Home » News » Disability Friendly Northland
Disability Friendly Northland
Published 11 June 2009, Posted in NorthlandArticle by Mark Shanks
I recently presented a submission to the Northland Regional Council (transcript at end of article) as part of the current long term planning process.
Previous to this I also presented submissions to the Far North District Council for their LTCCP. I feel it is imperative that both of these ratepayer funded organizations work together to raise the standard of service to people with disabilities in our region and district.
Transport is an area of concern that I identified (one of many, of course). There is the need to extend the Total Mobility Scheme (currently only operating in Whangarei as a partnership between NRC, the Whangarei City Council and Central Government) to the Far North towns of Kaikohe, Kerikeri and Kaitaia. A constructive dialogue between NRC and FNDC needs to begin ASAP. How can it be called ‘total’ if it does not operate throughout Northland?
The Far North Disability Reference Group must be an important contributor to these negotiations. Because the scheme is already operating there need not be a long delay in getting it operational in our Far North towns.
I value your consideration of my views and welcome comment. I trust that you can be a part of the change to make Northland Disability Friendly.
Submission to Northland Regional Council, Mangonui Hall, 25th May 2009
Disability Friendly Northland
My name is Mark Shanks and I am a proud, paid advocate and staunch public defender and supporter of the rights of people with disabilities here in the Northern Ward of the Far North District.
Universally disabled people are discriminated against and regionally and locally it is no different. Our people with disabilities are disadvantaged and are not listened to.
One in five people have a disability and the number and severity of disabilities increases with age. It is not a problem, it is life! But so far there has been little or no will to regionally or locally implement recommended ways to improve the lives of people with disabilities. The objectives of The New Zealand Disability Strategy (2001) have been hollow words so far.
Those who do have a major influence on the overall direction of Northland must best meet the needs of our entire community. Let’s make Northland Disability Friendly because Disability Friendly means its friendly for everyone!
Universal public access and the opportunity for engagement with the community on all levels is what we all want. The provision of Disability Friendly core services demonstrates a caring, long term approach to developing a real point of difference for Northland, by creating a culture of service that cuts across all divisions, and can become a cornerstone of the platform for much needed unity in our region.
Personally I do not expect the Northland Regional Council to sanction separate and fragmented development, or to support the provision of services to a preferred sector of the community. This benefits relatively few, and many of these already have a large slice of the pie.
In conclusion, making Northland totally Disability Friendly is sound and visionary social and economic sense, and it needs to be a driver of all future planning and development.
Next entry: Parkinson's NZ has launched a film!
Previous entry: Hand and Wrist Seminar