Abstract:
“One in four New Zealanders are disabled,” according to Statistics NZ.1 Despite the implementation of the New Zealand Disability Strategy 2016-2026, disabled people remain disadvantaged and unable to enjoy the benefits of inclusivity,2 according to the Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero. Scholars internationally have examined how the barriers to inclusivity persist despite the implementation of disability strategies from the disciplines of Disability Studies and Public. This study builds upon their work and asks, how do shortfalls in the implementation of the New Zealand Disability Strategy 2016-2026 create barriers to inclusivity in New Zealand. Specifically, the present inquiry aims to understand the difficulties associated with disability policy translation and how policy frames interact with the translation process and perceptions of successful implementation via a mixed-methods research design.
The findings of this study suggest that barriers to inclusion, in this case, are embedded in policies and practice of the New Zealand Disability Strategy 2016-2026. Gaps mainly appeared in implementation due to ambiguous policy objectives, participatory hurdles for disabled people during formulation and implementation phases, unrepresentative policies, and insufficient targeting of obstacles through policies. These gaps maintain social barriers to inclusivity. This research also found differences in framings between disability advocates and politicians. The differences in framings created an internal barrier to implementations as it forged different understandings of disability which led to different perceptions of implementation success. Ultimately, the analysis revealed that the persistence of--attitudinal, institutional, political, financial, and communication barriers--have created a two-tiered society for disabled people and non-disabled people. These factors are ostensibly preventing New Zealand from creating a non-disabling society.
