Day 165 - NZ Herald -The Government is basically saying disabled people are not up for the job

The Government is basically saying disabled people are not up for the job

By: Jonny Wilkinson

The NZ Herald: 05 am, 31 August 2024

THREE KEY FACTS:

Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People, will have its functions dramatically reduced, with responsibilities for commissioning services for people with disabilities passed to the Ministry of Social Development by October.

Disability support services comprise the bulk of Whaikaha’s $2.6 billion budget. It is the third time in half a decade commissioning services will move ministries.

MSD will establish a new department for commissioning disability support services, which will report to a new deputy chief executive.

Jonny Wilkinson is the CEO of Tiaho Trust - Disability A Matter of Perception, a Whangārei based disability advocacy organisation.

OPINION

The 80′s gave me a taste for what is now regarded as “retro” music and this week I have been slightly obsessively listening to Public Enemy’s song Fight the Power.

Public Enemy changed the hip-hop scene into a vehicle for political expression. Fight the Power is a seminal protest anthem blending aggressive beats with politically charged lyrics. It is a call for action.

On Thursday last week, the coalition Government announced plans to strip Whaikaha, the Ministry of Disabled People, of its responsibility for delivering support services, shifting it to the Social Development Ministry.

Whaikaha will be downsized into a smaller, standalone department focusing on advocacy and policy advice. Just two years after its establishment Whaikaha is being massively scaled back following the findings of an independent review.

The review, led by Sir Maarten Wevers, found the delivery of support services was inconsistent and hampered by how Whaikaha had been set up.

When I heard the announcement, I was gobsmacked. I was still in the process of recovering from the announcement in March regarding the restrictions on Flexible Funding.

In one announcement Whaikaha the Ministry of Disabled People has been dismantled.

The ministry is something that disabled people have fought and lobbied for, for decades, wanting our own ministry that would preside over disability services and advocate for disabled people’s rights in New Zealand.

Yes, it has had a few teething problems but there is no reason to kick it into touch. Whaikaha was developing a strong sense of disability culture with nearly 40% of its staff identifying as disabled.

By shifting the delivery of Disability Support Services to the Ministry of Social Development the Government is basically saying disabled people are not up for the job.

By scaling Whaikaha down into a toothless advisory and monitoring entity, it sounds much the same at the Office of Disability Issues which did effect much change over the years. What the difference will be between them? No one seems to know.

This has really sent the disabled movement in New Zealand back decades. Other concerning aspects of the announcement was a pause on the Enabling Good Lives roll out and Indicative budgets and monitoring of Needs Assessment and Service Coordination organisations (NASCs) being reinstated.

Over 30 years ago, Disability Support Services sat in the Department of Social Welfare. These were then trundled over to the Ministry of Health and for decades disabled people have felt like the poor relation of the monolith that is Health, until 2 years ago when we finally got our own ministry. Now things have gone back 30 years.

The Enabling Good Lives approach attempted to put disabled people and their families in control of the services and supports they needed, which was starting to address the power imbalance between the Needs Assessment and Service Co-ordination (NASC agencies) and disabled people.

The announcement has clinically put the power balance back in favour of the NASC, giving them the mandate to be gatekeepers and controllers of any supports available.

The decision to strip Whaikaha of Disability Support Services wasn’t even in the Independent Review!

Was it a purely political decision to dismantle what the former Government had done? I asked Mojo Mathers, former Green MP, and the first (and only) DEAF member of Parliament and now Disabled Persons Assembly CEO, what her take on this was. Mojo commented that, “The downsizing of Whaikaha with no consultation with disabled people has hit our community hard”.

“Disabled people want more choice and control over their lives, not less. Decades of underinvestment in disabled people has let to poorer outcomes for our health and wellbeing. This can be turned around. To do this, Government must engage properly with disabled people going forward.”

Disability support has been grossly underfunded for decades. It isn’t the fault of Whaikaha, the issue is with the fundamental funding model of disability support in NZ.

We need a funding model more similar to ACC, as the disparity between ACC-funded disability supports and Whaikaha (now MSD-funded support) is staggering.

