Part One: Office for Disability Issues and government news.
This is the Office's email update of 9 October 2008.
01: New Zealand ratifies UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
New Zealand ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 26 September 2008, Dominion Day, which itself marked a change in New Zealand’s status from a colony towards greater self determination. The instrument of ratification was deposited by Hon Phil Goff., at the UN in New York, on behalf of the Government.
For more information:
02: Accessible voting in the General Election on 8 November 2008.
Election Day is Saturday 8 November. Polling places will be open from 9am until 7pm. They will be identified as fully accessible or accessible with assistance. Accessible parking and table top voting will be available.
The list of where to vote will be available on www.elections.org.nz from 16 October or in the EasyVote pack which comes out in the week before Election Day.
If people need help when they go to vote, they can ask one of the staff at the polling place. If people need help to read or mark the ballot paper, a friend, family member or electoral official can help.
If someone has difficulty travelling to a polling place for any reason they should contact their Returning Officer who will be able to suggest options.
People who have enrolled to vote will receive an Easy Vote card. It has your details on it and makes voting easier and quicker when you vote.
http://www.elections.org.nz/voting/votingsub/easyvote-card.html
People who aren't in their electorate or who can't get to a polling place on election day can vote in advance between Wednesday 22 October and 6pm Friday 7 November.
http://www.elections.org.nz/voting/votingsub/how-to-advance.html
A brochure with the options available if you are unable to get to a polling place on Election Day is available:
Unable to get to a polling place on Election Day - [PDF - 184kb] or in large print format Unable to get to a polling place on Election Day - [PDF - 211kb]
Voting papers can be collected or posted to you. Contact the Returning Officer for your electorate if you need ballot papers to be sent to you in the mail or collected for you by someone else.
http://www.elections.org.nz/voting/votingsub/returning-officers-contact-details.html
Enrolling and voting information is available in a range of formats.
http://www.elections.org.nz/voting/votingsub/information-voters-disabilities.html
There are two DVDs:
- Get Ready and Vote at the General Election - The Easy Way: People with intellectual disabilities talk about voting.
- Enrolling and Voting at the General Election - The Easy Way: A DVD in New Zealand Sign Language.
A plain language booklet - Get Ready and Vote: The Easy Guide to Voting - [PDF - 1.31Mb]
A poster - Voting on Election Day is Easy - [PDF - 756kb] - This poster sets out the key steps involved in voting in a polling place.
Other information is available in 21 languages including New Zealand Sign Language.
http://www.elections.org.nz/news/resources/languages/sign-language.html
Braille and audio information has also been distributed through the New Zealand Foundation of the Blind.
For more information and copies of these resources:
Contact: Anna Hughes, Chief Electoral Office, Ministry of Justice
Email: anna.hughes@justice.govt.nz.
Freephone: 0800 36 76 56
Website: http://www.elections.org.nz/app/stationery
03: Employers’ Disability Network.
The Employers' Disability Network is based on a successful model introduced in the UK and Australia to support employers' understanding of people with disabilities, help more disabled people into work and improve services to disabled customers. The Employers' Disability Network has developed because:
- high numbers of disabled people remain out of work at a time of very low unemployment
- disabled people have skills, knowledge and experience to contribute to business success
- the time is right for a new approach on disability - Innovation and lasting change are possible when employers and disabled people work together
- both employers and disabled people will benefit if creating inclusive and enabling workplaces and businesses is made easier.
The Employers' Disability Network will:
- make it easier to employ and promote inclusion for disabled people
- raise awareness of the benefits of employing disabled people, equip employers with the information and knowledge they need and bring employers and disabled people together to deliver innovative projects and effect change
- move beyond awareness-raising to develop practical solutions which are reasonable for both business and disabled people
- move beyond recruitment by undertaking research and support to enable improved management processes, customer service and client relationships
- help businesses to achieve some of their priorities: skilled workers; smarter recruitment; lower staff turnover; maximized productivity; great customer service and positive social impact.
An advisory group and secretariat support from the Ministry of Social Development will be available to support employers in developing an Employers' Disability Network for New Zealand.
