Our Purpose

Vision

An accessible and inclusive Canterbury where all people with disabilities enjoy full lives without barriers.

Mission

Together with the local disability community, we develop access and wellbeing solutions that benefit all.

Values

  • Rangatiratanga – Disabled people and whānau are leaders and decision-makers

  • Accessibility – Access for all is at the heart of our solutions

  • Wellbeing – We promote mental, physical, spiritual, social and whānau wellbeing

  • Diversity – All disabled experiences and expertise have equal mana

  • Kotahitanga – We work together as one with our community to create change

Download our Strategic Direction Document

Easy Read Format

People First has an Easy Read Translation Service which has translated information about Disability Leadership Canterbury into an Easy Read format. It describes:

  • Who we are

  • Where we came from

  • What we do

  • Our resources

  • How to contact us

Click here to view the easy-read document

Our Board

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Ruth Jones, Chair

Ruth is proud to serve her community in a variety of leadership roles across the health, disability, not-for-profit, education and community sectors. Much of her time is spent leading Hei Whakapiki Mauri, a whānau ora entity with the aim of raising the mauri of disabled Māori. Ruth brings both her professional experience and her perspective as a disabled Māori woman to her mahi, and has been awarded a QSM for her ongoing leadership and transformation work. Ruth is a co-founder and Chair of the Earthquake Disability Leadership Group Trust (operating as Disability Leadership Canterbury since 2021). The Trust was set up in 2011 to advocate for accessibility in post-earthquake Christchurch and now focuses on developing accessibility and wellbeing solutions with disabled people. Ruth also serves on the Bishopdale Community Trust and chairs the Marralomeda Trust. She has previously held governance and advisory roles with Workbridge, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health. She continues to advise on the national transformation of New Zealand’s disability support system.

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Dr Lesley Campbell

Lesley was initially influenced to join our Board of Trustees as she aligns with the Disability Leadership Canterbury vision and strategy. Now having been a Board Member for four years, Lesley enjoys bringing an evidence base to decision making and engaging with all the great people involved. She’s hopeful to see DLC make a difference to outcomes for people with disabilities and other groups in our community. Lesley currently manages research, policy and strategy projects across the criminal justice, education, disability and social sectors and is an active member of Family Help Trust, Right Service Right Time, and the Community Language and Information Network Group. She also still manages to find time for her grandchildren and garden.

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Grant Cleland

Grant is the most recent addition to our trust board and brings with him a wealth of expertise to support our kaupapa. Grant has more than 30 years’ experience supporting disabled people and their whānau. He has held a range of management and other roles with services in tertiary education, employment, social work, health, contracting and auditing, at national and local levels.
Born with a physical impairment and using a wheelchair for mobility from childhood, Grant brings both lived and professional experience.
Grant also has extensive experience in governance, leadership, social change, project management, strategic planning and training. He has specialist expertise in employment, transition and tertiary education for disabled people.
Grant lives in Christchurch. He is married to Nicky and dad to two teenage sons, both completing vocational education.

Our Story

Disability Leadership Canterbury was born out of the whakapapa of The Earthquake Disability Leadership Group Trust (EDLG Trust), which was originally established in 2011 by Ruth Jones and Gary Williams to support an accessible rebuild of Christchurch.

As influential leaders in the disability and health sectors, Ruth, Gary and our Trustees could see a huge opportunity to re-think the design of Ōtautahi and make it accessible for people from all walks of life, including disabled people, older adults, families with young children and tourists.

Christchurch needed an independent group that could represent the disability sector as a whole. The group had to be relevant at a strategic level and be able to advocate for accessibility among the big players in the rebuild, both government and non-government. Our Trust was created to meet these needs. 

In the early years, our priority was to ensure disabled people were well-supported to recover from the earthquakes. Our focus as a group then turned to ensuring the voices of disabled people were included in the planning and rebuild of Christchurch. We also wanted to ensure that disabled people were better-prepared for natural disasters and to cope with the ongoing psychosocial impacts of the earthquakes. 

Our Trust was one of the leading voices in the regeneration of Christchurch and has since transformed to support disabled people through other social challenges and crises, including the March 15 attacks on Christchurch masjidain and now the Covid-19 pandemic. Our Trustees and network have representation on a large number of key community groups that influence the development of accessibility, inclusion and wellbeing solutions in Canterbury. We provide a mouthpiece to and from the disability sector.

