The following key messages have been sent through from the DPO Coalition:
The DPO Coalition meets with a wide range of agencies. The objective of our meetings with officials is always to get improved outcomes for disabled people. We regularly discuss the need to ensure accessibility and to uphold the rights of disabled people under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (“the Disability Convention”).
This set of Key Messages covers our DPO Coalition meeting in February 2025.
Ministry of Social Development (MSD)
The DPO Coalition met with Chris Bunny and members of the Disability Support Services (DSS) Taskforce. DSS consultation is happening now, with submissions closing on 24 March 2025. The DPO Coalition used the meeting with MSD to form part of its formal submission on the consultation.
The DPO Coalition raised the poor accessibility of the consultation process and encouraged MSD to think outside of the box in terms of how they engage with communities and different groups. Assessment and flexible funding were discussed, as well as the importance of trust and rebuilding trust with disabled people and whānau in the aftermath of last year. Some clarity was gained regarding the assessment tool assumptions.
Overall, it was a robust discussion with specific examples discussed at a high level, which addressed the DPO Coalition principles, values and expected outcomes.
Whaikaha
The DPO Coalition met with Whaikaha officials (Ben O’Meara, Sheryl Pinckney, and Pauline Melham), and had a frank discussion on the New Zealand Disability Strategy refresh workstream. The DPO Coalition welcomed news that the number of disabled people in each of the advisory groups has increased from two to three.
We shared our concerns that the DPO Coalition will not have a dedicated position on each of the advisory groups. We accepted the invitation to have two positions for the DPO Coalition in the selection panel that is appointing people to each of the advisory groups.
The DPO Coalition will hold an in-depth session with Whaikaha at its March meeting to discuss each of the five priority discussion papers (Health, Justice, Education, Employment, Housing), being developed. These papers inform advisory groups of the topic they are working on that will inform the NZ Disability Strategy.
Disability Rights Commissioner
The DPO Coalition met with the Disability Rights Commissioner Prudence Walker and Senior Human Rights Advisor Frances Anderson to prepare for an upcoming engagement with all Human Rights Commissioners in March 2025.
The DPO Coalition also discussed the Human Rights Commission’s recent submissions on various policy processes.
The Disability Rights Commissioner advised that she and her team are attending the Conference of State Parties (COSP) in 2025. The theme is ‘Enhancing Public Awareness of the Rights and Contributions of Persons with Disabilities for Social Development leading up to the World Social Summit’.
Ministry of Justice
The DPO Coalition met with officials from the Ministry of Justice and provided feedback on the Fifth Periodic Report to the United Nations Committee for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The consultation period has now closed. The report will be released publicly once it has been submitted to the United Nations which is scheduled to occur in March.
Donald Beasley Institute
The DPO Coalition discussed the timeframes for the release of the latest disabled-person led monitoring reports from the Donald Beasley Institute. We look forward to sharing these with the disability community in March and April.
Law Commission
The Law Commission are consulting on their review of the law relating to hate crime. The DPO Coalition was impressed by the full range of accessible formats that have been provided as part of the consultation process. A wide-ranging discussion was had on the review including useful clarification about the difference between hate crime and hate speech.
The DPO Coalition will meet with the Law Commission again in May 2025 to explore aspects of the review in more depth.
DPO Coalition Representatives on National Enabling Good Lives (NEGL)
We had a productive meeting with our two NEGL representatives and thanked them both for their work. We acknowledged Gerri Pomeroy’s contributions over seven years. She has decided to resign as one of our two DPO Coalition representatives on this group. Ollie Goulden remains our representative.
Independent Monitoring Mechanism (IMM)
The DPO Coalition discussed its ongoing representation on the IMM. It was confirmed that Kera Sherwood-O’Regan will replace Rachel Hargreaves who is stepping down from this work. The DPO Coalition confirmed its four Governance Group representatives would be Alexia Black, Jonathan Godfrey, Kera Sherwood-O’Regan, and Rose Wilkinson. Kera Sherwood-O’Regan and Rose Wilkinson will represent the DPO Coalition on the IMM Working Group.
Voice of disabled people
The DPO Coalition is the first place that the Government goes to when wanting to engage with the voice of disabled people. We are continually looking for new member organisations to join the DPO Coalition to increase our coverage across the disability community. New members must represent disabled people who are not already represented by an existing member. If you would like to apply, please email the Secretariat at: us-dpo@groups.io