- Hon Louise Upston
Strong interest in the development of a refreshed New Zealand disability strategy has been welcomed by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston.
Membership of the strategy working groups was announced today, drawn from the disabled community, industry and government agencies. The groups will develop actions in the five key areas of education, employment, health, housing and justice.
"There has been a particularly strong response from the disability community, reflecting the commitment of people who want to be part of this important work," Louise Upston says.
"The Ministry of Disabled People - Whaikaha received almost 350 expressions of interest from the disability community before making their appointment decisions.
"In total, Whaikaha is announcing 26 members of the groups, including the chairs, who I congratulate today:
- Education - Grant Cleland
- Employment - Lorraine Toki
- Health - Dr Josephine Herman
- Housing - Daniel Clay
- Justice - Paul Gibson
"The Ministry is taking a new approach to developing the new strategy, and I will be excited to see the results.
"Ultimately, the purpose is to improve the lives of disabled people. For instance, recent data from the Stats NZ Household Disability Survey found disabled New Zealanders continue to face many barriers, for example in education, employment and housing.
"We know 1 in 6 New Zealanders are disabled, yet three quarters of unemployed disabled people want to be working which means creating employment opportunities must be an important focus.
"Disabled people, like non-disabled people, want to participate in their communities, to thrive and make decisions about their own lives.
"The strategy refresh represents huge opportunities to make a positive difference," Louise Upston says.
The Ministry of Disabled People - Whaikaha is managing the refresh process. The draft strategy will go to the wider disabled community later this year for further review before being agreed by Cabinet.
