Bringing skill and charm to Auckland City advisory role

Concern about the needs of disabled Aucklanders led to the council employing Minnie Baragwanath in a contract position as disability advisor in 2001. This was a part-time role in which she was briefed to work within the council, but alongside disabled people in the community, to ensure that the council's policies and projects were responsive to the needs of disabled people.

Minnie had been working as a researcher and presenter on the television programme 'Inside Out' and was able to continue this work when she worked for the council. She had previously worked in New York City, facilitating disabled people into mainstream sports and has a Bachelor of Arts (English Literature) and a Bachelor of Communication Studies. She is also a voice artist for television and radio commercials and has acted in a range of television commercials and programmes.

One of the requirements for the new role at Auckland City was that the person must have already established excellent links with the disabled community. Judith Webster who was manager of community development planning at the time of Minnie's initial appointment explains the qualities that Minnie brought to the job, "She's very bright, she has a disability which means she understands the challenges of operating in a world often designed for the able-bodied. She has great enthusiasm as well as wide experience.

"She also presents really well as she's charming and has excellent interpersonal skills so she can relate to a wide range of people. This job is about working alongside people and influencing them and she had all the skills we needed."

Minnie has a visual impairment which affects the centre of her eye; the part of the eye which is needed for detail and depth perception. She says reading is very difficult and she can also find it difficult to recognise people.

As she was initially employed on a temporary basis, Minnie used her own laptop which had speech recognition software installed. Auckland City later bought magnification equipment to help her read printed material. Auckland City then adapted one of their computers and workstations to make it accessible to her.

In 2003, Minnie's success in her role and the council's continued commitment to disability issues resulted in her employment on a permanent basis. She works in the community development planning team and is, as she says, a "lone voice" on disability issues. However, her regular meetings with a group created by the council, the Disabilities Issues Advisory Group (DIAG), provide her with support and help her to maintain her links with the disabled community.

"I have to make sure I keep my connections alive in the disabled community so that I'm aware of what's going on and stay inspired about my job," she says. "I make sure I go to the right sort of meetings, meet up with friends regularly, and I'm also on the national executive of the Disabled Persons Assembly."

Judith Webster acknowledges that Minnie's job can be challenging, "Trying to bring about change can be difficult but Minnie's had a really good impact. We're a big organisation and she's worked right across the different groups gaining the respect and interest of management and staff. She's extremely independent, and she's also very open about her disability. She's comfortable talking about it, which puts everyone at ease."

Judith says that Minnie has had a very positive impact and a broad influence across the council. Her successes include the development of an action-focused disability framework in response to the New Zealand Disability Strategy and a project to identify "disability champions" within the council who can work with key council groups to raise awareness of disability issues.

As New Zealand's largest local authority, Auckland City employs 1865 people, and in 2002 won two EEO Trust Work & Life Awards for its commitment to helping people balance their work and personal lives.