March 2014
Also in this issue...
Our new website ................................................ P3
DPA hosting seminars …………………………P4
Remembering Donna-Rose McKay…………...P5
Accessibility at the 2014 elections……………P6
Review of disabled people in care…………….P7
National Policy update………………………….P7
Disability Access Review………………………P8
Celebrating the life of Dr Linda Beck………..P10
President’s Report
Government Action Plan………………………P11
Hello everybody
This is my first time writing the Bites editorial as DPA president and I’m really happy to
have the opportunity. As president I want to be available to you. I am out of town a lot,
but please feel free to contact me: brendon.murray@dpa.org.nz and I will get back to
you.
This year the National Executive Committee (NEC) met in mid-January (earlier than
usual) to do an analysis of what skills we had as a group and what additional skills we
needed. We decided that it was important to have a Pasefika voice so we asked Pati
Umaga to join us. He brings a huge network with him, including those in government
agencies. We also decided to approach Gerri Pomeroy to join us. We wanted to keep
women’s issues on the agenda and we needed someone who knows what’s
happening in the Upper North Island. Gerri is helping to bring Hamilton DPA out of
recess and she is also very involved in transport and access issues.
I am pleased to tell you that Pati and Gerri both accepted the appointments and we
look forward to working with them.
DPA’s new website is now up and running. Have a look at www.dpa.org.nz
I’m sure you will agree it looks great and gives us plenty of scope to build a real online
community. Keep checking in, reading the news and having your say.
Our Communications Co-ordinator Sally talks more about how you can use the site in
the first article of this issue.
I recommend you keep a close eye on our Policy Analyst Victoria Manning’s reports
online. She is making submissions all the time. She often needs your input and will
highlight opportunities for you to submit your views.
Sadly, Senior Kaituitui, Bronwyn Haywood, based in the Secretariat has resigned.
Bron has put her heart and soul into her position with us. By sheer will power she got
the kaituitui network up and running, developed the team and secured funding. I want
to acknowledge this considerable achievement and thank her for the passion she’s
brought to this work. Bron has a wealth of knowledge, about disability issues and
dynamics that we don’t want to lose. NEC, Rachel and I all hope she can do further
work for us without the stress of full-time hours.
We have lost several members this year. In this issue we celebrate the lives and
contributions of Dr Linda Beck and Donna-Rose McKay - disabled women whose lives
were an inspiration to us all.
I would also like to acknowledge the passing of Tom Morris (Anne Hawker’s husband).
He was a valued member of DPA. We will talk more about Tom in the next issue of
Bites.
Chris Erlbeck a long time member and office holder in eastern Bay of Plenty, also
passed away recently. Chris had multiple sclerosis. He joined DPA in 2004 and went
on to serve as treasurer for four years and sat on the committee for ten. He served on
the Regional Land Transport Committee and District Health Board’s DSAC.
Bev Gammer, our Immediate Past President, says he was a staunch advocate always
willing and able to ask the hard questions, and that he will be sadly missed by local
members.
One of my responsibilities, as President, is to help support our regions to do their
work, so if I can help in anyway, please contact me.
Best Wishes
Brendon Murray
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March 2014
Have a look at our new website
Go to www.dpa.org.nz and have a look around our new website.
We want to create a real online community by linking everybody up – our partners,
members and other disabled people. We think we have developed a place where that
can happen, so look around and participate.
What are your hot issues around employment, education, service funding, abuse and
safety, etc? Tell us by commenting in the Our Community/My Views section. We would
also appreciate hearing about any interesting websites you have found around
disability and your experiences as a disabled person. If you want to write a think piece
have a look at the Our Community section for guidelines.
The Our Community section of the site is a way you can let us know what’s on top for
you.
The site is a work in progress. As time goes on, it will become richer in terms of
accessible formats, news, your views, and resources.
Accessibility of the site
Of course we want a site that is an example of best practice in terms of accessibility. A
company called Verb built the site to that brief and design was done by a firm called
Creature, in Wellington.