As a network, we facilitate regular disability community meetings to connect people and solve local accessibility and inclusion issues. Our work includes ensuring an inclusive, ongoing COVID-19 crisis response for disabled people in Canterbury; supporting mental health and wellbeing resources for the Waitaha disability community; and continuing to promote the accessibility of public buildings and spaces in Ōtautahi and beyond.

Disability Leadership Canterbury also supports all-of-government submissions to directly influence disability and health sector decisions, including the implementation of accessibility legislation and the ongoing implementation planning for the nationwide Disability System Transformation.

We remain poised to support the emergency and crisis preparedness of local disabled people, and we are carrying out research to collate disability community learnings from the Canterbury earthquakes and beyond to inform future public crisis responses.

Our Board of leaders from the disability and health sector manage our strategic direction, and our wider network of over 150 people from approximately 60 supporting organisations contribute to the accessibility and inclusion initiatives we develop and support.

A short history of Disability Leadership Canterbury (EDLG Trust)

The journey towards access and inclusion for all in Christchurch and Canterbury – so far.

  • Saturday 4 September, 2010

    September 2010 Earthquake

    Earthquake causes widespread damage in Christchurch’s surrounding areas and some damage to the central city.

  • Tuesday 22 February, 2011

    February 2011 Earthquake

    Earthquake causes major damage to the central city and wider Christchurch. 185 people lose their lives and there is major damage to land, buildings and infrastructure.

  • March 2011

    CERA Established

    The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) is established. CERA was the agency established by the government to lead and coordinate the ongoing recovery effort, including developing the Christchurch Central Recovery Plan and delivering the outlined Anchor Projects.

  • 2011

    Independent accessibility audits

    Barrier Free NZ Trust works closely with CERA to gain their commitment to include independent accessibility audits into the concept and design phases of key Anchor Projects. This commitment was a strategic win for the disability community, but had varying degrees of success at the implementation level.

  • November 2011

    Earthquake Disability Leadership Group Established

    Ruth Jones and Gary Williams see an opportunity to create a more accessible Christchurch and to provide a voice for disabled people in the rebuild. They establish the Earthquake Disability Leadership Group.

  • December 2011

    Central City Recovery Plan

    The Christchurch Central Recovery Plan is released, highlighting how the New Zealand Government, in partnership with Christchurch City Council and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu are committed to re-thinking, revitalising and renewing central Christchurch.

    There are four key outcomes in the Recovery Plan – A Green City, A prosperous City, A Vibrant City and An Accessible City. The 'An Accessible City' outcome highlights that the redevelopment of central Christchurch provides a significant opportunity to address accessibility. The buildings, open spaces and facilities that people visit and work or live in need to be safe, accessible and people-friendly.

    The Plan states that all building work must comply with the Building Act 2004. Under this code, building and design features must allow people with disabilities to carry out normal activities and processes.

    The Plan also highlights that compliance with The New Zealand Standard ‘Design for Access and Mobility – Buildings and Associated Facilities’ is not mandatory, but is cited in the Building Code as being an optional design standard. These standards are based on minimum compliance and do not indicate best-practice options.

    The Recovery Plan states that CERA and Christchurch City Council are committed to making central Christchurch a place for everyone by ensuring that accessibility checks are incorporated into its building consent processes at both the design and implementation phases of projects. In addition, developers and service providers are encouraged to include barrier-free audits at the design stage and as part of their service delivery processes. Access is planned to be addressed on a case-by-case basis.

  • June 2014

    'Access to Buildings for People with Disabilities' report commissioned

    The Office for Disability Issues (ODI) and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) commission a report on 'Access to Buildings for People with Disabilities', which formalises the concerns from the disability sector on access.

    It identifies that the current regulations set minimum standards and are not aspirational. The regulations are out-of-date and there are some exemptions to current regulations. There is also an inconsistent application of the regulations by consenting authorities. It finds there are also still some poor attitudes and a lack of knowledge surrounding accessibility issues.

