Briefing to the Incoming Minister for Disability Issues 2020

COVID-19 shone a light on many good things in the disability sector and highlighted that some things still need to be done. There is an opportunity to build on responses to concerns about the impacts of COVID-19 on disabled people through enhancements to the Disability Action Plan work programmes.

Online platforms and digital services provided opportunities for some disabled people, and increased barriers for others.

The positives noted in ODI surveys and through anecdotal feedback included:

• increased flexibility of services, and community-based support
• having more time with family and less time with inaccessible transport
• designated supermarket shopping times and more access to the Total Mobility scheme, funded by the New Zealand Transport Agency.

The difficulties and challenges noted focused on:

• the accessibility of COVID-19 communications and information
• access to PPE, particularly for services provided in a person’s home
• increased reliance on others for shopping and community access
• increased fear of exposure for those with elevated risk levels
• mask wearing and the process to establish exemptions when required.

Disabled New Zealanders are not a homogenous group

There are many ways in which a disabled person may identify as disabled, and there are different ways in which people may experience disability. Many disabled people experience multiple forms of disability.

The New Zealand Disability Strategy explains that disability is something that happens when people with impairments face barriers in society. It is society that disables people, not people’s impairments.

The disability community is a priority population to be considered in policy and service development alongside other priority population groups, such as Māori, Pacific peoples, children, seniors, women, people who are gender diverse, veterans, rural communities and ethnic communities.

In the 2013 New Zealand Disability Survey, 1.1 million New Zealanders (24 percent of New Zealand’s population) identified as being disabled, meaning they identified that they have some form of long-lasting impairment.

Every person is unique, and even if a person has the same impairment as someone else, that person may experience different opportunities and barriers because of where they live and how they are treated by people around them. The time and context in a disabled person’s life when they may acquire their impairment(s) also informs what barriers or opportunities they may experience. This social model (as opposed to a medical model) of disability is embodied in the UNCRPD. It promotes a human rights perspective being consistently applied and sees progress being achieved through policies and services that are designed to work for all.

Some disabled people face compounded issues and discrimination with intersecting forms of discrimination and disadvantage, as other identity factors can also impact their experience. These factors include gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, age, family responsibilities, and where they live. A disabled woman living rurally, for instance, may face three forms of discrimination.

As our population ages, the proportion of disabled New Zealanders is increasing. Disabled people are living for longer and more people have age-related impairments. Of all people aged 65 and over, 59 percent are disabled [7].

It is important to note that the impact of acquired impairments for those aged 65 and over can be less than for others as they have had time and economic resources to make adaptations relating to their impairments as they got older. 

Disability rates are higher for Māori

The 2013 Disability Survey shows that Māori have higher-than-average disability rates and that tāngata whaikaha (Māori disabled) have poorer life outcomes compared with other Māori. This is despite the younger age profile for Māori meaning they are less likely to be in the older age groups where disability is more common. The disability rate among Māori is 26 percent, compared with 24 percent for all New Zealanders. When the younger age profile of the Māori population is considered, proportionally the Māori disability rate is much higher at 32 percent [8]. Māori children under 15 years have a disability rate of 15 percent, compared to nine percent for non-Māori children.

Higher rates of impairment among Māori contribute to poorer socio-economic outcomes. Māori also have higher rates of moderate impairment related to environmental factors such as ill health, poor housing quality, or injury from more risky occupations. Other common factors for tāngata whaikaha include low income, and discrimination [9].

This highlights the need for a greater focus on Māori disabled. As Minister for Disability Issues, you have an opportunity to encourage all agencies to collect rigorous data and to include a focus on tāngata whaikaha in all initiatives targeting disabled people.

Pacific people are also more likely to experience disability

There is limited information about Pacific people’s experience of disability and few reliable sources of data. The 2013 Disability Survey found a disability rate for Pacific people of 19 percent. This figure is unusually low and may indicate underreporting.

A lower rate of reporting could also reflect differences in cultural beliefs related to disability. For instance, in the disabled people-led 2015 monitoring report, “Disability rights in Aotearoa New Zealand: Acceptance in Society”, disabled research participants from cultural minorities spoke about not always feeling accepted by their communities. This suggests they may be less likely to self-identify.

