduced market rent charge in Century City Towers - thanks to Century City Ltd.

We also gratefully received donations from members and from Wellington DPA.

Our thanks to you all.

Summary of the Year

The past year can be summarised as 12 months of extremes. The high water mark was ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by the New Zealand Government, binding our lawmakers to recognise disabled people as having the same rights to an ordinary life as others. The nadir was undoubtedly losing our dynamic new President, Eamon Daly. Eamon's death coincided with confirmation that we are going to have to work, if anything, even harder now to make sure that our Convention results in real change for disabled people.

The political landscape has changed, and in some quarters this is perceived as a mandate to retrench disabled rights. We have noticed a disturbing increase in situations where decisions are being made for us, without us. Our President Wendy Neilson talks about some of these areas in her report.

As Gary Williams, our departing CEO says in his report, we need to make sure that everyone understands that, in the context of the Convention, we are the ones who decide about our lives as disabled people, led by organisations such as ours.

Key events of the year

We lose our President... and we keep on!
Our newly elected President, Eamon Daly, died in February 2009. A much-respected, charismatic friend and colleague, Eamon left a big hole in our hearts and a significant gap in the ranks of disabled leaders. Wendy Neilson was appointed to the DPA presidential role after Eamon's death, and has led us admirably through some difficult months.

The UN Convention
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities came into force in May 2008. The New Zealand Government ratified the Convention on Dominion Day - September 26, 2009. This means that New Zealand lawmakers are now bound to recognise the rights of disabled people as equal citizens. We know this won't happen without us. See under Goal 4 for more.

FDR Disability Award
DPA and its partners People First and CCS Disability Action received a US$50,000 grant as part of the 2007 Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability Award. In accordance with our plans, we have been using the award to publicise the Convention and focus on the rights of disabled youth.

Disability services inquiry results
The Social Services Select Committee published its findings of the inquiry into disability support services and recommended a raft of changes to achieve better support for disabled people in the community and to honour the commitments made in the New Zealand Disability Strategy (2000-). In our submission to the inquiry, DPA called in particular for a Disability Commission to be established. The new National-led Government decided not to implement the findings of the Select Committee, opting instead for a ministerial committee to oversee disability funding, which looks to us like 'window dressing'. See under Goal 4 for more.

Our 2008 conference was a stunner
We had a remarkable 2008 National Assembly and Conference over three beautiful October days in Christchurch. We were in buoyant mood - and apart from celebrating the Convention, we did some brilliant visioning, resulting in a clear direction for the National Executive Committee (NEC) to work toward. The Conference and outcomes are discussed further under Goal 1.

DPA Leaders

Former DPA President Anne Hawker was appointed the President of Rehabilitation International at an emotional inauguration in Quebec, Canada. Grant Cleland has been appointed as CEO of Workbridge, Inc. Beverley Grammer was appointed to the chair of the Office for Disability Issues' Disability Advisory Council.

Also featured:

President's Report

Firstly, I'd like to reflect on the untimely death of our elected President, Eamon Daly. At his funeral I truly appreciated how he had a made a particularly positive impact on all those he associated with. Eamon was a young man who lived life to the full, a real role model of achievement and celebration who also lived with considerable impairment. His potential as a great leader for DPA was recognised and his loss to the sector definitely acknowledged.

2009 can definitely be seen as one of change, challenge and consolidation for DPA.

With the National-led Government in power, we waited to see who would be assigned the role of Minister for Disability Issues. When Paula Bennett was given this portfolio, our CEO challenged her to become the best minister ever and suggested to her that with DPA's help she could achieve this. Unfortunately, it seemed that disability issues disappeared over her horizon. Hon Tariana Turia, co-leader of the Maori Party, has formed some very useful alliances with the National-led Government, resulting from her personal mana as well as from the confidence and supply agreement her party has with the National Party, and we welcome her appointment as Minister for Disability Issues. As previous Associate Minister for Disability Issues, her knowledge of and support for the sector was already appreciated and valued and DPA looks forward to forming a long and strong association with her.

In September 2008, our country ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Initially, there was great enthusiasm for this important commitment to disabled New Zealanders. As time has passed, it seems there has not been a positive follow-through at the grass-roots level for many people with disability. Their lives have not necessarily changed for the better and nor do many feel they are being recognised and valued for their input into the community. There seems to be a downward spiralling trend; many people with disability are saying that they do not feel they are being respected or valued as a minority group. Examples of this can be seen in the lack of involvement of people with disability on the SPARC Advisory Board for the No Exception Strategy, and the dilution of the influence of DHB statutory disability support advisory committees by combining them with community public health committees in some parts of New Zealand. This represents a real weakening of the voice of our citizens with disability, and is an issue I do hope that Minister Turia will respond to.

In April, I represented DPA when I attended the Pacific Disability Forum AGM in Vanuatu. The first day of the gathering was the inaugural Women's Forum. Listening to these women's stories and reports of their specific challenges and achievements helped put disabled New Zealand women's issues into a different perspective. I particularly noticed topics such as abuse, no or little education and limited employment opportunities as a consequence. Throughout the forum there was a definite commonality of issues among the approximately 15 island nations represented. There were also a good number of attendees who were highly educated. These island people are real role models of achievement and advocacy and very much respected in their own communities. The UN Convention is seen as very important legislation that justifies their rights to be seen and treated as equal citizens in their homelands.

The current economic climate has unfortunately impacted negatively on the continuance of the Regional Capacity Building Workshops for 2009, so they did not happen this year. Feedback from these workshops had demonstrated their worth in developing collaborative relationships at a local level and between DPA and People First. However, there have been several successful hui relating to disabled Maori leadership. These were run in collaboration with People First and CCS Disability Action.

A real positive for this year has been the appointment of Grant Cleland as CEO of Workbridge. DPA has a close association with this organisation and it is heartening to see such leadership responsibility taken by a person with a disability.

Over this year the members of DPA's National Executive Committee (NEC) have worked together to value and appreciate individual skills, strengths and abilities. Governance is the core business of NEC, and the responsibility for setting policy and strategic direction for the secretariat to action.