ACC offers gold-plated services in comparison. Australia has had a National Disability Insurance Scheme for years, and while it has had its own issues, it is serving its disabled people well.

I contacted Huhana Hickey, an old friend and disability rights Lawyer and asked her to give me a comment on last week’s announcement of changes to the disability sector. Here are her words:

“In a nutshell, we are back to the 1990′s. For how long? I don’t know but we can consider this is going to be us for two more years minimum and longer if we don’t demand change and stand up against the discriminatory, unethical inequitably designed decisions made around our lives.

“I know it’s hard, believe me I was meant to retire by now and I can’t. Why? Because unless we make a strong and collective stand against the abuse we are receiving from this coalition, then we won’t get change and we remain invisible. Sometimes we have to do the tough to be heard.

“I can’t do this alone, a few of us can’t do this without ALL of our community standing beside us, with us, All of us”

The Tai Tokerau EGL Leadership Group is organising a protest about these radical draconian changes to our Disability sector on the 11th of October at 12.00 in the Civic Square outside the new WDC building on Rust Avenue. For more information contact tessa@tiaho.org.nz

Last Updated 10/09/2024

Resources

• https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/the-government-are-basically-saying-disabled-people-are-not-up-for-the-job-jonny-wilkinson/HGM53TFQE5H77NYOAXYB3OJWNI/

• Tiaho Trust - Disability A Matter of Perception

• Whangarei Protest

Day 164 - Invercargill Protest on Wednesday 4 September

Have you or someone you know been affected by the changes to the Disability Funding?

Now is the time for action. Come along and join us.

Wednesday, 4 September, 10 am - 12 noon.

Corner Tays St & Ellis Rd, Invercargill.

Organised by DUNZ-Invercargill and Southland Deaf Community

For more information, contact Invercargill@dunz.org.nz

Last Updated 03/09/2024

Resources

• Protest A4 Poster (PDF)

Day 156 - Invercargill disabled get organised

By: Mike Peters

DUNZ-Invercargill Branch Committee Chair

DUNZ: 22/08/2024

The DUNZ-Invercargill Branch Committee met today. 

Members

Vic West (Deaf-Blind) has joined the committee.

Another 5 people have signed up to DUNZ-Invercargill.

Sign of the week

The committee are all going to start learning some sign language at each meeting, taught by Roger Strong (Southland Deaf Community President)

Protest

A protest will be held on Wednesday, 4 September, from 10 am to 12 noon on the corner of Tay St and Ellis Rd, Invercargill. Melissa Corbin, Southland Outreach Campaign Organiser, will lead the protest's organization.

The date and time were chosen to support the protest being organised in Christchurch simultaneously.

Support workers

The Branch will seek to work closely with the support worker unions (E Tu, PSA, NZNO) campaigns to unionise the workforce and win pay equity. That means DUNZ-Invercargill will raise support for their campaigns from the disabled community.

Last Updated 22/08/2024

RESOURCES

• 
  

Day 155 - Welfare & Disability Day of Action

By: Jordan Langley

The Disabled Community Fights Back - NZ Aotearoa: 20/08/2024

Christchurch Protest. Wednesday, 4 September 2024, 10am. Regional MSD offices 161 Cashel Street Christchurch.

There will be a Peaceful Protest outside the Ministry of Social Development and Whaikaha's regional HQ in Christchurch. Bring signs, banners, and microphones.

We will let them know we don't like the changes being forced upon us; our Ministry was established by us for us. 

Nothing about us without us - we have been sidelined by a minister in a government who is determined to make life for bottom feeders worse and worse for those with Disabilities.

We will tell them we aren't going to accept it, and they can expect to be one term achieves nothing government - while they are lapping up the so-called polls from last night, the vulnerable and voiceless are suffering.

Contact: Jordan Langley & Nick Stoneman

Last Updated 03/09/2024

Resources

• https://facebook.com/events/s/welfare-disability-day-of-acti/533090185953235/

Day 154 - Campaign volunteers needed in Invercargill

Hi everyone

I'm sure you're all aware by now of the latest government announcements about disability funding, which were released last week. They have left many of us absolutely stunned, frustrated, and angry. 