To make sure it met the highest standard of accessibility we also asked a digital
accessibility expert from the Blind Foundation to check it for us.
He made recommendations and worked alongside Verb, who implemented them.
Both Creature and Verb say they have learnt a lot through this process and they are
committed to using this knowledge in future work.
Let our Communications Co-ordinator Sally Champion know how you find the site in
terms of accessibility.
Email: sally.champion@dpa.org.nz
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March 2014
DPA hosting seminars with overseas experts
In April, DPA is hosting two one-day seminars in Auckland and Wellington on a wide
range of topics alongside experts from the Executive Committee of Rehabilitation
International.
The two seminars will be open to disabled people, providers, government officials and
interested others.
The seminars will allow us to reflect on what we are doing alongside international
experts. It is an opportunity to further develop our thinking and how we translate this
into our everyday practice and get affirmation for our current practice.
Seminar Agenda
Auckland: Tuesday 15 April 9.30am – 4pm
CCS Disability Action, Kauri Room, 14 Erson Avenue, Royal Oak
Panels: Raising accessibility consciousness, Building employer confidence, Creating
an inclusive education system, Creating a level playing field for women and Including
indigenous people.
Wellington: Wednesday 16 April 9.30 – 4pm
CQ Hotel 223 Cuba Street, Wellington
Panels: Emergency preparedness partnerships, Employment as an effective
investment approach, Monitoring compliance and Effective policy setting.
We welcome your attendance. Numbers will be limited so please RSVP to
gen@dpa.org.nz as soon as possible.
About Rehabilitation International
Rehabilitation International (RI) is a membership based organisation which pursues its
global work based on decisions made by its members, RI continues being in the
forefront internationally, actively advocating for persons with disabilities.
It was established 90 years ago in 1922. RI has a very rich history and has achieved
many successes over time.
A source of disability sector news
A good source of disability sector news, albeit it from a government viewpoint, is the
Office for Disability Issues email newsletter.
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March 2014
To be added to the Office for Disability Issues' email list, send an email to:
odi@msd.govt.nz with 'subscribe' in the subject line.
Remembering Donna-Rose McKay
by Chris Ford, Dunedin Kaituitui
Donna-Rose McKay
Donna-Rose McKay, longstanding DPA member, and leader in the development of
support services for disabled students, died in Dunedin on 9 December 2013.
Donna-Rose, who lived with arthritis, fought tirelessly for a fair and inclusive world for
disabled people. As an advocate, she went into battle to get better support countless
times for disabled people, and their families.
She was best known for her work as Manager of the Disability Information and Support
Service at the University of Otago.
She developed that role from a small add-on to student services, into a full service that
supported a number of disabled students (including myself) to succeed at tertiary
study. Because of her leadership the University became a leader in the area and one of
the more accessible campuses in New Zealand. Donna-Rose mentored many other
disability support coordinator colleagues around New Zealand and worked with
Achieve, the national organisation which promotes tertiary education opportunities for
disabled people. Because of her pioneering work in this field, she was recognised
nationally and internationally.
Donna-Rose also became a well-known and respected disability community leader. She
was on the DPA Dunedin committee in the late 1990s, before becoming our local
President. She also served on a number of other committees, including CCS Disability
Action Otago, the Dunedin City Council Disability Advisory Group, and the Dunedin
Disability Information Service.
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March 2014
Donna-Rose leaves a husband, Ross, and many good friends and colleagues behind.
She will always be remembered by the disability sector and DPA for her contribution.
Any messages to Ross McKay and Donna-Rose’s family can be sent to:
Disability Information and Support Office
PO Box 56
Dunedin
Email: disabilities@otago.ac.nz
Accessibility at the 2014 elections
The Electoral Commission hopes a new telephone dictation voting service will be
available for disabled voters at the 2014 election so they can vote independently and in
secret.
Before the Electoral Commission can say for sure the new service will be ready this
year, electoral regulations need to be amended, and operational requirements for the
service finalised.
