71st Annual Conference & 72nd National Council Meeting

The 71st Annual Conference and 72nd National Council Meeting were held at the Brentwood Hotel in Wellington during the weekend 20-22 April 2018.

Friday Evening – Official Opening

The Acting President, Mr. David Johnston, welcomed Mr. Paul Eagle (Labour Party MP for Rongotai) to the meeting.  Mr Eagle extended a welcome to approximately 85 Amputee Society members and supporters and acknowledged the forthcoming Anzac Day with an Ode of Remembrance.  He then spoke about the excellent facilities available in Wellington for those with disabilities, before officially declaring the Conference open.

The business session followed, with the Election of Officers resulting in the following: Mark Bruce (President); David Johnston (Vice President); Lorraine Peacock (Coordinator/Treasurer); Matthew Bryson, Geoff Hansen, Justine Mangan-Woods, Kath Stone (Committee Members).

At the conclusion of the business session, Life Membership was presented to Mr. Wally Garrett, acknowledging his many years of service to the Federation.

Saturday

In the morning, attendees enjoyed leisure time, including visits to Zealandia Eco Sanctuary and Te Papa.

During the afternoon, an address on Peer Support by Melissa Noonan (Limbs4Life, Australia) was well received.  This was followed with a talk by Ireny Wilson (CCS Disability Action), Janette Searle (Take My Hand), and representatives of Prosthetic Services in New Zealand – Des Nicholson (Orthopro) and Sean Gray (NZ Artificial Limb Service).

Sunday

Sponsors’ Slots on Sunday morning included demonstrations by Otto Bock Australia Ltd and Ossur Asia-Pacific.  A keynote address was then delivered by Paula Tesoriero, Disability Rights Commissioner, entitled Promoting Change, and Kate Horan shared her journey over the years, following which Give it a Go! youths shared their experiences of the previous day’s activities (see the Give it a Go! page for some of their comments).