  • May 2015

    Bus exchange opens

    The Christchurch Bus Exchange opens, showcasing many best-practice accessibility features.

  • December 2015

    Margaret Mahy Playgound opens

    The Margaret Mahy Playground opens but is not universally accessible due to lacking a formal process for accessibility. The result for the playground could have been better and more inclusive had this process been followed. The playground has since been improved.

  • April 2016

    New Regeneration Agencies

    CERA is dis-established in 2016 and several new agencies are given the responsibilities of the Recovery Plan. It is unclear whether the commitment to include accessibility audits in the development of the Anchor Projects has also been inherited by these new agencies.

    The agencies leading the rebuild are:

    Otakaro - the agency responsible for delivering the crown-led Anchor Projects in Christchurch, including the Canterbury Earthquake Memorial, An Accessible City, East Frame, South Frame, Health Precinct, Retail Precinct, Metro Sports Facility, Christchurch Convention Centre and the Stadium (on hold).

    Regenerate Christchurch - focused on achieving the regeneration of the city including the creation of a plan for the Ōtakaro Avon River Corridor, Cathedral Square and surrounding area, plus the New Brighton project.

    Development Christchurch - facilitate, enable and transform development and investment opportunities for Christchurch. Projects include the Hot Salt Water pools, New Brighton Regeneration Project, Peterborough Quarter and the Christchurch Adventure Park.

    Christchurch City Council - has a rebuild and repair programme for their own community-based facilities as well as ultimately being the 'manager' of many of the completed Anchor Projects. Some of the CCC's larger projects include The Town Hall, Central City Library, QEII Rebuild and many community-based facilities and libraries.

    The Ministry of Building Innovation and Employment (MBIE) - obtained the functions of the residential rebuild work, including the residential advisory service, insurance settlements and analysing progress of the rebuild.

    MBIE are also responsible for implementing the Accessibility Plan: Public Buildings. The plan arose out of a review of the accessibility of public buildings commissioned by MBIE and the Office for Disability Issues in late 2013. It was developed with input from an external Access Reference Group that was established to provide advice during the review.

    This Accessibility Plan: Public Buildings outlines a programme of work to achieve the intended goal of ‘Equitable access to and use of publicly accessible buildings by all New Zealanders’. It is primarily an education and upskilling programme for the industry to correctly implement accessibility into the design and development of public places and spaces. This Plan is instead of reviewing and changing the relevant legislation.

  • October 2017

    Report highlighting the experience of the disability community in the Canterbury earthquakes

    The EDLG collaborates with New Zealand Red Cross to produce a scoping report highlighting the experience of the disability community in the Canterbury earthquakes.

    The result is: Campbell, L. (2017). Preparing, Responding and Recovering from Disasters, the Canterbury Earthquake Series and The Disability Sector: A Report on the Findings from a Research Scope to Inform the Future Design of New Zealand Red Cross Disability-Inclusive Resources.

  • November 2017

    The Accessibility Charter - Canterbury signed

    Te Arataki Taero Kore o Waitaha: The Accessibility Charter – Canterbury was signed at the Christchurch City Council on 3 November 2017 by foundation signatories Canterbury District Health Board, Christchurch City Council, Development Christchurch Limited, Environment Canterbury Regional Council, Ōtakaro Limited, and Regenerate Christchurch.

    The Charter is a landmark document that challenges organisations involved in the rebuild and regeneration of our city and region to go beyond minimum accessibility compliance.

  • 2017 to 2018

    Wellbeing workshops

    A series of wellbeing workshops are funded via EDLG for disabled people, using funding from New Zealand Red Cross and Christchurch City Council, and facilitated by Trisha Ventom and Michael Krammer. The first of these is ‘Shaken But Not Stirred’, designed to help people better cope with the earthquakes and aftermath.

  • 15 March 2019

    Attacks on Muslim community

    Two attacks are made on Ōtautahi’s Muslim whānau, affecting the wider Canterbury community.

  • December 2019

    Access Law 2020 Campaign comes to Christchurch

    The EDLG begins supporting the Access Law 2020 accessibility campaign in partnership with Access Alliance to achieve legislation change and the introduction of an Accessibility Act in 2020.