Voters will need to register for the service and the process will ensure that they can
vote without having to identify themselves to the official recording their vote.
Blind or vision impaired voters, or voters who have a physical disability, that prevents
them from casting a secret ballot, will be eligible to use the system.
Details of the new system are outlined in the recently published disability strategy
(Access 2020) put out by the Electoral Commission. The Electoral Commission has
worked closely with disability organisations over the past few years to make it easier
for people with disabilities to enrol and vote in general elections. A workshop was held
in 2013 with a number of disability organisations, to discuss accessibility initiatives.
(DPA helped set up the workshop.)
What else will be available at the 2014 general election?
 accessible voting places will be provided, and
 more variety of resources on how to take part in elections in accessible formats
will be available. There will be resources in NZSL, Plain English, Easyread, Braille
and the 2014 version of the resource for people with learning disabilities will be
further developed.
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March 2014
A copy of Access 2020 is available on the Electoral Commission’s website in PDF and
Microsoft Word format at: www.elections.org.nz/resources-learning/voters-disability
Review of disabled people in residential care finds
systemic failures
The findings of a review of Disability Support Services released at the end of last year
by Minister of Health Tony Ryall, asks why disabled people in residential care don’t
have anyone to independently oversee their safety and wellbeing.
Our Immediate Past President Beverley Grammer was part of the review team. She
says the report “Putting People First” looks at the issues from the perspective of a
disabled resident.
The report has 36 recommendations aimed at improving the systems, and processes to
ensure the safety and well-being of people with disabilities living in residential care.
These recommendations have been accepted by the Minister.
To read the report go to: www.health.govt.nz
National policy update
From Victoria Manning
At the end of last year the Secretariat wrote three submissions on government bills or
enquiries.
The inquiry into Engaging Parents in the Education of their Children
DPA looked at the issue in terms of both disabled parents and non-disabled parents and
reflected member’s views.
Our submission points included:
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March 2014
 The relevant principles of the UN Disability Convention
 Disabled parents, caregivers and family members must be able to be involved in
the education of their children, without discrimination, on an equal basis with nondisabled parents, caregivers and family members.
 Non-disabled parents and caregivers of disabled children must be fully involved in
the education of their children without discrimination and without prejudice or undue
stress.
The Human Rights Amendment Bill
Views were sought on the structure of the Human Rights Commission. Changes to the makeup of the commissioners was suggested in the bill and the public were asked to comment.
Our submission points included:
 DPA believes a dedicated and permanent Disability Rights Commissioner needs to be
established. This would ensure effective leadership of disability rights by the
Commission.
 The appointment criteria and functions of a Disability Rights Commissioner should
include specific disability related aspects, such as the need to engage with disabled
people and to promote and monitor the implementation of the UN Disability Convention.
The inquiry into the 2013 Local Elections
The inquiry into the 2013 local elections wanted feedback about whether the system and
processes worked for people.
Our submission points included:

Highlighting United Nations Disability Convention principles and measures to ensure
equal political participation for disabled people

Promoting partnerships between DPOs,local councils and DHBs

Making information about candidates more accessible

Putting independent, secret voting provisions in place for disabled people

More accessible information on local authority operations and elections, particularly on
key websites.
Disability Access Review looks at access to
buildings
Currently the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise and the Office of
Disability Issues are jointly conducting a review into access to buildings.
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March 2014
The purpose of this review is to gain a better understanding of how the requirements
relating to people with disabilities contained in the Building Act 2004 and the Building
Code are being implemented in new buildings as well as buildings that are being
altered.
You can have your say
As part of the review you are asked to provide specific examples of buildings that allow
access to the building for everyone, or that cannot be used by everyone.
If you would like to take part you can do so by using the following link to provide online
information www.examples.malatest.net or by calling 0800 002 577 to talk to Hamish
Grant from Malatest International.
All your responses will be confidential. For your examples to be included in the review
they will need to hear from you by 4 April.