My special thanks go to the members of NEC for their passion and commitment on our journey to help make a better life for disabled people in New Zealand and overseas. The usual strong supportive group of individuals who comprise the secretariat continue to do much of the hard work for us: thank you especially to Gary and his team for their dedication and commitment.

It was with a certain amount of trepidation and anxiety that I received the news that our CEO Gary Williams will be relinquishing his role in December this year. Over the 10 years that Gary has served DPA as chief executive, he has built up a strong reputation for championing disabled people at both the national and international level. His determination to improve the lives of people with disability in New Zealand has been outstanding. He has guided, directed and supported NEC members with patience, cognisant of the jobs they undertake and their responsibilities. On behalf of my predecessors, I thank Gary sincerely for the truly wonderful job he has done, and wish him all the best for the future.

We have begun the process of finding his replacement, with the establishment of a sub-committee of Mike Gourley, Bev Grammer, Lorna Sullivan and me. Thanks to Mike, Bev and Lorna for undertaking this vital task. I am also grateful to Mike for completing a paper relating to the DPA review, to be presented to the 2009 DPA AGM.

My year as President has certainly been an interesting one and the learning curve very steep. I am more aware than ever of the important role that DPA has in advocating for fulfilling lives for all disabled people. I look forward to continuing to help develop DPA's role in the future.

Wendy Neilson

Chief Executive Officer's Report

This is my eleventh and final Chief Executive Officer's Report for DPA (NZ) Inc.

Firstly, I want to acknowledge the members for granting me the privilege to serve as your CEO. This has given the opportunity to contribute constructively locally, nationally, regionally and internationally.

I've always enjoyed the mutual support and confidence of dynamic National Executive Committees headed by Paul Gibson, Carolyn Weston, Bill Wrightson, Mike Gourley, the late Eamon Daly and Wendy Neilson.

But after a decade, it's time for a change.

The most memorable events during my tenure include the world's adoption of a Convention that gives hundreds of millions of disabled people rights; the launch of the New Zealand Disability Strategy; legislation passed or repealed in New Zealand to make life better for disabled people; the closure of sprawling residential ghettos for disabled people; and the emergence of People First as a force.

When I reflect on the Convention, I believe it is the tool we must use to change society. If our experience with the Disability Strategy is anything to go by, disabled people can't afford to wait for others to take us seriously.

The dithering on how we, disabled people, should be involved in the Convention is a tangible example. The Convention signals a paradigm shift. This shift puts us in charge of our lives. When everybody understands this simple reality, then perhaps we'll make progress.

Certainly those who drafted the Convention had moved beyond societal paternalism, so why can't our country?

The very best thing about the Convention is it is legally binding on our Government, unlike the Strategy.

My view of the Strategy is that its promise will never be fulfilled without the conscious realisation that it needs an implementation plan with timelines and budgets.

There have also been some tremendous gains in my time as CEO. These include the recognition of New Zealand Sign Language as an official language of our country, the repeal of laws that permitted the exploitation of disabled workers, the closure of large 'out-of-sight, out-of-mind' institutions like the Kimberley Centre and the emergence of the independent voice of New Zealanders with learning disabilities.

These were hard-fought gains.

An organisation like DPA is needed to keep our issues to the fore, especially complex and controversial issues. The "for the common good" ethos that binds DPA members together will always be more sustainable than the predilections of the selfish few.

Kia kaha.

Gary Williams

DPA National Executive Committee as at 30 June 2009

DPA National Secretariat as at 30 June 2009

GOAL 1: Optimise disabled people's leadership

2008 National Assembly and Conference

From the opening karakia to the final photos, the sun shone on Christchurch for the weekend (October 10-12) of the 2008 DPA National Assembly and Conference. We celebrated the successes of the recent past and pooled our considerable experience and talent to come up with strong directions for the new NEC to decide upon.

The Conference facilitators introduced Open Space Technology to engage the passion and responsibility of members to create our own agenda and topics for discussion. With the help of this process, we were able to describe powerful and practical directions for "our brilliant future". The top themes to emerge from the discussion sessions, according to the Book of Proceedings, included:

Summary of NEC decisions during the year

The full NEC as elected at the DPA Conference and National Assembly in October 2008 was: Eamon Daly (President), Wendy Neilson (Vice-President), Mike Gourley (Immediate Past President), David Corner, Matt Frost, Beverley Grammer, Hemi Hema, Rongomaiwahine Higgins, Debbie Mudgway, Brendon Murray, Sean Parker, John Scully, Ken Talbot and Dot Wilson.

Following Eamon's death in February 2009, Wendy Neilson was confirmed as President and Beverley Grammer elected Vice-President.

When David Corner resigned from the Executive he was replaced by Graeme Parish.

Four full NEC meetings (August, October, February and May) took place during the year. Summary of key points from these meetings:

August 2008:

October 2008:

February 2009:

May 2009:

Regional Assemblies

DPA believes that the Assembly's strength lies in the effectiveness of its Regional Assemblies, which monitor issues relevant to people with disabilities and ensure that they are addressed at the regional and, when appropriate, national level.

DPA has an extensive network of Regional Assemblies. We acknowledge the hard work of those Regional Assemblies including Northland, Waikato, Napier, Ashburton and Aoraki.

We also highlight the following regional reports that demonstrate the diverse range of activities in which DPA Regional Assemblies are involved.

DPA Christchurch & Districts

Membership
The Regional Executive Committee is continuing to forge closer relationships with its members and networks through a healthy balance of work and social events.

Our membership is well represented throughout the community. We regularly liaise with at least 34 disability organisations across our region.

Our philosophy is to involve as many members as possible and to encourage greater participation. For example, we had several mall membership/information displays, which have attracted new members and donations and have created greater public awareness about the DPA.

In June we had a very well supported bus trip and lunch. As a result, we gained a new member and received a substantial donation .

Forums and events
We held five successful forums: two transport forums, two education awareness forums and an election forum.

