Every policy is a disability policy: Accessible Democracy Forum 2023
Phoebe Eden-Mann, National Policy Analyst
Photo by IHC. Image description: A panel of politicians engaged in discussion, each with a microphone and card showing their party in front of them. In the foreground, a person in the audience using a wheelchair is visible.
In case you missed it, Wednesday 20 September was the Accessible Democracy forum co-hosted by IHC Advocacy, CCS Disability Action, DPA, People First NZ, The Personal Advocacy and Safeguarding Adults Trust, Blind Citizens NZ, Complex Care Group, Deaf Aotearoa, and NZDSN. It was a chance for disabled people to directly share their views and concerns with the political parties as well as asking their disability spokespeople questions. I really hope you were able to attend or watch the livestream (timestamps at the bottom of this page), but if you didn’t have a spare two and a bit hours, never fear, I watched it and can give you the rundown on what happened.
The event was moderated by Susie Ferguson, who once again did an amazing job and was helped out on keeping the politicians on track by an enthusiastic timekeeper with a flag. There were four parties present; Labour, National, the Greens, and ACT. TPM, TOP, and NZ First were invited but didn’t take part – a shame as it was a great opportunity for the disability community to get involved in the election. Representing Labour was Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan (Minister for Disability Issues), Greens had Golriz Ghahraman (spokesperson for Human Rights), Toni Severin for ACT (spokesperson for Disability Issues), and Dr Frances Hughes for National (Penny Simmons who is the Acting Spokesperson for Disability and Carers was supposed to take part, but was subbed out for Hughes). Ghahraman and Severin both openly identify as part of the disability community. Editor’s note: This paragraph was updated to include Severin’s dyslexia.
The politicians were given eight minutes each to go over what they thought the biggest issues disabled people were facing and what they plan to do to fix them, followed by questions from the audience.
Up first was Labour’s Radhakrishnan, opening with ‘Nothing about us without us’. She acknowledged that there was a lot left to do for disabled people, but that the Labour Party had been making strides for the disability community such as establishing Whaikaha the Ministry of Disabled People, the rollouts of Enabling Good Lives, committing to replacing the Minimum Wage Exemption Scheme with a wage subsidy (note this is planned to start in mid 2025), and the introduction of the Accessibility for NZ Bill. The Bill was widely panned by the disability community as not going far enough and failing to meet the needs of disabled people by not including enforceable accessibility standards. She highlighted the steps that have been taken to ensure that disabled people are included in planning and funding of stopping sexual and family violence projects. Labour promised to do more about addressing the number of people who come into contact with the justice system who are neurodivergent. They recognise the disproportionate number of people with learning disabilities or neurodiversity who are incarcerated or have a criminal record; Radhakrishnan talked about the Highest Needs Review going some way towards identifying further work to be done, and how early intervention and wrap around supports are vital in ensuring long term change.
Next up was ACT’s Severin, who started with an odd late plane/disability analogy that frankly I’m still trying to figure out. Moving on from a bit of a clunky start, ACT identified that the lack of regular and reliable disability data is one of the biggest issues facing the disability community. What they mean by that is that we don’t actually have proper disability data and that poses a significant problem for many reasons. It’s been over a decade since the last disability survey, and what disability data we do have is essentially cobbled together with hopes, dreams and an Excel spreadsheet. We desperately need better disability data, and I’m pleased that the ACT party recognise that.
Severin talked about how we need to better support disabled people in emergencies, particularly as we’re facing more and more adverse weather events. When asked about public transport and accessibility, ACT believe that we need to look at individual needs as well as wider access needs, and are concerned that in the push for more public transport that mobility parking may be lost. To combat wait list times Severin said that much of the problem lies with a lack of specialists and not enough grassroots funding; ACT proposes to attract more people to train in specialist areas which would lower wait times. Whaikaha “should be a one stop shop for disabled people” and ACT will make sure they are meeting their mandated requirements (Radhakrishnan took a swipe at this saying she was pleased that they were planning on keeping the newly established ministry instead of abolishing it like ACT wants to do with others like the Ministry for Pacific Peoples). Severin was hard on crime, and is concerned about ram raids, disabled people facing violence, and believes that early intervention and longer sentences as a deterrent are the way forward. Ghahraman disputed some of the stats Severin was using to support this, and Radhakrishnan agreed that a lot of work needs to be done to address this issue, but a hard line and tougher sentencing was unlikely to make a meaningful difference.