Now is the time when we all need to come together as one and fight against these hideous changes. Now is the time to rise up and let our voices be heard. I know this has been a long year so far with the announcements in March, but we all need to pull together to let this Government know that we will not take this quietly, will not be walked over, and will not give up! Now is not the time to sit quietly by and let this Government treat us like second-class citizens.

At the start of this journey, many people were keen to pitch in and get the job done, but over time, due to various reasons, our number of helpers has decreased. So, we're reaching out today to everyone again to ask who can help and at what level you may be available to do so to support the Disabled community as we fight back.

You can do several things to help us be heard. It's really important to share the load over the coming days and weeks so those actively leading stay energized. We can't do this without you!

How can you help? 

Committee:

We currently have 8 wonderful people on our branch committee, but we need at least 2 more people to step up and share the load. We are having weekly meetings to plan for action and need people who can commit to sharing this load.

Helpers: 

We have a few members who have been helping in the background, but we need more people to share the load by putting up posters around town and flyers in letterboxes, supporting us at protests and public meetings, and helping us to be heard.

For those of you who cannot help but still want to be involved, we would love you to join our drive to get our message out. You can do this in many ways, such as writing to the government and politicians and filling out their inboxes with information about how these changes affect you personally. 

We would appreciate it if you responded quickly to this email and let us know what level you can help so that we can plan for the future. 

Let's do this!!

Melissa

Outreach Campaign Organiser

DUNZ-Invercargill

Day 150 - Winning is the strategy

Winning is the strategy

By: Mike Peters

DUNZ: 17/08/2024

The recent savage attacks by the government on the rights of all disabled people have turned the clock back 50 years.

We have the majority of public support, but to take advantage of that support, we have to organise a determined national campaign for the human rights of the disabled. No one else will do this. We have to save ourselves.

Winning

The aim is to win. Protests, rallies, public meetings, legal challenges, and petitions are all means to that end, but winning is what will count in the end. And win we must and win we can.

The arrogance of Simmonds

The National Party-led coalition government picked a soft target when it went after us first. Simmonds realised that most of the existing disabled organisations were weakened by corporate boards, "engagement strategies," and woke ideology, which fragmented our community.

When Simmonds announced the March 18 funding restrictions, she didn't expect a response, as evidenced by her patronising, arrogant behaviour.

March 18 protests

There was an immediate outpouring of anger, and very small groups of individuals responded by organising some kind of local protest. 

However, most did not think of using the opportunity to start building an organisation designed to fight the long battles ahead, with more attacks by the government predictable.

Invercargill example

Invercargill started with just three people who used the protests to build membership and a strong leadership committee capable of fighting the cuts yet to come. It took a lot of slow, patient work. DUNZ-Invercargill now has a robust and capable branch committee of seven experienced, proven leaders and a membership of 50, something to build on.

Failure of leadership

Very few of the existing "leaders of the disability community" were prepared to help with this. They prefer to "engage" and not risk their funding, even though their precious funding is disappearing.

Our community needs leaders with backbone.

What next?

In response to the latest attacks, small groups of disabled are looking for others to help with having protests in their hometowns and cities.

To do this, we need to recognise that our community is fragmented. Those who want to fight today are a minority. Most disabled people wish to hide and have someone else rescue them. However, we can change this mindset with a simple plan that builds self-confidence and trust in each other.

Building self-confidence

We can overcome our community's fragmentation by bringing people together to support campaign activities that will build the self-confidence of disabled people. Don't do it for them; they all need to do something to help. Leaders must prove themselves by what they do rather than lived experience or "identity".

Start small

It is better to start small, do well and grow. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Being too ambitious leads to disappointment and demoralisation.

Organise a protest

• Find another 2 people to help with the organisation of a local protest.

• If you are members of DUNZ and would like some help, contact DUNZ  https://www.dunz.org.nz/p/office.html

• Pick a date and place for a simple street corner picket, signs and "toot for support". Make sure lots of other people can see the protest.