More forums are planned, with guest speakers invited from different disability organisations to discuss their particular issues with us and assist us to educate the general community about disability issues.

Christchurch & Districts DPA members attended the following special events:

CCS Disability Action official opening, People First official opening, Deaf Awareness workshop, Deaf Association launch of new name and logo, Volunteer Canterbury workshop, Ministry of Women's Affairs seminar, NZSL awards presentation, and the launch of the Accessible Christchurch maps.

In the media and in the community
We had articles about the DPA published in the Age Concern Keeping On newspaper and in the Canterbury Eye on Crime booklet to publicise ourselves to the general community.

We have converted the President's report into plain language with pictures for People First members, for easier understanding.

We put together a Powerpoint presentation about DPA, for People First. We are planning more presentations to other organisations in the near future.

We are in the process of publishing an easy-to-read guide for people with disabilities on what to do in the case of a civil emergency or natural disaster. We have had valuable input from People First and the Deaf Association.

Work is continuing on access issues - we have been successful in getting a disability carpark placed outside A&E at the Christchurch Hospital, and we liaised with the manager of the Hanmer Springs thermal pools regarding the accessibility of the changing rooms.

Doreen McCoard
President, DPA Christchurch & Districts

DPA Dunedin and Districts

Dunedin and Districts DPA has had another active year, with a number of highlights to record:

We also wish to thank John Scully, our regional liaison person from the NEC, for his ongoing support and hard work on our behalf.

Chris Ford
Deputy Chair/Secretary, DPA Dunedin and Districts

DPA Eastern Bay of Plenty

The past year has been an active and rewarding one for DPA Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Our Vision
Early in the year, we decided that committee members would each take on responsibility for oversight and monitoring of an area from DPA's Vision document (Our Vision 2009-2012). We are currently planning a series of community forums, each related to areas in the DPA Vision. The first forum will be focused on the delivery of education services to disabled people in our region.

Funding
Grants were received from the Lottery Grants Commission and the Whakatane District Council, which enabled the appointment of Linda Hudson as the Regional Coordinator in April 2009. Linda is looking after our administration and is assisting the committee to carry out projects to reach DPA objectives in alignment with the DPA Annual Operational Plan 2009.

Submissions
A submission was made to Environment Bay of Plenty's 10-year plan, requesting extension of the Go Bus program into the Eastern Bay of Plenty. We also made two submissions to Whakatane District Council's Long Term Community Plan requesting upgrades to the Aquatic Centre Change Room and Pool Chair, as well as asking for an audit of all mobility parks in Whakatane to ensure they meet standards. We successfully lobbied Whakatane District Council to take up the initiative to re-paint all mobility carparks bright blue with yellow markings to better highlight them and improve enforcement and compliance.

Executive action
Executive Committee members continue to be appointed to relevant bodies. Bronwen Foxx has been appointed as the chairperson of the Ministry of Health Disability Services External Implementation Reference Group and to the Disability Services Advisory Committee (DSAC) of the Bay of Plenty District Health Board. Bev Grammer has been appointed chair of the Disability Advisory Council at the Office for Disability Issues.

We look forward to a busy and productive year ahead.

Jim Savage
President, DPA Eastern Bay of Plenty

DPA Hutt Valley

We have had a very busy year here as per usual with comings and goings and service to our wider community and fighting the occasional battle, the current one being with Hutt Valley District Health Board (HVDHB) regarding our representation on the Disability Support Advisory Committee.

Membership
Two of our long standing members resigned. On the plus side, our new President Teresa Hobman has been able to sign up as members Q-nique Ltd, HV Disabled Resources Trust and CCS Disability Action. She works closely with these organisations, serving as a co-chair on the Quality Action Group at Q-nique; as a board member of the HV Disabled Resources Trust and is on the Local Advisory Committee of CCS Disability Action.

Our ability to interact and network with these boards and committees is invaluable.

Networking forum
Recently HVDPA attended this forum in our local town hall. It was organised by Susan Gray, General Manager, HV Disabled Resources Trust. It was a very successful day, with excellent networking opportunities and it was a chance to catch up with some old friends as well.

We had our huge display boards there, which attracted plenty of interest and hopefully this will result in new members.

Total Mobility
We note with regret the death of Chrissy Dowland, who was the Total Mobility Coordinator with the Greater Wellington Regional Council. Chrissy was in the job for over 25 years and was known personally to many of us who use the taxi voucher scheme. She will be sadly missed.

We look forward to working with the new person Rhonda, who will have big shoes to fill. The voucher scheme is in the process of changing.

Guest speakers
We have recently reintroduced inviting guest speakers to our meetings. Our first speaker was Susan Gray, who told us about the great new things she is doing with her clients to increase community participation, including making a vegetable garden to donate produce to the Foodbank.

Our next speaker in a couple of months will be Peter Glensor, chair of HVDHB who asked if he could be guest speaker. Evidence of good relationships in our network!

So all in all, some great and wonderful things are happening.

Teresa Hobman
President, DPA Hutt Valley

DPA Palmerston North and Districts

General news
We moved location in June 2009 to new premises in Westside Chambers, 3rd Floor, 151 The Square, Palmerston North.

I was elected as the new President and have become certified as a Barrier Free consultant. When I am fully qualified as a trainer by the end of 2009, this accreditation will enable me to assist the local council and DPA with accessibility issues. Inquiries about these issues regularly come in to us from members of the public.

Our volunteer committee has been particularly active and we had a great display of information at the Convention Centre in June 2009 - thanks especially to John Carroll and Delysse Kennard for their contribution to making this a success. Our Treasurer, Lew Findlay, was awarded a Queen's Service Medal in the National Honours list for all his volunteer efforts.

During the past year, we have consulted with the local council over many important issues, including disabled carparking, tenancy and access to parks and reserves. We have found our partnership with council to be successful in getting better service and facilities for disabled residents and the wider community.

Forums
We held a number of successful forums, including: Fire safety and disability forum held in March 2009 where we had training from Civil Defence and Neighbourhood Watch. Kevin Farquhar from Fire Preventers Limited displayed accessible alarms for hearing impaired people.

