DPA gives oral submission on Budget Policy Statement
DPA's Information Exchange – 8 May 2024
Today, Mojo Mathers, DPA Chief Executive, spoke to the Finance and Expenditure Committee in support of our submission on the Government Budget Policy Statement, which had 18 recommendations covering topics from disability support funding through to emergency management.
For the oral submission, we made the following points:
- the spending cuts already being implemented across the public sector are having a disproportionate impact on disabled people and our families and whānau
- the provision of services that disabled people rely on across disability support, education, health and welfare are being compromised to the detriment of our health and well‑being
- the impact of the disability funding changes and the impact that the 18 March announcement has had on the disability community, including the constraint of funding for wheelchair and modification services and the serious implications for the health and safety of disabled people and their carers
- another major issue for disabled people is that the cuts in other ministries, for example to education.
"So at an absolute minimum, we are calling for government to fully reverse the effective cuts to disability support funding and to generously resource disability support across all of the major ministries, health, education, welfare, as well as Whaikaha."
The questions that followed covered Government's goals of getting people of benefit, the barriers to participating in education and our recommendation to keep prescription costs free.
Read DPA's written submission on the Government Budget Policy Statement.
Last Updated 10/05/2024
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