I was a bit concerned about some of the terminology that Severin was using, and I feel like ACT could do with a bit of a refresher course in disability discourse, in particular, the phrasing around family violence towards disabled people wasn’t flash; “A lot of it is out of frustration so we need to support them” felt a bit close to toeing the victim blaming line and took away from her main point of how we need to better support disabled people and their families so that everyone is safe and well.
Third to speak was the Green Party’s Ghahraman. She talked about how due to COVID-19 and the lockdowns, society had to pivot to finding ways to work remotely, which has been a good thing for disabled people. More workplaces are allowing flexible hours and working from home which is enabling more disabled people to enter into the workforce. The Greens have dedicated disability policies that are underpinned by codesign and increased resourcing. Ghahraman talked about how all policies and decisions across the board need to include codesign and consultation with disabled people. Part of the Green Party’s disability policy is a guaranteed minimum wage for disabled people or people with a health condition that limits their ability to work. This policy would see that disabled people unable to work would receive at least 80% of the fulltime minimum wage. Ghahraman said that the Greens would drastically increase the disability allowance, as well as transforming ACC to tackle the current disparities that exist in disability supports.
When asked about public transport, the Green’s policy is to future proof the public transport system by designing it around the needs of people, with the end goal of liveable community design with no access barriers. In order to combat wait list times, Ghahraman believes that the Green Party’s fair tax policy and increased funding will go a long way to reducing wait lists. Ghahraman is concerned that Whaikaha is being set up to fail if not properly funded in the long run, especially if there’s a change in Government come October. She fears that Whaikaha is rife to be cut and fall apart with government and ideology change without proper resourcing.
And last but certainly not least is National’s Hughes. Hughes outlined National’s stance on disability issues, and they support the rollout of EGL, but think the process has taken too long and needs to be accelerated. Hughes highlighted the need for increased personal responsibility and personal choice as well as less bureaucracy; this is closely linked into their Social Investment Policy. National are concerned about too much wastage and a lack of evidenced based policies, with Hughes also identifying a lack of reliable disability data as an issue. She would like to see a better relationship with StatsNZ and the disability community. National are worried about the increasing cost of living and how that is impacting disabled people who are more likely to live in poverty; Hughes believes that National’s policies can ensure “equal opportunities for positive outcomes” for disabled people. She announced that there would be no changes to the Total Mobility Scheme and would maintain the discount announced earlier this year. Hughes also indicated that National would expand the role of Whaikaha to include disability and carers as one ministry, rather than two separate entities.
Hughes unfortunately could only stay for a short while, so we didn’t get the chance for her to answer the audiences’ questions.
Overall it was a really good event and I think it was a great opportunity for disabled people to share their views with the people who are going to be representing us. It’s important that disabled peoples’ voices are heard and our needs are met. To do this, we have to make sure that our MPs understand that every policy is a disability policy, and we can’t just be something to consider once in a while on a checklist. Regardless of who you support or vote for, I strongly encourage you to get involved, be it online or in person, or even having a chat over family tea. On 14 October we go to the polls – you can enrol on the day, and you don’t need to bring ID with you. Democracy only works if we hear from everyone. Your voice is important, make sure you use it.
Livestream recording timestamps
You can view the recording of the livestream here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjMad7v0ap4
If you’re interested in a specific part, skip to the timestamps below.
3:20 - Introduction, opening karakia
14:47 - Speeches
15:38 - Labour
28:42 - ACT
38:15 - Greens
46:33 - National
55:19 - Question and answer session
56:10 - UN recommendation to shutdown residential services
1:03:37 - Discriminatory immigration policy
1:09:36 - Transport
1:15:50 - Mahi Aroha Carers’ Strategy
1:19:55 - Disabled people over 65
1:25:58 - UNCRPD
1:33:15 - Long waiting lists
1:38:30 - Whaikaha plans
1:44:45 - Individualised funding household management support
1:48:00 - Justice policies
1:55:26 - Wrap up, closing karakia