Waitangi Tribunal finds disability system breaches Te Tiriti

The Waitangi Tribunal has found the Crown breached Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles in its provision of disability services for tāngata whaikaha Māori, saying their voices have been "made invisible" within the system.Hauwhaikaha - The Disability System Report was released on Thursday as part of the final stage of the Health Services and Outcomes Kaupapa Inquiry (Wai 2575).The tribunal found the Crown had prejudiced tāngata whaikaha Māori in several ways, including by failing to involve them adequately in the design and delivery of the disability system.The term tāngata whaikaha Māori is used in the report to refer to Māori disabled people.The inquiry heard from 48 claimants and 13 interested parties over 11 weeks of hearings between 2022 and 2024.Tāngata whaikaha Māori told the tribunal the disability system was fragmented, complex and difficult to navigate."At the heart of the claims we heard during the inquiry was that for too long, taangata whaikaha Maaori voices in Aotearoa New Zealand have not been heard," the report said.The Crown also accepted there was a higher proportion of unmet need among tāngata whaikaha Māori, who were frequently marginalised within the health and disability system.The Tribunal found the Crown had historically failed to partner with tāngata whaikaha Māori when designing the disability system, including the services available to them and disability-related policies, strategies and action plans.The Crown had not adequately supported or resourced tāngata whaikaha Māori to participate formally in decision-making, the report said."In excluding taangata whaikaha Maaori from system-level decision making, claimants noted they have been made invisible within the system that should enable them to be heard."RNZ / Dom ThomasBarriers to supportThe tribunal said the Crown had been aware of long-standing inequities but had failed to gather enough information about how the disability system was performing to properly address those disparities.It found there were no nationally consistent data standards across Crown agencies, meaning health outcomes for Māori and tāngata whaikaha Māori were not being systematically measured and reported separately.This meant Māori and tāngata whaikaha Māori were unable to independently scrutinise the performance of Crown policy settings for the disability system or its compliance with te Tiriti, the tribunal said.The report also found kaupapa Māori providers were not receiving sufficient funding or support to provide culturally appropriate services for tāngata whaikaha Māori.Tāngata whaikaha Māori and their whānau also faced funding barriers that affected their ability to access timely, quality and sustainable services of their choosing.The tribunal also heard repeated evidence about gaps in disability services, racism and discrimination.The report found Māori and tāngata whaikaha Māori were also under-represented in the health and disability workforce, affecting the care received by tāngata whaikaha Māori and the cultural competency of services.The Crown's approach to training and professional development did not ensure disability workers were culturally competent, resulting in cases of tāngata whaikaha Māori receiving culturally unsafe care. it said.The tribunal found further breaches relating to three groups:Kāpō Māori, referring to Māori who are blind, deafblind, vision-impaired or have low visionTāngata turi, Māori who are deaf or hard of hearingTāngata whaikaha Māori with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder"While these roopuu are taangata whaikaha Maaori, their disabilities and identity present unique challenges, which differ to those faced by taangata whaikaha Maaori generally," it said.In relation to kāpō Māori, the tribunal found the group was not adequately funded to provide culturally appropriate services."The disability system is primarily focused on individualised models of support, preventing Kaapoo Maaori exercising collective decision-making and receiving whaanau-centred care."The tribunal also said kāpō Māori continued to face disconnection from their culture and language because of a lack of cultural understanding within Pākehā services.For tāngata turi, the tribunal found inequitable health outcomes compared with non-Māori deaf people, and said the Crown had not taken adequate steps to address those inequities.It also found the Crown had not taken adequate steps to increase the number of trilingual interpreters or adequately consulted tāngata turi on the decision to halt NZSL Act reforms.On Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, the tribunal said Māori were disproportionately affected by alcohol-related harm, including FASD."We found a significant lack of access to disability services for people affected by FASD and we did not receive evidence of any reason for their exclusion."It recommended the Crown support and resource a targeted prevalence study to better understand the incidence of FASD among Māori, review eligibility criteria for disability support services and work with Māori with FASD to develop community-led services.RNZ / Marika KhabaziRecommendationsTo give effect to Te Tiriti and its principles, the tribunal has recommended that the Crown establish viable partnership models through a process co-designed with tāngata whaikaha Māori.It also recommended the Crown uphold the Tiriti principles of partnership and tino rangatiratanga by including tāngata whaikaha Māori in the design and delivery of the disability system.Another recommendation is for the Crown to ensure appropriate replacements for the monitoring role previously held by Te Aka Whai Ora under the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 for the health and disability system (including the health services provided through prisons) to improve Māori health outcomes.It has also made recommendations relating to data, funding and accountability, as well as further recommendations for kāpō Māori, tāngata turi and tāngata whaikaha Māori with FASD.A spokesperson for Minister for Disability Issues Louise Upston said they have received of the Hauwhaikaha: The Disability System Report on Wednesday."The report will take time to consider, and a response will need to be coordinated across a number of different agencies referred to in the report."