DPA is pleased to have the opportunity to contribute our foreword to this progress report on the implementation of Whakanui Oranga, the New Zealand Disability Strategy.

The backdrop to this report is a global economic recession, and it is unsurprising that government agencies throughout the world are more careful with expenditure as a result. Nevertheless, initiatives which are important to address long-term imbalances should not be sacrificed for short-term fiscal gains.

As a group, disabled people already occupy a poorer, more marginalised position in society. We are keen that our position is not made worse by an under-enthusiastic approach to the New Zealand Disability Strategy’s implementation.

The World Bank estimates it costs the global economy between $US1.3 and $US1.9 trillion a year to exclude disabled people. For New Zealand, DPA estimates this cost is about $10 billion a year. This is a huge lost opportunity for our country, and it is a good illustration of what can be gained – both by disabled people and the country as a whole – by implementing the New Zealand Disability Strategy.

A further opportunity to see progress in an international context is when New Zealand presents its first report to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities next year. The report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is likely to be substantially informed by progress reports such as these. We are, like the Ministerial Committee on Disability Issues, keen to see further actions. We are also keen to see more participatory or partnership initiatives. We want the New Zealand Disability Strategy’s implementation to be the best it can be.

However, for the last eight years it has been evident the implementation of the New Zealand Disability Strategy has lacked direction. It seems that, while the very essence of the Strategy was to have a whole-of-government approach, most agencies act in a mutually exclusive way with no discernable end goal.

We call on government agencies to have budgets and timelines for the successful implementation of the Disability Strategy.

Gary Williams
Chief Executive