• Choose a contact person, phone and email so supporters can find you

• Tell everyone you know using Social Media

• Make some simple posters to put up in shops and the local library

• Plan to meet somewhere right after the protest.

• Hold the protest.

• Take good publicity photos and write a simple report.

• Hold the after-match meeting to decide what to do next. This includes finding more volunteers to help. Feel awesome because you are :)

• Share the photos madly on Social Media.

• Then round 2 ...

Mike Peters

Acting National Organiser

DUNZ

Last Updated 17/09/2024

RESOURCES

• https://www.dunz.org.nz/p/join.html

• https://www.dunz.org.nz/2024/08/diy-how-to-start-dunz-branch-committee.html

DIY - How to start a DUNZ branch committee

By: Mike Peters

DUNZ: 17/08/2024

DUNZ will build strong local campaign branches across NZ that unite the disabled, their families and support workers regardless of race, sex, religion, age, location, occupation or sexuality. Everyone is welcome.

Start small

The key to starting a DUNZ branch committee is to start small. It is better to start small, do well and then grow slowly.

Often, there may be many DUNZ members in the area waiting for someone to get the ball rolling. It just takes a few people to make the first step.

DUNZ will help you, but you must be prepared to do the work at the pace you can.

People must prove themselves

The branch committee needs to be made up of people who prove themselves by what they do. This will take time. The blind, deaf and wheelie communities are usually pretty staunch. Some stroppy parents and unionised care workers will be great as well.

People don't get onto the branch committee because of "lived experience" or "identity". They get on, because they are courageous, capable, reliable, stubborn and sensible.  

Learning from others

Establishing the DUNZ-Invercargill Branch Committee followed a successful 1-hour picket protest, where everyone who participated went to a local café for a cuppa and a quick meeting. People put their hands up to join the committee knowing they would be required to do some work. Over 5 months, as the campaign got underway, 15 people joined, 8 left, and now 7 of the best remain. That is a natural process. Let people prove themselves.

If they don't turn up or do what they say they will do, drop them.

The DUNZ-Invercargill Branch Committee is on-track to have 10 members, but the goal is to have 20 members, so 10 will always be available (illness).

Steps

• Join DUNZ https://www.dunz.org.nz/p/join.html

• Find another 2 people to help and make sure they join DUNZ.

• Contact DUNZ to arrange a phone/zoom meeting so we can help you and make the job easier.

• The name of the branch committee will be for example "DUNZ-Christchurch Branch Committee".

• Choose a contact person, phone and email to put on publicity so supporters and the media can find you.

• Start meeting in person and figure it out as you go.

• Stay in regular contact with the other DUNZ Branches.

How the committee works

Start slowly. If you have 3 people, then don't take on too much. Pick some campaign activity that you can all do and learn how to work together. As you do this, recruit new DUNZ members.

Committee resilience

The Branch Committee needs to be very resilient because disabled people often have health issues. The way to do this is:

• Have a large committee to cover absence. 

• Swap committee roles often, so everyone can do any job at short notice.

• Keep things simple, deal with the urgent first.

National structure

DUNZ will eventually be able to establish some kind of National Council made up of delegates from each local branch committee to co-ordinate the campaign at a national level.

Last Updated 17/08/2024

Resources

• https://www.dunz.org.nz/2024/08/day-148-dunz-invercargill-ready-for-action.html

• https://www.dunz.org.nz/p/dunz-invercargill.html

• Other DIY resources

Day 149 - More protests are coming

More protests are coming

By: Mike Peters

DUNZ: 16/08/2024

Small groups of disabled people around the country are trying to organise local protests in response to this week's savage attacks by the government on the rights of all disabled people.

Initial moves are afoot in Wellington, Hamilton, and Christchurch, and there may be others. Once some dates are set, DUNZ-Invercargill will hold a peaceful street protest in Invercargill to support the other demonstrations.

The DUNZ leadership is actively working with people across NZ who are keen to do something.