  • 2020

    Canterbury Psychosocial Committee re-focuses

    The Canterbury Psychosocial Committee re-focuses to address the impacts of new events following the Canterbury earthquakes, including the Kaikoura earthquakes, March 15 attacks on Christchurch masjidain and the Covid-19 pandemic. The EDLG Trust continues to hold a role on the Committee, representing Disability Leadership Canterbury.

  • 25 March 2020, 11.59 pm

    Covid-19 Lockdown

    Aotearoa enters its first full Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, which lasts for over six weeks.

  • August 2020

    Capturing disabled people's Covid-19 experiences

    EDLG begins supporting Canterbury disabled people to respond to the issues presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Trust hosts a community workshop to gather and report on local experiences to contribute to reports being collated by Ombudsman New Zealand, and other local and national government and disability organisations.

    Members of the EDLG Network ask for the Trust to continue to play a role in supporting the disability community.

  • 26 May 2021

    EDLG is re-launched as Disability Leadership Canterbury

    After extensive consultation, EDLG is re-launched as Disability Leadership Canterbury to focus on developing access and wellbeing solutions with the disability community.

    The Trust receives seed funding from Te Pūtahitanga to develop new mental health, wellbeing and inclusion initiatives in Ōtautahi.

Our work

Accessibility and inclusion are crucial to making Ōtautahi and Canterbury a welcoming place where all people feel they belong and can contribute to the region. Accessible and inclusive solutions better meet the needs of our diverse community and benefit the wellbeing of our people, as well as local businesses, economic development and tourism.

Disability Leadership Canterbury is a network of disabled people that develops and supports solutions that are universally accessible, diverse and inclusive. We lead the way towards improved wellbeing for disabled people in Canterbury and public processes and solutions that work for the whole community. Our mahi enhances the contribution of disabled people in local decision-making and their wider community.

We focus on:

Whanaungatanga: through regular independent network meetings, we foster connections among disabled people, whānau, organisations and sector decision-makers.

Accessibility and inclusion promotion: Collaborating with our local disability community to facilitate positive initiatives and responses to issues.

Education: Collecting independent information and educating our city’s leaders on accessible and inclusive processes, using our network’s unique collective experience and expertise.

Reporting: Collating and structuring a body of knowledge that offers more than a decade of insights from a large network of disabled people and organisations in Canterbury.

Representation and membership

Our board members provide a voice for disabled people within many local and national reference groups and organisations. These include: the Whānau Ora Interface Group for the national Disability Support System Transformation; the government Joint Venture for Family Violence and Sexual Violence; the Greater Christchurch Psychosocial Committee; the Enabling Good Lives Waitaha Regional Leadership Group; the Christchurch City Council Disability Advisory Group; the CDHB Disability Steering Group; the CDHB Accessibility Charter Working Group; the Hagley Park Reference Group; the Canterbury Clinical Network; the Right Service Right Time Governance Group; Disabled Persons Assembly (DPA); Deaf Aotearoa; the Deaf Society of Canterbury; Be. Institute; NZ Disability Advisory Trust; Access Alliance; Social Service Providers Aotearoa; Fairer Future Collaboration; Family Help Trust; the Southern Centre Trust; and Marralomeda Trust.

 Impact and outcomes

The outcomes we are working towards include:

Short-term

  • Disabled people have access to specifically designed mental health education resources and workshops.

  • Disabled people learn positive mental-health and resilience tools to better cope with the pandemic and other challenges.

  • The Christchurch City Council Long-Term Plan considers and addresses inclusion and accessibility issues.

  • The Long-Term Plan consultation process is accessible, and the Plan is available in various accessible formats.

Medium-term

  • Disability Leadership Canterbury has enhanced partnerships with local decision-makers and sector leaders that further accessibility and inclusion.

  • Local accessibility and inclusion initiatives incorporate a kaupapa Māori approach.

Long-term

  • Improved mental, physical, spiritual and social wellbeing for disabled people in Canterbury

  • Enhanced contribution of disabled people in local decision-making

  • Public processes and solutions that are inclusive and accessible for all

  • Local crisis and emergency responses that work for the whole community, keeping us all safe

  • Universally accessible public buildings and spaces that everyone in Canterbury can enjoy

  • Disabled people contribute to their wider community.