We would like to discuss these key matters with you:

• Drafting of your annual report to Parliament on the disability issues portfolio. This needs to be tabled in Parliament in mid-December 2020 [10].
• Section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the Official Information Act
• Any wider disability-related decisions that Government may consider, and any opportunities and issues you would like ODI to prioritise.
• The Accelerating Accessibility programme has been the responsibility of the previous Minister for Disability Issues. It will be important to confirm that this work programme, which is of potential significant benefit for disabled people and others, remains in the Disability portfolio.
• engaging with key stakeholders to establish or strengthen relationships, or to drive work programme priorities (we can provide you with advice on this)
• Section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the Official Information Act
• convening the Ministerial Leadership Group on Disability Issues meeting on 9 December 2020, bringing together key Ministers to meet with the IMM. You may also consider a process for government officials to meet the IMM in early 2021
• Section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the Official Information Act
• Section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the Official Information Act
• participating in the election of members to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in New York City in December 2020 [11]; deferred from June 2020 due to COVID 19. The elections may occur virtually rather than in person, or the current membership may be extended into 2021.

Other activities you may wish to undertake include:

The impact of growing demand for ODI advice

The ODI team has experienced a significant increase in demand for expertise and advice across government on disability matters, and we must carefully prioritise our project commitments and contributions, beyond providing advice, across the public sector. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet also now requires all policy cabinet papers to consider disability issues.

Shifting the paradigm/settings

There is an expectation that disabled people should increasingly lead and provide stewardship for disability services. They seek choice and control by disabled people for disabled people to inform the direction of travel for disability policy and services.

Appendix 1 – ODI’s current work programme

You have ministerial direction over the ODI work programme. We look forward to discussing the current core priorities and focus areas with you.

Servicing the Minister for Disability Issues and government

• Leading cross-government reporting on the UNCRPD and supporting Sir Robert Martin’s re-election to the UNCRPD Committee.
• Overseeing implementation and reporting on the New Zealand Disability Strategy through the Disability Action Plan.

Supporting cross-government progress on disability issues

• Amplifying the voice of disabled people within government through the sharing of data, the promotion of effective engagement, and the provision of feedback, particularly on work programme progress and Cabinet papers.
• Providing secretariat support for the Ministerial Leadership Group on Disability Issues, Chief Executives Group on Disability Issues, Disability Data and Evidence Working Group, NZSL Board and other groups.
• Providing advice to our Chief Executive, and secretariat support to the Chief Executives Group on Disability Issues.
• Responding to requests from agencies on policy work and participating in advisory groups, including the Caring for Communities programme within the COVID-19 All-of-Government Response Group.
• Supporting local authorities to accelerate progress on their accessibility policies and work programmes.
• Maintaining a disability nominations database connecting disabled candidates to state-sector governance boards.

Providing sector leadership

• Providing secretariat support for the NZSL Board.
• Preparing communications, media releases, speeches, social media posts, newsletters and stakeholder engagement.
• Managing contracts and supporting the DPO Coalition and agency engagement - giving voice to disabled people and raising the profile of disability issues, including delivery for tangata whaikaha, Māori disabled people.
• Planning for the 2021 International Disability Leadership Initiative conference.
• Hosting international delegations wanting to learn about how New Zealand progresses disability issues.

Supporting i.Lead, a national disabled youth network providing advice to government agencies.

Appendix 2 - Key contacts for the Office for Disability Issues

Office for Disability Issues

Brian Coffey, Director

Section 9(2)(a) of the Official Information Act

Section 9(2)(a) of the Official Information Act, Manager

Section 9(2)(a) of the Official Information Act

MSD Policy

Julia Bergman, General Manager, Disability Seniors and International Policy

Section 9(2)(a) of the Official Information Act

Section 9(2)(a) of the Official Information Act, Manager, Disability Policy

Section 9(2)(a) of the Official Information Act

Appendix 3 - DPO Coalition Briefing to the Incoming Minister

August 2020

DPO Coalition

by email: us-dpo@groups.io

 

Dear Minister,

The Disabled People’s Organisations (DPO) Coalition is the agency for direct access to the collective and informed voice of disabled people for input and advice into Government policy and decision-making. The focus of the DPO Coalition is full achievement of disability rights in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is not about prioritising the rights, it's about setting plans and timeframes to achieve them. Including the voice of disabled people is crucial in ensuring that advice to Government is informed by the people for whom it has the most impact. Our seven member organisations are all led by disabled people. We strongly adhere to the principle of 'nothing about us, without us'.

