Gisborne’s Dorothy Taare-Smith to amplify Māori disability rights

As the disability adviser to the Chief Ombudsman, Gisborne's Dorothy Taare-Smith aims to bring "the voices of the voiceless to the forefront".

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air

Gisborne woman Dorothy Taare-Smith has been appointed the disability adviser to Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier and aims to make sure voices of Māori and smaller communities such as Tairāwhiti are represented and heard.

Taare-Smith (Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti) has over 20 years of experience working throughout New Zealand in the disability sector.

“Throughout my career I have been committed to bringing the voices of the voiceless to the forefront,” she says.

“Accepting this role provides an opportunity to continue this work on a larger scale while also gaining a deeper understanding of the ombudsman’s functions and services.

“This knowledge will enable me to educate and empower my community and others.”

Taare-Smith will provide the ombudsman with a perspective from people with lived experience of disability.

Raising awareness in smaller communities about how to access the Office of the Ombudsman and the services it provides will be part of her role.

“It is also about ensuring fair treatment and advocating for justice and equity for all individuals, especially those in marginalised and underserved communities such as disabled people and their whanau,” she said.

Taare-Smith is a Gisborne-born-and-bred resident who attended Waikirikiri and Te Wharau primary schools, Ilminster Intermediate and Lytton High School.

After the Gisborne Freezing Works closed in the 1990s, she and her whānau moved to Auckland where she found her passion for working with people with disabilities.

Dorothy Taare-Smith is excited to be working as the disability adviser to Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier.

She started as a teacher aide, focusing on children with autism, before doing a Bachelor of Education at Auckland College of Education.

In 2008, she taught at Oaklynn Special School in New Lynn, and returned to Gisborne in 2013.

She did a Postgraduate Diploma in Specialist Teaching, specialising in autism spectrum, through Massey University, then completed her master’s.

Taare-Smith worked as a senior service co-ordinator at CCS Disability Action for eight years, before taking a role as a community advocate at Tairāwhiti Community Law Centre for 18 months.

She then began contract work with the Ministry of Education, delivering marae-based Takiwātanga programmes nationwide through her charitable trust, Taonga Takiwātanga.

Taonga Takiwātanga educates and raises awareness about an indigenous perspective of autism.

“Taonga Takiwātanga is a mana-enhancing term, which regards people with autism as gifted, or taonga,” Taare-Smith said.

“Takiwātanga, a term coined by linguist and educator Keri Opai (Te Atiawa, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāti Te Ata, Waiohua, Ngāti Porou) means ‘in his/her own time and space’.”

In early 2024, Dorothy was appointed to Te Rōpū Kaiārahi Hauātanga (the Disability Advisory Panel) after a rigorous recruitment process.

She feels privileged to be in a position where she can advocate for the rights of the disabled community.

Matai O’Connor, Ngāti Porou, has been a journalist for five years and kaupapa Māori reporter at the Gisborne Herald for two years.