The majority of disabled organisations have proven their incapability of standing up to these attacks, mainly because of their dependency on government funding and running "corporate" style boards that "engage".

What our community needs is some leaders with backbone.

The last rounds of protests didn't lead to the consolidation of strong local groups apart from Invercargill, which boxed well above its weight.

This time, every effort is being made to establish strong DUNZ branch committees in many cities that can unite people and lead a long, very difficult campaign to regain our human rights.

They will be organised based on human solidarity, uniting disabled people, their families, and support workers who have everything in common.

Mike Peters Acting National Organiser DUNZ

Last Updated 16/08/2024

RESOURCES

• https://www.dunz.org.nz/p/the-plan.html

Day 149 - Kylee Maloney - What I told Whaikaha

What I told Whaikaha

By: Kylee Maloney

Facebook: 1 pm, 16/08/2024

Kylee Maloney

(Light formatting by DUNZ Ed.)

Here is what I posted on Whaikaha's page in response to Upston's smiling and patronising presentation, not failing to give the video a thumbs down. 

They should have turned comments off.

"As a survivor of abuse in the care of a specialist institution, I want to say just this.

Why don't you just have us all locked back up and be done with it? That's where you're going, isn't it? How could you even countenance this, given the Commission's report?

Did you even read or understand it?

Sorry for being 'too expensive'.

Sorry for having the temerity to survive birth.

There has been a funding solution since 2017 which you clearly don't have the courage to explore.

EGL has never been simply about location but about positive life outcomes.

But they're clearly a threat to society, arent' they?

Can't have hordes of us being in control of our own lives and out of the control of people like you. The sky would fall and the world abandon its axis. Your stripe of politics is, and only ever has been, interest in numbers and not people.

If I could I would curse you to the farthest pits of hell but since I don't have that power I will simply have to settle for zero tolerance, zero forgiveness and zero trust.:

Last Updated 17/08/2024

RESOURCES

• https://www.dunz.org.nz/2024/04/day-23-palmerston-north-take-back.html

Day 148 - DUNZ Invercargill ready for action

By: Mike Peters

DUNZ: 15/08/2024

The DUNZ-Invercargill Branch Committee met today and took further steps to strengthen and streamline its ability to lead the fight in Southland against attacks on our shared human rights.

The committee meets in person weekly for 1 hour.

Confirmed in acting roles.

• Minutes Secretary: Philippa Strong (Southland Deaf Community)

• Meeting Chair: Mike Peters (CCS, Autistic, EDS)

• Outreach Campaign Organiser: Melissa Corbin (Brain Injury)

• Accessibility Campaign Organiser: Tracy Peters (Paraplegic)

Everyone else: Join and participate in teams as required.

The Organisers have full authority to lead their teams.

Targets by Xmas: 100 members in Southland, ten on the committee.

The location for future protests will be the corner of Ellis Rd and Tay St, Invercargill. Mike has been given full authority to call these protests at short notice to align with national actions. A robust network is now in place to get the word out quickly in Southland.

Standardised systems and resources are being quickly created to share with the other DUNZ branches.

Mike Peters
Acting National Organiser
DUNZ

Last Updated 16/08/2024

RESOURCES

• https://www.dunz.org.nz/p/join.html

• https://www.dunz.org.nz/p/dunz-invercargill.html

Day 148 - Watch: Disability services to shift from Whaikaha to MSD after budget

Watch: Disability services to shift from Whaikaha to MSD after budget

By: Russell Palmer

RNZ: 12:09pm, 15/08/2024

Whaikaha, the Ministry of Disabled People, will be restructured - losing responsibility for delivering support services and the move to a new approach put on hold.

The government has announced the move after a critical review, which says the ministry is not set up to effectively manage the scale and nature of its funding and has inadequate budget controls.

The ministry will become a standalone - no longer sharing back-office functions with the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) - tasked with strategic policy advice, advocacy and monitoring. The transfer will be managed by a taskforce, and the move to a standalone agency will be done through an Order in Council in October.