The Employers Disability Network has held two events, one in Auckland hosted by Michael Barnett, Auckland Chamber of Commerce, and another in Wellington hosted by Phil O'Reilly, Chief Executive Business New Zealand. Chief Executives and senior management from business, non-governmental agencies (NGOs), government and the disability sector attended.
Workbridge has been authorised by the UK Employers' Forum on Disability to adapt and circulate their booklet "Manager's Guide: a best practice approach to working with disabled employees". A limited number of copies have been printed and are available on request.
For copies of the booklet:
Contact: Nigel Jeffcoat
Email: nigelj@workbridge.co.nz
Phone: 0508 858 858 extension 426
Fax: 04 913 6432
Website: http://www.workbridge.co.nz
04: “With Support I can” Ministry of Health Disability Services DVD.
The Ministry of Health have produced a DVD on its disability support services. The DVD contains five featured films covering visual, hearing, physical and intellectual impairment and caring for a disabled child. The films show what it is like to live with a disability and the impact getting support can make.
The DVD includes an audio prompt menu and captioning plus English, NZ Sign Language, Maori, Cook Island, Samoan and Tongan language options, and is supported by a range of fact sheets on eligibility and services.
You can view the DVDs online at: :
http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexmh/disability-news-videos
For more information on services:
Email: disability@moh.govt.nz
For copies of the DVD:
Contact: Julz Britnell
Phone: 04 496 2001
Freephone: 0800 DSD MOH (373 664)
05: Home Equity Release: Code of Practice.
The Home Equity Release Code of Practice provides protections for older people considering drawing on the equity in their homes to meet essential and lifestyle needs. The Code itself provides information that is of interest and assistance to people considering a home equity loan.
The Code of Practice can be downloaded from the Office for Senior Citizens' website which includes Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the scheme.
For more information:
Contact: Office for Senior Citizens
Postal: PO Box 1556 Wellington
Phone: 04 916 3758
Fax: 04 916 3778
Email: osc@msd.govt.nz
Website: http://wwww.osc.govt.nz
06: Legal Services Agency Public Advisory Committee member vacancy.
The Legal Services Agency are looking for members that are able to represent the interests of people with disabilities (across the full range of disabilities), consumers or Maori at a national level.
The Public Advisory Committee (PAC) provides the Legal Services Agency with advice on the services funded or provided by the Agency, and about gaps in service provision and possible new services. Members are drawn from communities across New Zealand.
The Legal Services Agency is a Crown Entity with a purpose of helping people gain access to justice.
Committee members of PAC consider policy and discussion papers and submit responses, keeping contact with relevant individuals and organisations representing their community of interest. Members attend five full-day PAC meetings annually in Wellington. Members are paid per meeting day and for up to eight hours work a month. Reasonable travel costs for attending meetings in Wellington are also paid for.
Applications close 30 October 2008.
For more information:
Email: recruiter@lsa.govt.nz for a description of the role.
07: Child Disability Advisors, Child Youth and Family.
Child, Youth and Family is recruiting Child Disability Advisors to support social worker's to effectively manage the disability needs of children and young people who have been abused, neglected, or are in the youth justice system. The role will require the person to be a recognised expert on disability services, have excellent networks, be skilled at building positive relationships in an interagency environment, and proven negotiation and influencing skills.
There are three vacancies for positions based in the Northern (Auckland and Northland), Midlands (Waikato and Bay of Plenty areas), and Southern (South Island) areas.
There will also be a National Advisor Child Disability position based in Wellington. This role is a senior role which will require the person to lead the strategic direction of Child, Youth and Family's disability focus providing thought leadership, subject matter expertise, and manage interagency relationships.
Applications close 16 October 2008.
For more information:
Contact: Rachel Wood, Human Resources, Ministry of Social Development
Phone: 04 918 9582
Email: Rachel.Wood018@msd.govt.nz
Website: http://careers.msd.govt.nz
08: Health and Disability Sector Working Group elections: Call for nominations.