The DPO Coalition is ready to work with you to continue New Zealand’s progress on disability rights to meet its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

Our partnership with Government is required by Article 4.3 of the UNCRPD. We also provide independent Disabled People Led Monitoring under Article 33.

Maintaining relationships – the DPO Coalition has worked well with successive governments through strong partnership relationships with Ministers and across government agencies. We are proud of the significant progress achieved during the last parliamentary term including: the NZ Disability Strategy; Disability Action Plan 2019-23 covering all government agencies; Accessibility Charter signed by 39 of the 40 government agencies. Government has delivered progress across a wide range of difficult issues. Momentum needs to be maintained. The United Nations General Comment #7 provides a useful guide.

Choice and control – significant progress has been made over the last several years in advancing choice and control for disabled people in their disability supports and services through the Enabling Good Lives principles and its demonstration pilots, including the Mana Whaikaha prototype. Another Disability Action Plan work programme has been looking at the machinery of government for disability supports and services. Together the DPO Coalition and Government can design a disability support system that ensures the human rights, self-determination and dignity of disabled people.

Supported decision-making – this is a key enabler of choice and control. Good work has been done, and this needs to be taken up across Government and promoted throughout New Zealand society.

Health and Wellbeing – our work across government agencies has highlighted the importance of coordination to deliver value for disabled people. The COVID-19 response has reinforced this, and we have an opportunity to accentuate coordination going forward. The DPO Coalition believes that now is the right time to move to a Disability agency to coordinate all government services for disabled people. Unfortunately, the Health and Disability System Review has not engaged well with disabled people and has missed the opportunity to explore this. The DPO Coalition has raised serious concerns that the Review’s recommendations are inconsistent with the Government’s obligations under the UNCRPD and undermine the progress being made on choice and control. It further risks re-medicalising disability as a health issue and undoing many years of hard-won work to have disability seen as a human rights issue and not a health or medical issue. The disability sector continues to call for a nationally consistent and coordinated disability support system separate from the health system. The Review’s recommendations need to be reconsidered with respect to disabled people.

Housing – our Disabled People Led Monitoring Report Housing in New Zealand – My Experiences, My Rights provides evidence on disabled people’s experiences with housing and proposes a way forward. It is critical that Government considers this report and shows leadership through policy change, housing standards, and its investment in public housing.

Employment – it is positive to see Government showing leadership in employment of disabled people. Reasonable accommodations are becoming part of the employment relationship rather than being seen as additional. Much more needs to be done to achieve equal opportunity across all employers. Awareness raising, education, training and support will be required.

Transport – many disabled people rely on access to public transport and footpaths in order to participate in society. Challenges remain in balancing access for disabled people with other users of the transport system (such as e-scooters). The DPO Coalition has good engagement with the Transport agencies and this needs to continue.

Education – inclusive education has been a legal requirement in New Zealand since 1989 but has not been achieved. The DPO Coalition has released a definition of Inclusive Education and this needs to be fully reflected in the future direction for education. There has been good engagement with the Ministry and with the various education reviews.

Mental Health – the recommendations of He Ara Oranga need to be implemented including the repeal and replacement of the Mental Health Act and elimination of seclusion and restraint. Progress has been made, but there is much more to do.

Justice – disabled people’s experience of the justice system is poor due to lack of awareness and training. There are many examples where issues could have been avoided. Work to improve the ‘journey through justice’ has been very slow and focus is needed to address this.

Taxation – there is opportunity to improve how the tax system contributes to the all-of-government work on disability rights. There has been limited attention to this in the past and there are some significant anomalies. The DPO Coalition wants to address these issues to improve the lives of disabled people.

Accessibility Legislation – work on Accessibility Legislation needs to continue so that New Zealand can ensure that all legislation is consistent with and upholds disability rights.

Information – data and evidence are enablers of all government activity on disability rights. Disability data is recognised as poor and useful work has begun to address this. Failures in the 2018 Census have compounded the problem however. Data and evidence need to remain a core focus of the Government.

Access to Parliament – Parliament should be an exemplar in access for disabled people in all respects including: information; the precinct, engagement with parliamentary processes; and archives. Progress has been slow and there is opportunity for the incoming Government to commit to addressing this.

Advocacy – the DPO Coalition and its member DPOs advocate for disabled people. The United Nations expects Governments to support their DPOs and ensure that they are sustainably resourced. While there has been short-term Government funding for the DPO Coalition, medium-term sustainability has not been addressed and member DPOs also remain financially fragile. A medium to long term financial commitment from Government is required to enable the voice of disabled people to be sustainable and to deliver maximum value.