Sports and recreation forum in November 2008, with speakers from Sports Manawatu, Special Olympics and Wheelchair Rugby. Kirsty Wilson from Sports Manawatu and I are providing training to staff in the area of recreation and accessibility.

A lively political forum in September 2008 allowed people to meet our local candidates and hear about their disability policies. Candidates present included Ian Lees-Galloway (Labour), Simon Power (National) and Tariana Turia (Maori Party) and the forum attracted front page coverage in our local newspaper. We would have to add, however, that some candidates did not seem to be aware of the needs of the disability sector.

We have also been proactive around mobility issues, for example negotiating with the developers of the new hospital over mobility parking, and keeping an eye on accessibility concerns over a proposed tram service and bus terminal upgrade.

Christine Clark
President, DPA Palmerston North and Districts

DPA Southland

Our profile and membership
We continue to raise our profile; the wording on our banner - "The Political Voice of Disabled New Zealand", continues to attract interest when it is displayed at public events, leading to dialogue about who we are and what we are about. As our profile is raised among service providers, we expect to see an increase in individual memberships.

We have sent out letters with background about DPA to a selection of local organisations that we have targeted as potential corporate members, offering to meet with them to discuss membership further.

Two members attended the Martin J Cowling Workshop, which was an excellent opportunity to acquire skills around mobilising members through training and mentoring opportunities. Although aimed at organisations reliant on volunteers, the knowledge we gained will be transferable to seeking and retaining members within DPA.

Continuing Mobility issues
As outlined in last year's report, we find that Total Mobility is still not benefiting the people with the greatest need: low income members are continuing to under-utilise requested trip allocation. A possible solution to the lack of disposable income available for travel could be to increase the 50 per cent subsidy after a voluntary means test. In Invercargill we are not using all of the available Total Mobility budget so there wouldn't need to be an increase in this budget.

Disability rights - networks and more
DPA Southland is a member of the Combined Disability Group network, which has been a successful vehicle for facilitating the exchange of information around the region, particularly with service providers such as health boards and local authorities.

Representatives of the Southland District Health Board participate in the Combined Disability Group and in our DPA meetings. This is a good arrangement from the service provider's perspective. However, as signalled in last year's DPA Annual Report, the shared services agreement that Southland and Otago District Health Boards now operate under, resulting in the remodelling of the statutory Disability Support Advisory Committee and the Community Public Health Committee, has eroded our rights as disabled people (not just DPA) to influence health policies that affect us. This is because there has been an apparent shift away from 'engagement' toward 'consultation', and this 'consultation' for the health boards is about 'general' issues that may affect all people over the retirement age, whose care the boards specifically fund. In this scenario, disability can be too easily seen as just one of a range of issues to do with aged-care. We need to work hard to empower disabled people as a separate interest group with acknowledged rights in all aspects of the health system (as occurs with iwi).

The Invercargill City Council also participates in the Combined Disability Group. This is working well as a way for distributing information, as all members (present at the meeting or not) are asked for a report that goes out with the minutes and is circulated widely around this network.

We have also noticed that there has been a retrenching in the impairment groups' field workers. They are not as active and are no longer as likely to attend the Combined Disability Group network meetings as they have in the past and no-one has been attending in their place.

Meeting key people
We met with a human rights lawyer at Southland Beneficiaries & Community Rights Inc who has experience in representing ACC clients, to express our concern that ACC appears to be blatantly disregarding the New Zealand Disability Strategy.

We met with Eric Roy, MP for Invercargill, at an informal DPA monthly meeting to establish a relationship and to inform him about disability issues from a DPA perspective.

Our members in action
DPA Southland has been represented by members' participation in:

Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world. - Joel Arthur Baker

Dot Wilson
Secretary, DPA Southland

DPA Tairawhiti

Our star on the rise
Since the national conference held in Christchurch last year, we continue to make steady progress forward in caring for our disabled community. Our membership has increased this year and DPA Tairawhiti has a higher profile in the community compared with a year ago. This is a direct result of us getting out and about and letting people know who we are and what we as an organisation can do for them.

Signs of progress - mobility and access

These accomplishments are a direct result of the pressure we have been putting on our district council to implement the local disability strategy.

Community action

Forums and fundraising
Ally attended the Regional Transport Committee workshop in Wellington and acquired valuable knowledge about how community representatives for access and mobility such as myself can help ensure that local councils provide for our disabled community. Sadly, new legislation has taken our voting rights away but we can still have our voices heard by attending the meetings.

Ally attended the Ministry of Women's Affairs conference which focused on women with disabilities, and reported back very positively.

We aim to raise money through fundraising so that more people can attend conferences within DPA and for me to become a Barrier Free auditor, so that we can back up audits we are asked to carry out, with formal accreditation. We would also like to have our own meeting place and office equipment.

Results are out on the survey carried out locally on the experiences of disabled people. The results can be viewed online (contact us for the link).

We are a small, hardworking and determined team at DPA Tairawhiti - we continue to tackle the issues that confront us with pride in who we are.

Ally Bryan
President, DPA Tairawhiti

DPA Taranaki

Our emphasis is on networking and being a very visible part of the community. Our success in this can be seen in our involvement in community forums, expos, and encouraging and fostering self advocacy for disable people.

Many of our members are represented on various boards and committees in Taranaki. These include Taranaki District Health Board (TDHB); Post Polio New Zealand; New Plymouth District Council; Hauora Taranaki PHO; Brain Injury Trust; Te Hauora Pou Heretanga Board; and the TDHB Disability Advisory Group.

We elected Co-Presidents for this current year and Both Shirley Hazlewood and Rachel Trubnick have proved that sharing leadership can work well.

Our committee's DPA subscriptions are paid in recognition of the work undertaken throughout the year. This has proved to be an extremely successful idea over several years now.

Our Christmas luncheon was again an excellent way to get together for the last meeting of the year, and was well attended. As was our mid-year luncheon, where we invited others to join us.

