A short history of Disability Leadership Canterbury (EDLG Trust)

September 2010 Earthquake

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

'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.

Bus exchange opens

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Attacks on Muslim community

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

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.

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.

Covid-19 Lockdown

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

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.

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.