What a nightmare and disheartening news was thrown at us across New Zealand last Thursday morning, August 16th, 2024!
“There’s a story behind every disabled person. There’s a reason why they’re the way they are. Think about that before you judge someone.”
Watch the announcement here (YouTube) https://youtu.be/v_fEM4UPmfc?si=oIS1BX_S1XPHh-PO
Minister Uptson’s message from the National Pary via the Beehive Government website is here.
The EGL (Enabling Good Lives) groups (Christchurch, Waikato-Sth Waikato-Coromandel and MidCentral of the North Island – Palmerston North- nearby area see map) advised Whaikaha monthly to give report updates, financial updates, and any other issues in the past two years. Still, unfortunately, from last year to the present, the EGL group has not been consulted and has received minimal update reports and no financial reports. There is a NEGL (National Enabling Good Lives). Note Whaikaha – Ministry of the Disabled, and it is the power of us – The people with disabilities, not the Government, stand above us and control us. The EGL has eight principles for everyone, including the MPs, the Government agencies and the parliament staff, which are: – Self-Determination, Beginning Early, Person-Centered, Ordinary life outcomes, Mainstream First, Mana enhancing, Easy use and Relationship building. (the link show here – https://www.enablinggoodlives.co.nz/about-egl/egl-approach/principles/)
Early this year, EGL learnt shocking news from Minister Uptson, who replaced Penny Simmonds, formerly Minister of the Disabled, and ordered to be made aware of the Indendent Enquires Panel established and the need to find what went wrong for the report from the Whaikaha. The EGL groups, along with the NEGL, DPO (Disabled Persons Organisation) and DPA (Disabled Persons Assembly), were never consulted during the Indenpent Enquires Panel Board review. Note that the panel persons on the board do not have living experience disabilities, and they are Sir Maarten Wevers, the Distinguished public servant and former diplomat; Leanne Spice of Tregaskis Brown senior partner; and Rev Murray Edridge of Wellington City Missioner.
In the end, Minister Upston and the Government breached and discriminated against the human rights of persons with disabilities under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Two years ago, the Committee of the General Assembly of The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) cautioned Ministers and other staff to visit and deliver the report from the Government of NZ in New York. The committee mentioned they watched every moment if any MPs and the NZ Government did not comply with the Article’s section.
“The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is an international human rights convention which sets out the fundamental human rights of people with disability.
The purpose of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.
It consists of two documents: the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which contains the leading human rights provisions expressed as a series of Articles, and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The CRPD and its Optional Protocol opened for signature on March 30th 2007, and Australia became one of the original signatories. The CRPD entered into force for Australia on August 16th 2008, and the Optional Protocol in 2009. ” https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/disability-rights/united-nations-convention-rights-persons-disabilities-uncrpd
We strongly support EGL and suggest that Waikaha improve the service by providing more staff training, preparing the action now that later, doing the monthly financial review reporting, and doing other types of work involved. We would not be tolerant or told what to do and what we are entitled to use the funding from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) because MSD service and the staff lack understanding of our disabilities and our needs in our daily lives, for example, one staff request a driver licence from a Blind benefit person or suggest to contact them by making a phone call from a Deaf person without using a Relay Service/often against a third party if using a Relay Service. I have met several disabled homeless persons who had their benefits cut without giving any reason or explaining why disabled homeless and low-income families with disabled children’s benefits stopped. I have to find a way to end this solution by getting the answers from MSD, and often, I found the lack of staff attitudes, failure to follow up the correct methods from their MSD computer systems and understanding of the disabilities and needs difficult in finding work for them where no business would not take them into employment.
The providers are walloped due to the difficulty of funding. Now, with EGL funding on pause, providers face real hardship depending on how much funding they are allotted or how little funding they have to use for disabled people and families of disabled members in the household.
Rural societies are beginning to be hit hard due to a lack of or very little funding for transport, technology, 24/7 Care Services, and the list goes on.
We will not stand down; we will continue to fight and make the Ministers, staff and the Government not take EGL away from disabled people.
Here is a new word – Ableism and it is time for unableism in society. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ableism
Here is the supported letter via the Labour Party website. You can copy and paste it to contribute to others you know by sending this letter to Prime Minister Chris Luxton and Minister Louise Upston.
“I’m writing to oppose the changes being made to Whaikaha and the pausing of the Enabling Good Lives programme. Alongside many other New Zealanders, I am deeply concerned that our disability communities were not consulted on these changes and will be left worse off.
My key concern is that, without a fully-fledged Ministry of Disabled People, decisions that affect New Zealand’s disability communities will once again be taken away from them.
The Enabling Good Lives programme also gives choice and control to disabled people to lead meaningful, and dignified lives. I urge you to please reconsider the halt to this programme, which will make life harder for many people.
Earlier this year, sudden cuts to disability funding flexibility left many people shocked. Thousands of people have asked for these changes to be reversed, and this new announcement is yet another decision that overlooks the views of those it affects.
Please listen to the thousands of people from our disability communities who are strongly against these changes. We ask that any decisions are centred on the needs of disabled people and their whānau.
Kind regards”
https://www.labour.org.nz/whaikaha
https://www.labour.org.nz/release_govt_delivers_its_biggest_blow_to_disability_communities
Life in Eureka 