Something Doesn't Sit Right

This isn’t about what disabled people need—it’s about redefining support as welfare, making restrictions seem inevitable.

This process isn’t fair—it subtly pressures people into accepting limits on their rights without fully realizing it. The questions are so complex that even those well versed in disability policy struggle, but the deeper issue is worse: the entire consultation disrespects disabled people’s rights. This isn’t just about funding—it’s about dignity, voice, and real control over their lives. That’s why I’m exposing this—so you can see the truth and demand a consultation that truly respects disabled people.

Who am I to Speak Out?

I’m a disabled woman, a parent, and someone who knows that we don’t have to wait for an expert or an organization to speak for us.

We don’t need permission to call out human rights violations - because we live them, we see them, and our hearts bear the brunt of them. Unlike those bound by funding and politics, we have the freedom to speak the truth.

WHAT I FOUND

THE CONSULTATION PROCESS IS NOT FAIR.

  • It does NOT follow the Health and Disability Code of Rights.

  • It does NOT respect disabled people’s right to informed decision-making.

  • It does NOT offer real choices—it pressures people into agreeing to restrictions.

  • It does NOT follow the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

This is a huge issue

Because if the Government is consulting in a way that doesn’t respect our rights, how can we trust that the outcome will be fair?

Let’s pull back the curtain

This Government's consultation has intentionally sidelined the EGL approach

Because a true human rights model would expose the cracks—showing how policies violate the UNCRPD, Human Rights Act, and Health & Disability Code. Full EGL implementation would reveal cost-cutting is overriding disabled people’s rights to self-determination, inclusion, and support.

1. Alignment with the UNCRPD

New Zealand is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which requires governments to uphold the rights of disabled people. The EGL approach directly reflects these obligations:

  • Article 3: General Principles – EGL promotes respect for inherent dignity, autonomy, and full participation, ensuring disabled people lead and direct their own lives.

  • Article 19: Living independently and being included in the community – EGL prioritizes self-directed, individualized supports over institutional or rigid service models, allowing disabled people to live in ordinary homes and participate in society on an equal basis.

  • Article 12: Equal recognition before the law – EGL supports supported decision-making rather than substituted decision-making, reinforcing the right to make choices about one’s own life.

  • Article 24: Education & Article 27: Work and Employment – EGL enables disabled people to pursue meaningful education and employment pathways based on their strengths and aspirations, rather than being pushed into segregated or low-opportunity settings.

  • Article 28: Adequate standard of living and social protection – EGL recognizes that flexible funding and individualized supports are essential to ensuring disabled people have equitable access to housing, services, and financial security.

  • → Evidence of Alignment: The 2016 UNCRPD Committee review of New Zealand explicitly recommended full implementation of EGL as a way to uphold disabled people’s rights.

2. Alignment with New Zealand’s Human Rights Framework

EGL reflects New Zealand’s obligations under the Human Rights Act (1993) and the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act (1990):

  • Right to Freedom of Movement – EGL enables disabled people to live where they choose, not be restricted by regional service limitations or forced into institutional settings.

  • Right to Non-Discrimination – The EGL model moves away from systemic discrimination, where disabled people’s lives are dictated by rigid service structures rather than personal choice.

  • Right to Dignity and Respect – EGL upholds mana-enhancing, strengths-based approaches, recognizing disabled people as valued members of society with equal rights.

  • → Evidence of Alignment: The Human Rights Commission has consistently supported EGL principles as essential for achieving equity and upholding the rights of disabled people.

3. Alignment with the NZ Health and Disability Code of Rights

The Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights sets out ten rights for people receiving health or disability services, many of which align with EGL principles:

  • Right 1: The right to be treated with respect – EGL ensures culturally responsive, mana-enhancing support, where disabled people’s choices and values are upheld.

  • Right 2: The right to freedom from discrimination, coercion, harassment, and exploitation – EGL protects against institutional or service-driven coercion, emphasizing choice and control.

  • Right 3: The right to dignity and independence – EGL enables disabled people to self-direct their lives with appropriate supports, fostering independence rather than dependence on services.

  • Right 4: The right to services of an appropriate standard – EGL prioritizes quality, person-centered, and holistic supports rather than a system-driven, one-size-fits-all approach.

  • Right 7: The right to make an informed choice and give informed consent – EGL centers supported decision-making, ensuring disabled people retain full agency over their own lives.

  • → Evidence of Alignment: The Health and Disability Commissioner has highlighted the need for person-centered approaches, reinforcing that EGL principles align with best-practice disability support.

How Can a Consultation on Disability Support

Ignore the One Approach That Ensures Justice?

By embedding self-determination, individualized funding, and full inclusion, EGL ensures that disabled people are not passive recipients of care but active citizens with the same rights as everyone else ... The New Zealand government’s retreat from the full EGL approach - not just its principles, but its implementation in policy and practice - directly undermines its human rights obligations ... EGL should be visible in every interaction - from policy to frontline services ... Enabling Good Lives is what keeps us moving in the right direction - without it, we risk failing disabled people and turning our backs on New Zealand’s commitment to disability justice.

What Can We Do?

💡 This isn’t about funding—this is about power and control. And we need to stand up for a process that treats us fairly.

  • Push back. Call it what it is—a process that doesn’t meet the standard for fairness.

  • Use the ChatGPT tools to ensure your written or face-to-face submission expose the flaws in this process

  • Tell your MP that this consultation is out of alignment with the Health and Disability Code and UNCRPD.

  • Demand a REAL consultation—one that gives disabled people the information they need and the power to shape their own futures.

  • We should never be put in a position where we are asked to sign away our rights without realizing it.