Disability Framework for Action

This Disability Framework for Action represents the first small step towards helping disabled persons within the Hastings district to fully participate and be valued members of our community.

It is envisaged that there will be opportunities to expand the objectives identified to meet the changing needs or aspirations of the disabled community. This Framework for Action signifies Hastings District Council’s commitment to meeting its obligations under the Long Term Council Community Planning process (LTCCP) in terms of social and cultural wellbeing.

These community outcomes were identified in partnership with the Hastings community. The Community Development Team provides assistance to the community to make a positive difference to their circumstances. Council’s role in this process is to facilitate, support and in some cases directly provide services to address identified needs and issues.

The community outcome identified as most appropriate to the disability community is:

“Supportive, caring and inclusive communities”

Council’s intended activities to meet this outcome include:

• Ensuring that the views of all its communities are taken into consideration when providing facilities and services, and
• Developing strong relationships with key providers to respond to the needs of its communities

The objective of these activities is to facilitate a range of recreation and leisure opportunities that meet the needs of the community.

This Framework for Action will also have close ties to the current Play Strategy, Walking Strategy, Cycling Strategy and Recreation Strategy and any subsequent strategy where disabled people may need consultation and representation.

Overview of disability information in New Zealand

1. A disability survey was undertaken in 2001 by Statistics New Zealand. It reported on people living in households and residential care facilities and compared the results with a previous survey undertaken between 1996 and1997.

A summary of the key facts from the 2001 survey are as follows:

• One in five New Zealanders have a disability
• Disability increases with age
• The majority of disabled people have more than one disability
• Physical disabilities are the most common type of disability; two-thirds of disabled people reported a physical disability
• The number of people with mild disabilities has decreased and the number with moderate disabilities has increased
• The number of people with disabilities living in intellectual disability units and mental health facilities has decreased.

Who has a disability?

• A total of 743,800 New Zealanders reported some level of disability in 2001, an increase of 41,800 since 1996. However, the overall disability rate of 1 in 5 has not changed.
• One in five Mäori have a disability, the same as for the total New Zealand population. The disability rate for Pacific peoples is 1 in 7.
• Disability increases with age. Eleven percent of children (0 to 14 years) have a disability, compared with 13% of adults aged 15 to 44 years and 25% of adults aged between 45 and 64 years. More than half (54%) of people aged 65 years and over reported having a disability.
• For Mäori adults, the disability rates are higher than the national rates. One-third of Mäori aged 45 to 64 years reported a disability compared with one-quarter of the total population aged 45 to 64 years.
• Sixty-one percent of Mäori aged 65 and above reported a disability, compared with 54% of the total population in this age group.
• The disability rate for Mäori children is 15%, which is also higher than the national rate for children (11%).
• More females reported disabilities (384,900) than males (358,900). However, the overall disability rate for males and females is the same.
• More than half (52%) of urban dwellers aged 65 and over living in households have a disability, compared with 45% of their rural counterparts. At other ages the rate of disability does not vary between people living in urban and rural areas.

Disability Rates by Age Group

Where do people with disabilities live?

• Four percent or 27,300 people with disabilities live in residential facilities; the remaining 96% live in households.
• The majority of people with disabilities in residential facilities (70%) live in rest homes.
• Approximately 200 disabled people in residential facilities were living in intellectual disability units in 2001, compared with an estimated 1,700 in 1996.
• The number of people with disabilities living in mental health facilities has halved, from 1,000 in 1996 to around 500 in 2001.

Disabled People by Facility Type

What types of disabilities do they have?

• The majority of people with disabilities have more than one disability. Forty percent of people with disabilities have a single disability.
• People living in residential facilities are more likely to have multiple disabilities. Ninety-six percent of disabled people living in residential facilities reported more than one disability compared with 59% of disabled people living in households.
• Physical disabilities remain the most common type of disability. Sixty-six percent of adults with disabilities reported some kind of physical disability (431,000). Sensory disabilities were the next most common, affecting over 40% (272,800).
• The leading cause of disability is a disease or illness (40%), followed by an accident or injury (30%).
• Forty-two percent of all disabled adults are mildly limited by their disabilities. A further 43% are moderately affected, and the remaining 15% are severely limited. In 1996, just over 60% of the adult disabled population were mildly affected, 28% were moderately affected and 12% had severe limitations. Severity is defined by the level of assistance required.
• One-third (207,200) of disabled adults living in households reported that they use special equipment.
• Twelve percent (77,100) of disabled adults living in households reported an unmet need for some type of special equipment.

Disability Type for Adults with Disabilities

Severity of Disability for Adults with Disabilities

• An estimated 35,500 children used special education because of long-term conditions or health problem
• An estimated 88,100 adults and children had severe disabilities requiring daily help form someone else for tasks such as bathing or preparing meals.

2. The New Zealand Disability Strategy 2001 (NZDS) guides Government action in promoting a more inclusive society. This strategy challenges all organisations to consider disabled people and their aspirations as individuals within their communities.

Underpinning the NZDS is a vision of a fully inclusive society which states that New Zealand will be inclusive when people with impairments can say they live in:

“A society that highly values our lives and continually enhances our full participation”.

The NZDS explains that disability is a process that happens when one group of people create barriers by designing a world only for their way of living and take no account of the impairments other people have.

This strategy further states that our society is built in a way that assumes we can all see signs, read directions, hear announcements, reach buttons, have the strength to open heavy doors and have stable moods and perceptions.

There are 15 objectives developed for the New Zealand Disability Strategy. They are:

• Encourage and educate for a non-disabling society
• Ensure rights for disabled people
• Provide the best education for disabled people
• Provide opportunities in employment and economic development for disabled people
• Foster leadership by disabled people
• Foster an aware and responsive public service
• Create long-term support systems centred on the individual
• Support quality living in the community for disabled people
• Support lifestyle choices, recreation and culture for disabled people
• Collect and use relevant information about disabled people and disability issues
• Promote participation of disabled Maori
• Promote participation of disabled Pacific peoples
• Enable disabled children and youth to lead full and active live
• Promote participation of disabled women in order to improve their quality of life
• Value families, whanau and people providing ongoing support.

3. The Inclusive Communities document published in 2004 jointly by Disabled Persons Assembly of New Zealand (DPA) and New Zealand Crippled Children Society (CCS) includes the belief that the most important principle when an organisation’s work affects disabled people is to involve disabled people early in all aspects of that work, from strategic planning to implementation and review.

The belief is “Nothing about us without us”.

The expertise of disabled people makes decisions and services more effective and efficient. In particular, young disabled people also have the right to participate in decisions made about them and to have control over their own lives.

Hastings district disability overview

The 2001 Statistics New Zealand usual resident population count for the Hastings district was 67,425. With one in five persons estimated as having a disability, there are approximately 13,485 disabled persons in the Hastings district.

There are 12.5% of people in the Hastings district aged 65 years and over. This is slightly higher than the national average (12.1%). As disability increases with age, Hastings may have a higher that national average number of disabled persons residing in the district.

This Framework for Action has been developed from consultation through two workshops with people affected by, or representing those affected by, a disability living within the Hastings community. Participants who were part of these workshops agree with the vision:

“Hastings – 100% disability friendly”

Approximately 20 participants who attended the second disability workshop have indicated their interest in being part of a Disability Advisory Group.

It is envisaged that the draft Disability Framework for Action will go out for consultation with the Disability Advisory Group before being presented to Council for final approval.

Contact

For more information contact Council's Community Development Advisor, John Bailey, on johnb@hdc.govt.nz or phone 06 871 5000.