Out and About in New Zealand

By Robyn Hunt
 

Paradise for a Song

(well, a poem")
Paradise by name and paradise by nature is a remote high country station in one of the most beautiful parts of the South Island of New Zealand. The Southern Alps have some of the most beautiful mountain and bush scenery in the world.

The project began with a poem, not great literature the poet claims, but it put heart into a proposal for use of the property. Great literature or not it won over the property owner.

What makes Paradise so special is the vision of a small group of people and the New Zealand Spinal Trust who want to make it an accessible and affordable holiday destination for all New Zealanders, including people with physical disability.

Work has begun on accessible tracks, and on upgrading basic but accessible accommodation.

A visit to Paradise will eventually provide people with disability with the kind of world class outdoor and wilderness experience many would otherwise never have, an experience which many non-disabled people can still take for granted.
 

Training blind musicians

Two New Zealand jazz musicians recently tutored a Braille Music Camp in Australia.

Julian Lee, New Zealand trained jazz musician who has pursued a long and successful international career including arranging for George Shearing, and Jan Rutherford, also New Zealand trained, believe such training is of paramount importance.

With increasing mainstreaming of blind students they say that the skills of Braille music reading are not being taught, and they are very necessary for a blind person who wants to train and succeed in any field of music. Learning by ear is just not good enough.

The annual Braille music school trains younger blind musicians in applying Braille music reading and writing skills to performance in various music fields. Both Julian Lee and Jan Rutherford are jazz pianists based in Australia.

Lee has awarded the Order of Australia for his services to music and blind people.

The annual week long Braille school has been held for some years in New South Wales, Australia. It is the only event of this type in Australasia.
 

Regional Human Rights Conference in New Zealand

The New Zealand Human Rights Commission hosted the 2000 meeting of the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions, a first for New Zealand.

Human Rights institutions from Australia, Fiji, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka were represented. Nepal has applied for membership. Human rights institutions are also being established in Thailand, South Korea, Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh and Mongolia.

This conference is particularly important because of recent conflict in the region, in Solomon Islands, East Timor and Fiji.

While disability was not a specific item on the Agenda, DPA, New Zealand's national disability umbrella organisation was represented among a small number of NGO delegates.

The conference took place between August 7 - 9.
 

Banks criticised

Banks need to smarten up their act in dealing with mental health consumers and people with disabilities, Bew Zealand Consumer Affairs Minister Phillida Bunkle said today.

Phillida Bunkle says she wants banks to remove barriers currently facing mental health patients and people with disabilities in accessing banking services.

"I have been made aware through the Ministry of Consumer Affairs' Bankline of a number of cases where mental health consumers leaving institutions and people with disabilities have been discriminated against," said Ms Bunkle.

"Mental health patients have been denied bank accounts because the bank won't accept community services cards, (which do not have photographs,) or birth certificates as identification. The problem is that these are the only forms of identification a patient leaving an institution is likely to have. People with disabilities are unable to use many ATM machines, but banks refuse to waive the higher fees they are forced to incur for going to the counter."

"This type of discrimination annoys me. I'm calling on banks to provide me with some evidence that they will smarten up their act in these areas, and I will be meeting with them to discuss options for mental health consumers and people with disabilities."

The Ministry's Bankline - a free calling telephone facility - was set up in July to offer consumers options for sorting out problems with their banks and managing bank fees. It ran until early in August.

The issues of identification and of access to ATMs have been brought to the attention the Human Rights Commission.

It is encouraging to see comment on disability issues coming from ministers who do not have a direct responsibility for disability.