Disability Action Plan – The DPO Coalition met with officials from all agencies together to discuss progress with the new Disability Action Plan and the progress report to Cabinet in July. All agencies are engaged except for the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment and we are following up to get their commitment.
Independent Monitoring Mechanism – The DPO Coalition works in partnership with the Human Rights Commission and the Office of the Ombudsman to monitor how New Zealand is progressing in implementing the UN Convention. We met with Minister to discuss progress and agreed to engage in more depth on UN General Comment 7 which sets out what is required for New Zealand to fully deliver under the UN Convention. It is our turn to Chair the group for the next 6 months.
Leo McIntyre - from Balance Aotearoa has been selected as the DPO Coalition representative on the group overseeing the public consultation document for the repeal and replacement of the Mental Health Act. It is very pleasing to see the Government committing to this large and important task following He Ara Oranga the Inquiry into Mental Health and Addictions.
Education – We had a valuable discussion with the Ministry of Education on all current work and agreed to continue this in a dedicated workshop. Discussion included how to make education fully inclusive and the importance of partnership and co-design.
Transport – A full discussion on the draft Road Safety Strategy was held with the Ministry of Transport. Our focus was on footpath safety and driver training as a way to get the road toll down.
Access to Parliament – We have agreed to partner with Parliamentary Services and the Office of the Clerk on how to make the New Zealand Parliament fully accessible in all respects. An Accessibility Advisory Group will be formed to guide this work.
DPO Coalition members are: DPA, Blind Citizens NZ, People First NZ, Deaf Aotearoa, Kāpo Māori O Aotearoa, Balance Aotearoa and the Muscular Dystrophy Association of New Zealand. The coalition work together under the UNCRPD, i.e. monitoring implementation of the Convention, and work with government agencies to advance implementation of the Convention.
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