Upholding citizenship incorporates the activities of many central government agencies, including independent bodies such as the Human Rights Commission and the Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner. There are three key Disability Strategy objectives in promoting citizenship:

• Encouraging and educating for an enabling society (objective 1).
• Ensuring rights for disabled people (objective 2).
• Fostering leadership by disabled people (objective 5).

The key activities in this area have been:

Human Rights Act coverage of government

• Since January 2002, government has been fully covered by the Human Rights Act 1993. This means that government policy and provisions must be in accordance with the Bill of Rights Act 1990, including its provision for freedom from discrimination on the grounds specified in the Human Rights Act (which include disability).

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

• New Zealand signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 30 March 2007. This Convention was agreed after four years of negotiations by States, where New Zealand played a lead role, including chairing the negotiations. Disabled people were involved throughout the negotiation process and were part of New Zealand’s official delegation to the negotiations at the United Nations in New York.

New Zealand Action Plan on Human Rights

• The Human Rights Commission published the New Zealand Action Plan on Human Rights in 2005, to increase the understanding of human rights issues, including disability issues, and suggesting priorities for action by government agencies.

Inquiry into accessible public land transport

• The Human Rights Commission conducted an inquiry into the issues faced by disabled people using public transport. This inquiry culminated in a report in 2005, The Accessible Journey, which made recommendations to government on how to improve disabled people’s access to public land transport.

New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006

• The New Zealand Sign Language Act became law in April 2006. The Act gives official recognition to the language and culture of the New Zealand Deaf community, establishes the right for Deaf people to use New Zealand Sign Language in legal proceedings, and provides guidelines for departments to consult with Deaf people’s representative organisations on matters affecting New Zealand Sign Language.

Repeal of the Disabled Persons Employment Promotion Act 1960

• In 2006, the Disabled Persons Employment Promotion Act 1960 was repealed. This removed a blanket exemption to the minimum wage for those disabled people employed in sheltered workshops, and ensured that those people enjoyed employment conditions available to all other New Zealand employees.

Changing public knowledge and attitudes about disabled people

• The Like Minds, Like Mine project of the Ministry of Health began a mass media advertising campaign, and education awareness raising activities carried out by consumer-led groups in 2000 to help counter stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness. While this was prior to the release of the Disability Strategy in 2001, phases two, three and four of the campaign were initiated respectively in 2001, 2003 and 2007.  The eighth Like Minds, Like Mine tracking survey was conducted in May and June 2007 and also showed that attitudes towards people with mental illness have improved.
• The Reducing Discrimination against People with Mental Illness Multi-Agency Plan 2005-2007 was developed and launched by the Mental Health Commission, the Like Minds, Like Mine programme of the Ministry of Health, the Office for Disability Issues and the Human Rights Commission, in 2004.
• In 2005, the Office for Disability Issues published Life is for Living 2005, which presented the stories of 25 New Zealanders living with disability, on its website. A hardcopy was published May 2006.
• In 2005, Sport and Recreation New Zealand (SPARC) released its No Exceptions Strategy, one aspect of which is to recognise and promote the achievements of disabled athletes as positive role models for all New Zealanders.
• During May 2007, the Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner launched a DVD Making it Easy to do the Right Thing, with accompanying training notes, to help providers understand the issues that need to be considered when working with disabled service users.

Redress for former patients of institutions

• In 2005, the government established a Confidential Forum for Former In-Patients of Psychiatric Hospitals. The Forum’s report was released in June 2007.
• In 2006, government formed the Mental Health and Intellectual Disability Service (or Frozen Funds) Charitable Trust to administer a fund, established from interest monies unclaimed by former residents of psychiatric and psychopaedic hospitals, to benefit people who have been or are users of mental health or intellectual disability services.

Development of channels for advice from disabled people

• Disabled people are increasingly recognised by government agencies as being experts on their own experience. Agencies are either setting up their own disability advisory groups, ensuring disabled people are on current advisory groups, or referring specific issues to established advisory groups. The following are examples:
• Since 2001, District Health Boards have been required by the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000 to have Disability Services Advisory Committees to advise on disability issues.
• In November 2004, the Department of Building and Housing’s Access Advisory Panel began meeting to advise the Department on access issues for disabled people.
• Since 2005, a Disability Advisory Council, made up of disabled people and their families and wha-nau appointed by disability consumer organisations, has advised the Office for Disability Issues on the implementation of the Disability Strategy.
• In 2006, the Ministry of Health established a Consumer Consortium, consisting of disabled people and families of disabled people, and providers to provide advice and input into the planning and work activities of the Ministry disability services.

Nominations services

• In November 2006, the Office for Disability Issues set up a nominations service to promote the appointment of appropriately skilled disabled people to Crown boards and committees. The Ministry of Women’s Affairs’ nominations service adds suitable women to its database from the Office for Disability Issues database, and can now choose to identify as disabled on its nominations registration form.

Capacity building

• Since 2004, the Office for Disability Issues has provided small grants to disability organisations to develop leadership skills among disabled people and family members, and to share best practice.

Score card for upholding citizenship

Positively, implementation activities by central government agencies are evident in the outcomes area of upholding citizenship. The outcomes framework developed for this review has been used to measure progress: Significant government activity is occurring to understand disability issues; there are moderate levels of activity to involve disabled people, and to remove barriers to participation; and there is some activity to maximise opportunities.

Scorecard for upholding citizenship: implementation activity
(4 point rating scale: minimal; some; moderate; significant)
Understanding issues	Significant
Involving disabled people	Moderate
Removing barriers	Moderate
Maximising opportunities	Some