We held an extremely successful Disability Strategy Day in March this year; several members attended the South Taranaki Older People's Expo in February and we held funding forums in Stratford and Hawera and a Total Mobility forum in September.

We have been invited to get involved with the development of a disability strategy for our district, in partnership with the New Plymouth District Council and the Taranaki Disability Information Centre. The project board is made up of key stakeholders in our district. It will be exciting to be working together for a more inclusive Taranaki.

Marion Wellington
Secretary, DPA Taranaki

DPA Wairarapa

While the Wairarapa region operates with only a few members we seem to be 'punching above our weight'.

The major achievement for the past year has been having DPA Wairarapa acknowledged by the Masterton District Council as the lead disability organisation.

Part of that agreement is an undertaking by the council to audit all the footpaths, pedestrian crossings and road corners in the urban area to ensure they meet requirements for disabled people to use. We have also been invited to produce a handout to go with all building permits to highlight the advantages of building disability-friendly houses.

This all came from our proposal to the council to have a district councillor appointed to liaise with DPA, which they have done.

It is now our intention to ask the South Wairarapa and Carterton District Councils to implement the same policies.

Our committee also sent invitations to disability groups to become involved with DPA Wairarapa. There was an initial positive response, but unfortunately, despite further invitations, the numbers attending committee meetings fell back to the committed few.

Two members of the committee also attend the bi-monthly meetings of the Wairarapa District Health Board's Disability Advisory Committee. Our views are sought on many issues.

We hope that in the next twelve months our meetings will be better attended. Our local daily newspaper, the Wairarapa Times Age is publishing the dates and times of the meetings for free.

Steve Anderson
Secretary, DPA Wairarapa

DPA Wellington

Our focus in the past year has been on the health sector. Ongoing lobbying of Capital & Coast DHB culminated in the appointment of Paul Gibson as Senior Disability Advisor. We have also obtained permission to put DPA brochures in all hospital waiting rooms to let the public know we exist and to offer advocacy to disabled people.

We lobbied for input into the design of the new Wellington Regional Hospital. We will need to be vigilant, as some accessibility issues were not addressed when the hospital was built.

Some of our members are taking part in exercises to test the accessibility of hospital signage and we will be able to make recommendations to the health board.

We were also successful in getting a representative on to The Journey Forward leadership action group on mental health. Our members continue to represent DPA on various committees and disability forums across Wellington.

We are also continuing to advocate for disabled students at Victoria University.

Nathan Bond
Secretary, DPA Wellington

 

GOAL 2: Provide a coordinated, informed disability perspective at all levels of Government policy development and decision making

 

Workbridge Inc

Workbridge is an employment service for people with all types of disability, including people who have lived with the long-term effects of injury and illness.

DPA has a seat on Workbridge's Governance Council. It is currently held by Dot Wilson. She reports:

Workbridge's Vision is that every person with a disability has the same value as any other person and will contribute positively in the workplace.

Its Mission is to enable people with disabilities to participate and experience equal opportunities in the labour market.

Its Values include honesty and integrity; professionalism; respect; privacy and dignity; understanding cultural diversity; opportunity for all; commitment; collaboration.

The relationship between DPA and Workbridge continues to be strengthened with extensive collaboration occurring at both the national and local levels.

Workbridge's Governance Council works to:

Key issues going forward:

Opportunities:

DPA member is Workbridge's new CEO

Grant Cleland, long-serving DPA member, has been appointed CEO of Workbridge, replacing Ruth Teasdale. Coming from a background in project management, training, mentoring, advocacy, group facilitation, research and strategic planning, Grant has much to offer the role, including his lived experience of disability.

Association of Supported Employment New Zealand (ASENZ)

ASENZ provides a high profile forum for the promotion, establishment and development of Supported Employment Services (SE) for people with disabilities in New Zealand, through information, networking, research and policy advocacy.

DPA has a seat on the ASENZ Board and David Corner has been our representative since 2004. Ian Harper, ASENZ Executive Officer, writes:

This has been a significant year for the ASENZ board and for Supported Employment. There has been a change of Government, a world recession and the proposal to establish a 'peak body' for disability support providers, among other issues. These have all impacted on ASENZ strategically or operationally.

We have risen to the challenges and David has certainly contributed to our efforts. He is the longest serving ASENZ board member. His most significant contribution continues to be his practical and occasionally challenging viewpoints on many aspects of the board's activities.

David has contributed a vital consumer perspective to the board, as he is not representative of an organisation or agency that specifically provides Supported Employment. This, along with his DPA focus, ensures that the board does not lose sight of the importance of involving all key people in developing the Supported Employment industry.

As well as providing valuable contributions to the meetings, David's attendance record is unsurpassed. This is highly commendable and contributes greatly to the consistency of the meetings. He has also always been a keen contributor to the ASENZ conference.

The ASENZ board considers it a privilege to have as a member a representative from DPA, and we are encouraged by the commitment of DPA in supporting David in this important role.

Barrier Free New Zealand Trust (BFNZT)

The Trust's mission is to encourage, promote, and facilitate the creation of environments that are accessible and usable by everyone in the community, including people with disabilities and this encapsulates the concept of universal access for all people. Bill Wrightson is Access Adviser to DPA and the DPA representative on the Barrier Free New Zealand Trust. He reports:

During the year the Trust made some significant changes, the most important of which was the appointment, in January 2009, of Lorraine Guthrie as its first full-time Chief Executive Officer. This appointment consolidated the previously separate administration and education roles performed by Sheena Oughton and Julia Goebel who have moved on to advance their careers. Trustee Ross Livingstone also resigned during the year when he was appointed to the Ministry of Health.

The Trust has continued to perform its role administering the International Symbol of Access for DPA. As the member agent for Rehabilitation International (RI) in New Zealand, DPA is responsible for oversight of use of RI's symbol of access which it does through a delegated arrangement with the BFNZT.

The Trust also maintained its well-established series of seminars on access and its network of Barrier Free Advisers (BFAs).