Please feel free to distribute the link to others that you think might like to comment.
For more information about the review click http://www.dbh.govt.nz/disability-accessreview
This review is separate to the Building Amendment Bill which proposes to reduce
requirements for providing disability access to earthquake-prone buildings. (See more
about the Building Amendment Bill following).
The review will consist of the following steps:
 summarise the current situation
 targeted consultation with sectors involved - consultation will not be held with
the wider public
 compile findings of the consultation.
Minister Tariana Turia said in an Office for Disabilities publication, “The Government is
determined to take action to make New Zealand more accessible. We have begun to
review building access. From this we expect to see a greater emphasis on making
access a right, not something we add on, or fail to add on, later.”
The Disability Access Review is a separate process to the Building Amendment Bill.
The Building Amendment Bill
Introduced into the house in early December the Building Amendment Bill proposes to
reduce requirements for providing disability access to earthquake-prone buildings.
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At the moment it is awaiting its first reading, after which it is expected to be referred to
select committee where DPA will make a submission.
DPA is part of the Earthquake Disability Leadership Group in Christchurch which is
requesting that the Government urgently take measures to ensure full access to public
and commercial buildings for disabled people.
The groups say the building code needs to change to ensure universal access - for
disabled persons, for the elderly, for parents with prams, and everyone else.
If you want to contribute to DPA’s submission on the Building Amendment Bill, please
email: victoria.manning@dpa.org.nz
The Earthquake Disability Leadership Group has also launched a petition. Go to:
www.healthychristchurch.org.nz
Dr Linda Beck - Celebrating a life well-lived
by Pam MacNeill
Linda and her husband David
In early January a valued member of our community, Dr. Linda Beck, passed away.
Many of you will have known Linda and her husband David. She was my very dear friend and
I know a friend to many of you as well.
In this article I would like to publically acknowledge her contribution to our community.
Linda was a member of the DPA National Executive Committee (NEC) in the early 2000s and
her particular interests were human rights, equality and justice for all, and employment law.
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Of course, as a blind woman, disability equity and responsiveness were issues she cared
about deeply.
Linda was born blind in Glasgow, although, after an operation, she did achieve some partial
vision when she was four. She went to a boarding school for blind pupils in Edinburgh.
After her schooling she began studying law and she married David. They moved to Wellington
and Linda continued her studies at Victoria University.
After graduating in 1987, she worked for the State Services Commission (SSC), as the first
Mainstream Supported Employment Programme Manager.
Then she worked in the legal area of SSC and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.
A car accident in the United Kingdom left her to grapple with the further impairment of a head
injury causing short- term memory issues and chronic fatigue.
Linda and David moved to Christchurch, where Linda worked for the Human Rights
Commission, as a complaints officer and then an advocate for the office of the Health and
Disability Commissioner.
Then she went on to do further study and completed her doctorate in in 2010.
After that she became a board member of Workbridge, and the Royal New Zealand
Foundation for the Blind. And she was appointed a Member of the NZ Order of Merit in 2005.
In recent times Linda worked for the Canterbury Community Law Centre where she assisted
with the establishment of the Disability Law Service.
I’m sure you will join with me in celebrating her life. I’m sure you will agree it was a life very
well lived.
The Government Action Plan for Disability
The draft Government Action Plan for Disability (the plan for government departments through
to 2018) is with the Chief Executive of the Ministry of Social Development for sign off, due
April 8.
Rachel Noble our Chief Executive says it’s the first time the DPO’s and the Government have
worked so closely on a piece of work. She says work outlined in the plan was constrained by
a pre-set budget but she says the new working partnership was reflected by:
 the concerted effort both parties made to learn each other’s language, listen to each
other and engage in a new way
 the efforts DPOs made to make government systems less bureaucratic for disabled
people to access, and how the ideas in the DPA Agenda for Change were reflected
in the plan.
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Check out our new website www.dpa.org.nz and have
your say