We finally have a disability ministry, now we must work together to ensure its success

Monday, 1 November 2021

Dr Huhana Hickey organised a protest outside Parliament to lobby for more disabled voices in Government (video first published February 26, 2021).

OPINION: On Friday afternoon, October 29, 2021, and after decades of pleading from disabled, our government in Aotearoa called for a disability ministry. I know of others who were lobbying since the 1980s, getting knocked back time and again over the years, with politicians saying they didn’t see a need. Even when the Mental Health Commission was formed, the politicians did not see a need for disabled to also have their own entity.

However, last week, Government told us they were listening and told us what they will do. Within that announcement was the intention to also implement an accessibility governance team. This disappointed some disabled as they had hoped their proposed accessibility bill would be implemented. I believe the accessibility bill has an important role to play in building accessible environments and will be part of this, but we also need a disabilities act to cover all areas of need for disabled, as we require accommodations in all areas of life in the same way as non-disabled access it.

The question now is how this ministry will be formed and who will help to form it. Already, several disabled are indicating they want to be an active part of this ministry. Without the community it will not succeed. While this ministry announcement is welcome news, it’s unsurprising that many of us who have called for this for well over 30 years, remain cautiously optimistic.

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Some core elements need addressing before this begins to take place. While non-disabled ministers have done the job over the years, it is time to challenge all political parties to make places available higher on their party lists for disabled. It is time for a minister for disabilities to have disabilities. We need to outline how inclusive we can be to ensure all disabilities are included. There is a range of disabilities not included for supports and services, and then there is the cost of having such a ministry, and how to do this sustainably.

This new ministry needs a name, and it’s interesting seeing how many parents and allies do not like the term disabled. The name needs to reflect our diverse identities and needs to be empowering. A name that will unite and not divide our communities.

The ministry will need to link into all the other ministries and ensure the voices of disabled are reflected in all areas of governance. They will need to set standards, a regulatory body, set up community advisory, governance groups and the other systems. What services will come under this ministry? How will we connect to the community? Engage with the government? Ensure families/whānau and allies are included, and what is the commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi? The UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons, the UN Convention on the Rights of Children, the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, even the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples have relevance to this new ministry.

The leadership for this ministry may need to be a partnership. In that for a disabled person to lead this it would require a lot of energy, thereby creating an issue around health and wellbeing if it’s one person. Two people can share the load but also two people can provide a good balanced set of skills to lead this and provide an opportunity to show governance in a bicultural way with treaty partners working equally in the leadership role.

Whatever decisions are made, we finally have a ministry after many decades of asking and advocating for one. It appears so surreal that my response is muted as I feel sadness for those disabled leaders of the past who have left us and never got to see this moment, and I feel a sadness for the division that has grown within the different impairment groups as that will hamper our voices in the development of this ministry. We need to work together, and we need to work for those who lack a voice to be included in this design stage and beyond. We need to ensure our families/whānau are included along with our allies. If we use an empowerment inclusion model to this design, it is hoped we can lead the way with this new ministry and change outcomes for disabled now and into the future.

Dr Huhana Hickey (Ngāti Tāhinga, Whakatōhea) is a lawyer and disability advocate.