Highlights during the year have included :

As part of the BFNZT Constitution, DPA has a permanent trustee position on the Trust, to ensure the symbol of access is responsibly administered and there is no duplication of the advocacy role of DPA on matters of access to and use of the built environment. There has been good exchange of information and views on a number of submissions made by the Trust and DPA on access matters.

The current Memorandum of Understanding between DPA and BFNZT is being upgraded.

DPA remains keen to ensure that the Trust, in its education and training roles, adequately represents the interests of persons with disabilities through NZS 4121:2001 as a legal minimum level of access compliance with the requirements of the Building Act 2004.

DPA looks forward to further developing our complementary roles in the year ahead.

DPA input:

DPA's effort during the year has focused mainly on the matter of back-country huts.

In last year's DPA Annual Report, the following comment was made :

"From DPA's point of view it is also vital that both we and the BFNZT maintain our vigilance to ensure that the no exemptions regime, under which the access requirements have operated since they were first introduced in 1975, is not diluted in any way by future proposed amendments to either the Building Act 2004 or the Building Code."

Despite our conscientious submission writing, our vigilance and protestation to DBH, the back-country huts issue has resulted in the first major erosion of the 'no exemption' regime for guaranteeing access, since it began 40 years ago. DPA is extremely disappointed by the approach taken by DBH towards ensuring adequate disability representation in the consultation process and its lack of genuine engagement with our concerns.

Office for Disability Issues

The Office for Disability Issues is responsible for promoting the implementation of the New Zealand Disability Strategy, and monitoring actions to enable the participation and inclusion of disabled people in our society.

The Office's Disability Advisory Council is a consultative forum of disabled people and their families/whanau to the Office for Disability Issues.

DPA has appointed two people to the Council, Beverley Grammer and Brendon Murray.

Beverley Grammer represents people whose impairment is non-injury related. She writes:

I was very pleased to be appointed the chairperson of the Disability Advisory Council, following the end of term for previous chairman Murray Peat. We have had three meetings as a council since this appointment.

We sadly lost DPA appointee Eamon Daly and the Council spent some time paying tribute to Eamon. His place has been taken by Brendon Murray to provide the perspective of someone with an acquired disability.

The Council has been involved in:

We have been challenged by assisting the new Government to prioritise work plans in a time of economic difficulties.

The biggest issue I believe we are facing as a Council and as disabled people is implementing and monitoring the UN Convention in a real and meaningful way to ensure that the experiences of disabled people in New Zealand are included.

Disability Support Services

Former DPA President Mike Gourley is DPA's representative on the Disability Support Services strategic plan implementation reference group. He writes:

I have attended two meetings as the representative of DPA on the implementation reference group: in December last year, and July 2009.

Purpose of the group
The purpose of the group is to advise the Ministry of Health on what vision and priorities for action should guide the development of their strategic plan for disability support services (DSS). The plan is being developed to help the ministry improve support services to disabled people and to help the ministry work across Government more effectively.

The ministry says its strategic plan should be guided by the principles of the New Zealand Disability Strategy, by the recommendations of the parliamentary Social Services Select Committee and by feedback from consumer forums.

Planning in workstreams
Development of the strategic plan has led to four separate workstreams:

Information; Flexibility (DPA/People First's Graeme Parish is a participant in this workstream - he is able to speak about his own experience); Workforce (comprising mostly provider groups); Families (families will be more involved in decision making).

Increased representation
At the first meeting I attended, I argued successfully for the appointment of another person to represent disabled people. With the support of Hilary Stace from the ministry's Consumer Consortium, it was agreed that People First be asked to nominate a representative. They selected Graeme Parish. Graeme has attended both meetings in 2009.

Key issues:

Progress made

GOAL 3: Provide an avenue for the collective voice of disabled people within New Zealand

International Relations

DPA is the New Zealand affiliate to Rehabilitation International (RI). RI is a global and diverse organisation, bringing together expertise from different sectors in the disability field; advancing and implementing the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities.

In order for RI to carry out its work effectively, it has established topic-specific Commissions.

DPA's Anne Hawker is RI President. She writes:

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the most significant landmark in the international disability community. It recognises that disabled people have the same rights as every other citizen. The Convention sets out clear obligations on the signatory States to ensure that disabled people can enjoy those rights and fully participate in the social, economic and political life of their community.

New Zealand ratified the Convention on 26th September 2008. Like the rest of the world, we are looking at strategies and best practice to implement the Convention. This is crucial for the potential contained in the words to be turned into reality. RI has been working over the last year to finalise its strategic plan. Four key external goals have been identified:

Each of the seven RI commissions - Education; Work and Employment; Recreation and Leisure; Social; Service and Policy; Health and Function; and ICTA, along with the six regions: Arab nations, Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America, have been asked to identify what they see as their priorities over the next five years. This will be used as the basis of reporting to the membership.

Actively keeping the membership informed of activities has been an important goal, recognised at the last Assembly meeting and something that both staff and Executive have been working on. Two important activities that have occurred are: the production on a monthly basis of the Monday Mail. National Secretaries (DPA's CEO is New Zealand's National Secretary) receive copies of this. The second activity has been updating the website so that it is more informative and interactive. Both the Monday Mail and the website are important tools in keeping the membership informed on progress with the ratification of the Convention and activities around its implementation.

Major activities have included:

A recent fundraiser in New York was centred on the theme of women and children. Munira Mutawa and Charlotte McLean were the inaugural winners of the Harry Fang Award in recognition of their work with women and children. This also provided the opportunity to launch the new RI video clip which provides important messages around both work with women and children and disability rights in general.

In carrying out its work, RI recognises the need to establish strong and effective partnerships. This has included a Memorandum with Disability Rights Promotion International (DRPI) around monitoring the UN Convention, especially using disabled people as experts; and discussions with G31CT around accessible technology. Other partnerships are being developed and this is a growing aspect of our work.

RI is committed to ensuring that all people are able to realise their rights, and this includes a potential project in the Pacific. A very exciting new venture is that RI has been given funds to provide a single point of contact to coordinate all activity around the implementation of the Convention. This online resource will be fully accessible.

