Too many government announcements affecting disabled people don’t even mention disabled people, leaving the community googling for answers, and feeling forgotten or invisible.

This lack of consideration feels careless and borderline insulting to me – and means any government announcement

Take the changes to emergency housing eligibility and access now in effect. A person with complex or specialised needs is left entirely in the dark about potential for emergency accommodation should they need it.

No-one wants disabled people falling through the cracks – this community is feeling vulnerable enough as it is with recent changes to purchasing guidelines and funding, and support provider support shifting from Whaikaha, no longer a one stop shop for support and advocacy, to MSD.

We were one of the first to sign up to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Disabled People – yet we treat that with such disdain when it comes to making things right in our own community. We create a world first – a specific Ministry of Disabled People – yet we botch setting it up right and underfund it from the outset and then gut it when things don’t go to plan.

Unfortunately, the same blind spots can apply in the private sector – this recent Infometrics analysis of the economic downturn’s uneven impact in the regions is useful, but misses the almost one million disabled New Zealanders.

I don’t have fancy figures or graphs like Infometrics - but I’ll bet the effect on the disability sector of the economic downturn is out of proportion with the rest of the country, because of decades of funding cuts by successive governments.

This kind of analysis, focused on the impact of the downturn and government policy on communities like the disabled, would be extremely useful. This sector operates without reliable data as it is, if a private entity or indeed the government would take it on, our community would be more visible and more likely to be included, not forgotten.

We’ve seen too many reports, like the recent independent reviewers’ initial findings, appear without consultation or indeed data, and make recommendations with immediate and adverse impact, all in the cause of saving money, not making disabled people’s lives better.

It feels ridiculous to me that in 2024 we’re still asking for consideration, consultation and decision making based on solid data. To me, this is entry level stuff to showing the disabled community they matter and have our respect.

Peter Reynolds, New Zealand Disability Support Network

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