All support services will be moved to MSD, with the rollout of the Enabling Good Lives approach put on hold "to make sure access to support is fair and based on need, not location".

Funding levels for residential facility based care will also be kept at current levels, with no increases to keep up with inflation. The government will also bring back indicative budgets and monitoring of Needs Assessment and Service Coordination organisations.

In a statement, Minister for Disability Issues Louise Upston said the shift of support service delivery to MSD was "significant but necessary".

"MSD has the controls and capability already in place to better manage this funding. This will also solve the conflict of the Ministry of Disabled People - Whaikaha having both advocacy and service provision roles, making it a representative and powerful voice in government for disabled New Zealanders."

She said the government was committed to supporting disabled people, "which is why we provided a record $1.1 billion funding boost to disability support services in this year's Budget".

During a media briefing on Thursday, the minister couldn't rule out job cuts, saying: "A large number of people will be in the new ministry or in the Disability Support service and those details will be worked through at pace."

It would be "disappointing" if people lost their jobs but that was not the intention of the restructure, she said.

Upston stressed no policy decisions would be made overnight and the disability community would need to be involved.

"We won't be making any decisions regarding eligibility criteria for flexible funding until later this year after consulting with the disability community," Upston said.

"Their voice and insights will be so important in getting this right."

She said she was very aware of the impact of changes to the flexibility funding in March and how distressing they were.

"That will never happen again under my watch. ...We will consult with the disabled community to ensure any changes that additional funding we have put in gets to those with highest needs."

How did we get here?

Changes to the way disability services were funded were rolled out in March with little notice and announced via the ministry's social media, not long into the coalition's term.

The moves were a surprise to those using the services, and community groups rallied in opposition to them, and then-minister Penny Simmonds admitted inadequate communication.

She had said the changes were the result of cost overruns at the ministry.

Cabinet then put a closer lens over changes at the ministry, and Simmonds was later dumped from the portfolio.

About a quarter of New Zealanders has some sort of disability. Disabled people often make heavy use of the health system but the constraints placed on disabled people by society extend far beyond health to things like employment, housing, transport, education and more.

The creation of the ministry, Whaikaha, was announced by the then-Labour government in 2021, promising it would be a single point of contact for disabled people.

The government also promised a nationwide rollout of the Enabling Good Lives approach to disability support services, which focuses on giving disabled people more choice in how they can spend the funding allocated to them. However, the portfolio changed hands a few times and funding for that approach has long been a concern.

Those decisions followed the Heather-Simpson-led Health and Disability review which, despite its name, failed to meaningfully consult disabled people, and barely mentioned or examined disability, accessibility, or related support services.

Disability was not even mentioned separately until page 150.

Advocacy groups had for decades been calling for support to be shifted out of the health system, saying disability was not solely a health issue - and disabled people were often being passed between government departments, with different levels of support based arbitrarily on the cause of a disability rather than need.

The huge disparity between the support offered to disabled people through ACC, compared to those who access it through DHBs, has also been a major concern.

ACC has also been shown to be biased against women, Māori and Pasifika, and disabled people who needed help because of an injury had to juggle the ACC and welfare systems at the same time.

Last Updated 15/08/2024

RESOURCES

• https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/525212/watch-disability-services-to-shift-from-whaikaha-to-msd-after-budget

Day 148 - NZ Doctor - Govt fails disabled communities again

Govt fails disabled communities again

By: Green Party

NZ Doctor: 11:40am, 15/08/2024

Media Release from Green Party

“The Government is reverting to a tried, tested and failed model while neglecting the voice of disabled communities,” says the Green Party Spokesperson for Disability Kahurangui Carter.

“Disabled people know best about the support they need and should be empowered to make the choices that are best for them. Weakening this Ministry does not empower our disabled people - it erodes their agency.

“Once again, the Government has failed to engage and include the views and expertise of disabled people in making major changes to a Ministry tasked with supporting them.

“To shrink Whaikaha to just policy and advocacy functions, the Government is weakening its capacity to deliver, making it less effective.