Wendy Neilson, DPA President, is the DPA representative for Rehabilitation International's Education Commission. She reports:

The mission statement of the RI Education Commission is to promote the rights and opportunities for children and youth with disabilities and facilitate the provision of integrated service with a holistic approach to enable their participation in quality inclusive education.

I am the East Asian and Pacific chair for this Commission. I am in frequent contact with the Commission and provided input into their four-year plan, as summarised below.

Ongoing activities:

Short-term activities:

Mid-term activities:

Long-term activities:

New Zealand issues

The current Government has raised some concerns about inclusive education. The National Party stated very clearly that they felt the decision to place children in an inclusive education environment was the choice of the parent and as a consequence they have proceeded to provide segregated learning opportunities. This move is seen as a retrograde step by DPA and contradicts the New Zealand Disability Strategy, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and past and current research on this topic.

As a trainer of teachers I am concerned that inclusive education is still not a compulsory topic in many training establishments throughout New Zealand. This was a strong recommendation in Cathy Wylie's report (2000) and noted as a mid-term goal for the RI Education Commission plan (refer above).

Pacific Disability Forum (Vanuatu)

When I attended this conference, one of the most concerning things I encountered was to find that for many of the island nations, education was not compulsory or free, in fact for those who had been schooled they had had to pay for this privilege. For some, this payment for education had come from organisations such as the Red Cross or other international service groups. Education is enlightenment and knowledge and in our IT-focused world the need to be able to read and do maths is essential for the future. For people with disability, education is a doorway to independence and employment. For many in the island nations, people with disabilities are at the bottom of the educational heap. As we mature and go forward with the UN Convention as a framework, my desire is that island people with disabilities will get the right and opportunity to get an education that will take them to their full potential. I challenge us here in New Zealand DPA to help them to achieve this dream!

DPA members Robyn Hunt and Bill Wrightson are commissioners representing New Zealand on RI's ICTA (International Commission on Technology and Accessibility). They report:

Introduction

New Zealand has seen a good deal of activity over the past year in relation to technology and the built environment.

Developments in web and mobile phone technology continue apace. Both Telecom and New Zealand's third independent cellphone company, Two Degrees, can now accommodate the assistive technology used by blind and vision impaired people.

Pressure is growing for increased captioning of television for deaf and hard of hearing people and for the introduction of audio description for television and theatre for blind and vision impaired people. New Zealand is some way behind other western countries in this respect.

Web 2.0 continues to create both opportunities and barriers for disabled people who wish to participate in social networking and to post to YouTube, for example.

Video Relay Service (VRS)

NZ Relay is running a six-month trial of this service. VRS enables users who use sign language to communicate via videoconferencing with a Video Interpreter (VI) through the internet or Video Phone. The VI then interprets/relays the signed conversation over the phone - in real time - to the hearing caller.

By using sign language over the full motion video, this allows the sign language user to fully express themselves in their natural language and convey facial expressions and visual cues, to ensure nothing gets 'lost in the translation'.

NZ Relay developments

Speech to speech is now a permanent feature of NZ Relay, although still with some limitation on hours.

Relay services can be accessed by mobile phone and the internet.

Deaf, hearing impaired and people with speech impairments can access the services of Inland Revenue using NZ Relay.

Information about NZ Relay can be found at www.nzrelay.co.nz/

Banks and technology

Trading banks are increasingly offering talking ATM services which are accessible to blind and vision impaired people. They are also starting to address issues around using the Relay service.

Government web standards

Government web standards have been reviewed and conform more closely with WCAG 2, the international accessibility standards.

Robyn represented DPA on the web standards working group during development of and the review of the mandatory Government web standards. That group has now completed its work. The Government web standards can be found at www.webstandards.govt.nz/

Accessible public land transport

Planning is well advanced to upgrade the Wellington urban transport system, including redesign of carriages and upgraded stations. This includes electronic info-displays and announcements. Half of the carriages will be replaced by new carriages being built in Korea.

The Human Rights Commission is reviewing the progress towards making all public land transport services accessible to disabled people and has surveyed disabled people's experience of using public land transport services. It is now three years since the Commission published the Accessible Journey report. The Commission's review also sought information from the report's original submitters, regional and local government, Central Government agencies, public transport providers and professional associations.

In January 2009, the successful collaborative Hamilton Accessible Journey trial was evaluated and resulted in seven recommendations for improvement. The report and more information on accessible transport can be found at www.hrc.co.nz

DPA's National Policy Researcher, Wendi Wicks, writes:

After a period where many became used to a particular style of 'rules of engagement', a new administration has brought changes in that style. This means that DPA has to find different ways of engaging with the Government, and of carrying out our policy work.

Some examples of this are: visits to ministers are less common; Select Committees have changed names and functions; consultation periods are shorter; and lower numbers of staff in Government departments means that knowledge and awareness of disability underpinnings may not be present to the same extent as previously, if at all.

There is concern that our work will need to include guarding against erosion of gains for disabled people, however in some areas such as disability and violence and disabled Maori, there are promising indications for progress. How we engage in constructive collaboration and avoid having to re-litigate issues will be a key matter for policy in the year ahead.

 

GOAL 4: Take an active role in the monitoring of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the New Zealand Disability Strategy and any other legislation, policies, treaties and practices that impact upon the lives of disabled people

 

A DPA perspective on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - and its future

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities came into force in May 2008, and the New Zealand Government (with cross-party support) ratified the Convention in September 2008 after amending various laws to ensure consistency. Ratification binds the Government to the Convention - to recognise the rights of disabled people to lead lives of our choosing and to support us to achieve this.

The Government signalled ratification with the Disability Bill, which saw various laws amended to ensure consistency with the UN Convention. The amendments removed outdated references to disabled people and made explicit certain obligations in the Human Rights Act regarding accommodating the needs of disabled people.

