It’s time for a fresh look at disability strategy in New Zealand – Jonny Wilkinson

Spring is in the air, so it is a good time to have a spring clean.

Spring is springing up all around us – the odd daffodil and lamb tell us winter is officially over despite the lasting chill. Things are also sprouting up on the disability front.

Spring brings to mind refreshment, after a long and actually pretty gnarly winter for Aotearoa.

Getting a spring clean is the country’s Disability Strategy. Whaikaha – Ministry of Disabled People is having a new look at how the strategy will roll out for 2026-30.

Tiaho Trust will be hosting a Whaikaha-led consultation hui on the draft New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS) for 2026-30.

The hui will be on September 15 at 12.30pm at the Hope Church, 1 Hunt St, Whangārei. New Zealand sign language interpreters will be present and everyone is welcome.

Priority areas of the NZDS are education, employment, health, housing and justice.

Phew, big areas, but setting up such strategies is the way other practical changes that benefit disabled people can be brought to life.

And there are good people bringing to life such changes all around us as the season changes.

While the Government recently increased the fine for misuse of mobility car parks to an eye-watering $750, private carparks currently escape this net.

There is, however, a new crackdown on this misuse. Leading the charge on this is CCS Disability Action, which administers the permits.

It is working with Wilson Parking, initially to identify when patrons are using permits that belong to someone else.

As CCS Disability Action‘s Vivian Naylor wryly commented on RNZ, if other members of the family think “we’ll use Granny’s mobility card, so that we can park more easily somewhere, to park closer”, they will hopefully be nabbed under the proposed system, as their details are checked against the permit-holder’s.

Another move promising great growth is the establishment of New Zealand’s Autism Research Centre.

The centre will be led in collaboration with autistic people and it is committed to the mantra that never gets old in our sector, “Nothing about us, without us”.

Bringing together our research for our unique part of the world is well overdue.

Several organisations are carrying out their own research in this area. To have a single point of reference and collaboration between organisations such as Altogether Autism and the Autism New Zealand can only improve outcomes for our autistic community.

The community will be watching with interest as to how this initiative leads to changes on the ground in services to the autistic community.

I am keen to see how these seeds of inspiration grow green shoots and flourish in the future. Happy spring, all!