Thank you for receiving our advice. We look forward to meeting with you.

Appendix 4 - NZSL Board Briefing to the Incoming Minister

Who are we

The New Zealand Sign Language Board was established in 2015 as a Government Advisory Board to provide monitoring, leadership, advice and co-ordination on the maintenance and promotion of NZSL. Current membership of the NZSL Board is: Rhian Yates (Chair), Catherine Greenwood (Deputy Chair), David Brown, Natasha Cloete, Angela Sew Hoy, Haamiora Sam TeMaari and Rachel Turner.

Our role

We are the caretakers of the NZSL Strategy (2018-2023), adopted by Government in September 2018. The Strategy is based on international language planning principles, identifying priorities to maintian and promote NZSL as a vulnerable language.

Data gathering and regular reporting are essential for monitoring progress against the Strategies priorities: Acquisition, Use/Access, Attitude, Documentation, Status. Draft indicators will be discussed by the end of 2020 with key Government agencies who have the largest potential to promote and maintain NZSL. These are the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health and Ministry for Social Development.

What’s important to us

The NZSL Board priorities that involve working with Government agencies, include:

1. Access to education in NZSL and opportunties for Deaf children to learn and use NZSL with their peers.
2. Access to Te Ao Māori for Māori Deaf to engage as Tangata Whenua alongside their whanaū, hapu and iwi.
3. Determing the effectiveness of the NZSL Act 2006 to maintain and promote NZSL. Idenfiying ways to align the Act with the Strategy could enhance the daily experiences of NZSL users, while increasing recognition of the language and increased accessbility to public sector information.

We would appreciate your support to help us progress these priorities, especially with the Ministry of Education and Te Puni Kōkiri (Ministry for Māori Development).

Appendix 5 – Key disability-related stakeholders

The Independent Monitoring Mechanism: The IMM was established in accordance with Article 33 of the UNCRPD, which requires governments to establish an independent mechanism to promote, protect and monitor the implementation of the UNCRPD. The IMM consists of the DPO Coalition, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Human Rights Commission.

Human Rights Commission: In 2017, Paula Tesoriero was appointed as the first dedicated Disability Rights Commissioner under the Human Rights Act 1993 and was reappointed in 31 July 2020 for five years.

Office of the Ombudsman: Peter Boshier, Chief Ombudsman.

Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner: Kevin Allan, Mental Health Commissioner and Rose Wall, Deputy Commissioner Disability.

Parliamentary Champions for Accessibility Legislation: PCAL is a cross-party group of Parliamentarians committed to ensuring New Zealand has accessibility legislation that is fit for purpose.

DPO Coalition: Article 4(3) of the UNCRPD promotes active involvement by government agencies with representative organisations of disabled people which are governed by disabled people. These are the Association of Blind Citizens New Zealand, Balance Aotearoa, Deaf Aotearoa, Disabled Persons Assembly NZ, Kāpo Māori Aotearoa, Muscular Dystrophy Association on New Zealand Inc and People First New Zealand Ngā Tāngata Tuatahi. The DPO Coalition is a key point of contact.

Key disability sector organisations: Access Alliance, Arts Access Aotearoa, Auckland Disability Law, Autism New Zealand, Barrier Free Trust, Be. Institute, Blind and Low Vision NZ, CCS Disability Action, Christchurch Earthquake Disability Leadership Group, Complex Care Group, IHC Advocacy, i.Lead Committee, Inclusive NZ, Hearing New Zealand, Lifemark, National Foundation for the Deaf, NZ Disability Support Network, Yes Disability Resource Centre. Engagement with the many other service providers and advocacy groups can be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Transformation of the disability support system: This is led by the National Co-design Group within the Ministry of Health, the National Enabling Good Lives Leadership Group, and the Mid-Central Leadership Group.

NZSL Board (see Appendix 2)

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 [1] list of member organisations is provided in Appendix 5.

[2] The IMM comprises the Office of the Ombudsman, the Human Rights Commission and Disabled Peoples Organisations (DPO) Coalition – see Stakeholder section for more information.

[3] This is accurate at the time of writing. This number may change as new programmes are added or programmes are combined.

[4] Health and Disability System Review Report https://systemreview.health.govt.nz/