Speaking in Parliament on the passage of the Bill, the then Minister for Disability Issues, Hon Ruth Dyson said: "New Zealand has made significant progress. However, there's still more work required before we can provide a fully inclusive society for disabled people. The Convention is a useful tool to help us in this work, and to ensure all New Zealanders enjoy their rights of citizenship and lead highly valued and productive lives."

Gary Williams, DPA's CEO, gave a speech in Parliament on the eve of the ratification and while acknowledging that the Convention is a fantastic achievement, and represents a paradigm shift from thinking of disabled people as recipients of services to people with rights on the same basis as others, he cautioned: "The text of the Convention was created by disabled people talking about real life experiences that the UN turned into a one-dimensional text. Implementation of the Convention means taking the text again and turning it into multi-dimensional outcomes. Its implementation cannot be an impersonal tick-the-box exercise, but a real attempt to support disabled people to have our human rights and fundamental freedoms met." The Convention in New Zealand will be able to highlight progress - or the lack of it - in implementing the New Zealand Disability Strategy.

Overall, the Convention has a number of themes, including community inclusion, changing attitudes and accessibility. It has no new rights for disabled people. The rights protected by the Convention are:

Anne Hawker, former DPA President and now President of Rehabilitation International, emphasised the need for everyone to know the eight guiding principles that underlie the Convention:

Professor Gerard Quinn, who helped develop the Convention, cautions about the risk of complacency following the euphoria of achieving the Convention. For example - the optional protocol allowing for individual cases to be taken to the International Committee. These cases will need to be strong, he says, because if they fail they will undermine the Convention. Anne agrees with Gerard that we need to have creative policy and service solutions and reiterates that we need to find ways to ensure the Convention is valued and is not tokenistic. She also talks about understanding situations and having more than one approach to them in our toolkit. "We need to continue to develop a mature approach to resourcing. We had a great collaborative approach to resourcing around the disability sector with the census disability question in New Zealand," says Anne. We also need disabled people telling their stories; powerful stories are a great way to inspire and motivate people. This will enable us to reach out to everyone and not just preach to the converted - ourselves!

On a speaking visit to New Zealand in February 2009, when he met with DPA as well as addressing Parliament, Professor Quinn reinforced that disabled people must be consulted regarding implementation of the Convention.

Professor Quinn indicated that there will always be a gap between an international law that a country may have ratified and the legal reality on the ground. Implementing the Convention, he said, is about closing this gap. To do this, the public at large need to be informed so that they can support it. Only then will the political intent be there for implementation.

'Promote', 'Protect' and 'Monitor' are what Professor Quinn suggested to do to ensure that the Convention is implemented. This is not dissimilar to the way the New Zealand Disability Strategy is monitored and protected.

Professor Quinn said that since this is an international Convention, the different countries who are signatories to it will implement and monitor it in different ways. Because of these variations, there has been recognition that some international coordination is needed and so a Conference of States Parties has been set up to monitor this. It will meet on a regular basis and New Zealand will have representation. Unfortunately the deputation for the first meeting of the States Parties from New Zealand did not include disabled representation!

DPA Policy Researcher Wendi Wicks says: "One of the most outstanding triumphs of the now-ratified UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is that it gives a concrete example of the advantages to Governments of working in true partnership with disabled people. Disabled people were part of writing this Convention and the speed with which it was completed (not to mention the all-of-Parliament party support it achieved in New Zealand), shows how good a partnership model it is. We want to continue to apply and strengthen this approach."

Finally, as Professor Quinn says, it will not be the Government that will be driving this Convention here in New Zealand but disability rights organisations such as DPA that currently have input into disability issues. So, for the Convention to succeed here, we must take action.

The Social Services Select Committee inquiry into the quality of care and service provision for people with disabilities:

In September 2008, Parliament's Social Services Committee presented its report. The inquiry found that overall, "the provision of disability services lacks direction and leadership, services are variable throughout the country, and significant systemic problems have developed unchecked". Also, "...although people with disabilities make up a significant proportion of the New Zealand population, their needs have frequently been marginalised and neglected". In particular, the New Zealand Disability Strategy had not been effectively implemented. It was a focus of the Committee to report on the adequacy of services to enable people with disabilities to lead independent lives.

The report acknowledged the positive changes in legislation affecting people with disability since 1993, but found that the absence of Government accountability for the disability sector and the provision of disability services were proving damaging. "Without the establishment of a single, overarching entity with responsibility and accountability for the disability sector, we are concerned that the required changes may not be achieved," said the report.

Another area for concern expressed in the report was that people with disabilities "often feel they have little control over the services they receive, and funding is relatively inflexible". Also, although the large institutions that used to dominate the disability sector have been abolished, hundreds of miniature institutions have since sprung up "where people with disabilities still have little say over their daily lives".

The Committee expressed its dismay in the report that monitoring and auditing of disability service providers mostly fail to consider the quality of life offered to people with disabilities who receive services and do not seek feedback from staff, residents, or residents' families.

The Committee considered that advocacy services for people with disabilities need to be expanded and expressed concern about working conditions in care and support services in the disability sector, noting in particular that something needs to be done about unreliable and abusive staff. The Committee also believed that improvements in the disability sector should be monitored by Parliament.

Summary of the key recommendations contained in the report

...and the new Government's response

In February 2009, the new National-led Government announced that its response to the Select Committee's report would be the establishment of a Ministerial Committee on Disability Issues, comprising the Ministers of Finance, Justice, Health, Education, and Transport and Associate Ministers of Education and Disability Issues, with other ministers called in from time to time.

We can't let things go backwards!

Our President has publicly described this committee as "window dressing", because the genuine engagement of disabled people, not to mention all political parties involved in making the report, has been dismissed. DPA has made representations that the committee lacks representation from the Labour and Economic Development portfolios - key areas of inequality for disabled people; and the proposals of disabled people themselves, including the recommendation for an independent Disability Commissioner, had been rejected out of hand. Some light in the tunnel has come in the appointment of Hon Tariana Turia as Minister for Disability Issues; we have worked with Tariana previously on the UN Convention.

We need to make this Government understand that they must include people with disability in decision making about disabled people's lives - "nothing about us, without us"!