Nominations are now open for the NGO Working Group. The Working Group's main task is to reflect key issues facing the entire health and disability NGO sector, and to work strategically on strengthening the sector's relationship with the Ministry of Health. Working Group members are, therefore, expected to be the leaders within their particular agency and within the sector. Only one representative of an agency is permitted to be on the Working Group at any given time, no matter which subsector they are deemed to represent.
The election will be held at the same time as the NGO-MoH Forum (23 October 2008). Anyone from a registered agency can nominate a candidate for the Working Group by filling in a candidate nomination form (the nominated candidate will also need to sign the form). The NGO Working Group is now accepting nominations for the following positions:
- Disability Support - 1 vacancy for a 2 year term
- Mental Health - 1 vacancy for a 2 year term
- Pacific Health - 1 vacancy for a 1 year term
- Personal Health - 1 vacancy for a 2 year term
- Public Health - 1 vacancy for a 1 year term.
For more information:
Contact: Muno Richards, NGO Secretariat
Postal: 83 Frobisher Street, Island Bay, Wellington, 6023
Phone: 04 383 5415
Email: secretariat@ngo.health.govt.nz
Or Jo Fitzpatrick (Chair, NGO Working Group) on
jo@womens-health.org.nz
09: Research on deinstitutionalisation – closure of Kimberly Centre.
A report into the closure of Kimberly Centre, the country's last big institution for intellectually disabled individuals, has been published.
The Donald Beasley Institute examined the impact of the closure three years ago of the Kimberley Centre.
The report, funded jointly by the Ministry of Health and the Health Research Council, reinforces previous findings that better outcomes are generally associated with less institutional, community based settings.
The report:
- found that moving residents to homes they were proud of had materially improved their well-being and allowed the former residents to recognise their own skills characteristics and develop a sense of individualism
- concluded the biggest gains were realised when residents were moved close to their families. This was found to have a significant impact on their quality of life
- found that many former residents regained the ability to speak, simply because in a community setting they were spoken to more often
- noted that some residents had trouble adjusting and not all individuals or families were always happy with the process, nor all of the outcomes
- found that overall the individuals and their families describe being better off after moving out of Kimberley
- showed that the longer the residents had been living outside the former institution, the greater the improvement generally was.
10: Digital broadcasting.
The government recently announced the next phase of changes with digital broadcasting. The Minister of Broadcasting and the Minister of Communication have released their Cabinet paper that includes a range of further work. Amongst the discussion, that is mostly about proposals for changing the industry regulator is a brief section on access to broadcasting for disadvantaged groups (including disabled people).
Cabinet has agreed to further work on this issue. The Ministry for Culture and Heritage are directed to investigate additional services for hearing and sight-impaired audiences (ie captioning and audio-description) including the possibility of minimum requirements on national television broadcasters (recommendations 29-33).
More information:
Cabinet paper (available as a PDF) at:
Cabinet paper - [PDF - 148kb]
Ministers' release:
http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/next+phase+broadcasting+review+announced
11: The Starter Home Design Competition: Department of Building and Housing.
The Department of Building has announced the Starter Home Design Competition to encourage the use of the proposed Compliance Document for Simple Housing (June 2008). One of the requirements of the proposed Compliance document for Simple Housing is that the structure "have lifetime design features such as wider doorways, level internal/external access, and minimal internal steps and thresholds to assist circulation needs such as for furniture moving, prams, wheelchairs and other mobility aids".
An information pack containing the competition rules, the proposed Compliance document for Simple Housing (June 2008) judging criteria, details of the judging panel and timeframes.can be downloaded from:
Design Competition Rules - [PDF - 514kb]
The competition runs until 19 November 2008 for general entries and 26 November for student entries. The winners will be announced in March 2009.
Correspondence and entries should be addressed to:
The Starter Home Design Competition
Department of Building and Housing
P O Box 10 729
86 Customhouse Quay
Wellington.
For more information:
Contact: Serge Sablyak, Department of Building and Housing
Email: serge.sablyak@dbh.govt.nz
Phone: 04 470 1030