“The key purpose of the Ministry for Disabled People is being diluted. This risks diminishing support, and means the strong connection between delivery and policy by and for disabled people is broken.

“The Ministry is still in its infancy, and this review should be about improving it, not gutting it.

“Ultimately this Government is prepared to sacrifice advocacy, accessibility and justice for disabled people in order to curb spending so that they can help the wealthy to get richer.

“A funding squeeze to fund trickle-down tax cuts should not be used as a reason to reduce support. We must invest in the support services that are critical to the disabled community.

“The Greens would work with, and be led by, disabled communities in building a system that allows them to thrive,” says Kahurangi Carter.

Last Updated 15/08/2024

RESOURCES

• https://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/article/undoctored/govt-fails-disabled-communities-again

Day 146 - DUNZ back after a planned break

By: Mike Peters

DUNZ: 13/08/2024

Hi everyone. DUNZ had a planned 6-week break (key people had holidays, medical issues, shifting house, etc.), but we are back now and fighting mad.

DUNZ is now taking a series of rapid steps to improve its organisation. Defending our rights will be a long, hard fight, and we must organise accordingly. We need cool heads and a lot of stubbornness.

We have decided to work only with and for those prepared to stand up and join the fight. The campaigns are for our shared human rights. We are looking for "we", not "me" people, to join us. We intend to build strong local campaign branches across NZ that unite the disabled, their families and support workers regardless of race, sex, religion, age, location, occupation or sexuality. Everyone is welcome. We will also broaden our strategy to publically fight for whatever the disabled community needs as long as they are prepared to join in and participate.

"If you snooze - you lose"

For example, the DUNZ Invercargill Branch has agreed to campaign for local accessibility parking, street thresholds for the blind, and a sign-language interpreter for Southland. Local blind, deaf, and wheelies are part of this.

Because we are going to fight the government, we cannot be a charity and will not be gagged by funding contracts, as most disabled organisations are. Hence, the funding cuts were not stopped despite the majority of public support for our cause.

To join us and be part of the fight

https://www.dunz.org.nz/p/join.html

Cheers

Mike Peters

Acting National Organiser

DUNZ

https://www.dunz.org.nz

Last Updated 16/08/2024

RESOURCES

• https://www.dunz.org.nz/p/dunz-invercargill.html

• https://www.dunz.org.nz/p/history.html

• https://www.dunz.org.nz/p/the-plan.html

Day 136 -- Auckland Disability Law - Legal case against Whaikaha

Legal case against Whaikaha

By: Dr Huhana Hickey

Auckland Disability Law: 03/08/2024

Press Statement

If you are able to, please share, it’s ok if you cant.. we are finally ready to take a legal case against the state for the cuts  Disabled People Against Cuts Aotearoa (DPAC) are wanting to hear from people from the disability community who have been affected by Whaikaha’s recent cuts to flexible funding on 18 March 2024 and are wanting to share their stories.

If you have made requests to an Individualised Funding Host, but your requests have been rejected, and would like legal advice on the options available to you, please contact Auckland Disability Law (ADL) on geraldine.lewis@adl.org.nz.

In our view, there appear to be valid grounds to argue that Whaikaha did not follow the law when making changes to Individualised Funding purchasing rules on 18 March.

There are legal options to consider to potentially put this right, which we can advise you on.

A small group of lawyers is working with ADL on the legal challenges against Whaikaha for the changes to purchasing rules. We would like to consider whether you might be a good person to be a named claimant in a High Court challenge against Whaikaha.

Next Steps

1. Please contact ADL at geraldine.lewis@adl.org.nz if you are willing to share your story and want advice on your legal options. Also please let ADL know whether you might like to be considered as a named claimant in a High Court challenge against Whaikaha.

 2. If you find it hard to read through this letter, you might like to ask for help from a trusted support person, friend, or family member.

 3. We are happy to answer any questions you might have. We can have a phone call or a Zoom Meeting with you. You can also email your questions to us.

 4. We look forward to hearing from you.

Last Updated 15/08/2024

RESOURCES

• https://aucklanddisabilitylaw.org.nz/