Partnerships Posted by Posted by Jade Farrar on 29 June 2022 Posted on: 29 June 2022

Disabled people and the Crown have agreed to work in partnership as stated in Article 4.3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This partnership has been approved by the Crown and Disabled Persons Organisations.

There is agreement that the partnership with disabled people also includes their families and whanau.

The Crown has Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligation. It has a formal partnership with Māori via the National Iwi Chairs Forum.

No formal partnership currently exists between disabled people and Māori.

National Enabling Good Lives Leadership Group (NEGL) has been promoting the concept of a tripartite partnership between the Crown, Māori and disabled people.  The practical reasons for this are:

• Each party needs to be involved in discussions and decisions that affect them;
• Parties need a space where issues can be openly talked about and changes that are needed can be made;
• Tangata whaikaha Maori are often excluded or left out of important discussions

The concept of this tripartite partnership is new. It is to be expected that the partnership will develop over time.  

NEGL believes that, to be successful each “partner” has to be given the right support to be independent.  The Crown has a duty to support  disabled people in the best way possible. It is expected that mechanisms will be developed that enable each partner to work in a way where they can develop strong community networks and work freely without being influenced by another partner.

Central to the success of the tripartite approach is the ability of each partner to effectively represent the perspectives of the individuals and networks they are representing. This will require on-going development.This development must be directed by each partner.

Partnership is required at all levels. This involves a commitment to recognise and support partnership in governance, leadership and co-development spaces. 

At a minimum, each partner will work together to:

• achieve clarity on agreed priorities
• Agree on decision-making processes
• respect the contribution each brings to the tripartite arrangement
• explore how all partners can benefit from outcomes

Issues like mandate to represent each partner may be ongoing.