Whanganui disability advocate Sue Kenny believes the Government's changes are "really shortsighted". Photo / Mike Tweed
Whanganui disability advocate Sue Kenny believes the Government's changes are "really shortsighted". Photo / Mike Tweed
Disability advocates in Whanganui are concerned the restructure of Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People - will undo years of work but Whanganui MP Carl Bates says funding could still be on the way.
The Government has announced that the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) will be in charge of commissioning services for people with disabilities by October, with Whaikaha becoming a smaller, standalone department.
An expansion of the Enabling Good Lives (EGL) initiative, which works to empower the disabled to lead more independent lives, will also be halted.
Whanganui disability advocate Sue Kenny said she spent years laying the groundwork for EGL in Whanganui and there was an expectation the district would be funded next when the programme expanded.
“I think this is really shortsighted,” Kenny said.
“One of the key things in Enabling Good Lives is creating natural supports (relationships and connections occurring in everyday life, typically developed in the community), which in the long run would save the Government money.
“The end goal is a better community that supports each other more, so if some didn’t get as much funding, there is enough capacity within the group.”
The changes follow a review by former Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet head Sir Maarten Wevers, which found the ministry had “no controls” to restrain exploding service costs and was on course to blow its funding for this year.
Kenny said a halt in funding was effectively a cut because more people would need access to services.
“Honestly, I don’t know how much [EGL funding] we would have got but even if it was $5000, that would have helped get it off the ground.
“People are busy these days and they can only volunteer for a short time before their own needs come into play.”
Whanganui resident Julian Emmett, who lives with cerebral palsy, said members of the disabled community were wondering “just how far the Government is prepared to go” with its changes.
He said no one in the community had been consulted on them.
“We really feel left out and kicked to the kerb, so to speak,” he said.
“People have spent years trying to get these kinds of things going and now they’ve been taken away with the flick of a pen.”
Emmett said EGL gave people with disabilities the support they needed, along with their family members who often had to take time off work and become caregivers.
“Just 0.6% of GDP is spent on disability support,” he said.
“The bulk of funding goes to frontline staff – disability support workers are paid low wages for hard work helping disabled people live better lives.
“There is already not enough funding to support everyone who needs it, and those who get support often don’t get enough.”
Reynolds said disability support providers would like to do more for more disabled people and pay their staff more than the minimum wage – but they could “barely keep their heads above water” on current funding.
Whanganui’s MP said he was always willing to meet with concerned members of any community within the electorate.
Bates said the Government had provided a $1.1 billion funding boost for disability support services over five years – “a hugely significant increase in spending”.
“For anyone to suggest the Government is not focused on our disabled community, I think they need to reflect on that commitment.
“The second part of it is making sure we spend that money well and fairly, and with transparency.”
Whanganui MP Carl Bates says he will advocate for the Whanganui community to get its appropriate share of future funding.
At present, there was a “postcode lottery” (unequal availability of services in different areas) when it came to what support was available, particularly when it came to enabling EGL, he said.
“The funding that was set aside for the EGL rollout is not going anywhere.
“As it is more appropriately dispersed, I would imagine [Whanganui] would be a benefactor of that reset.
“I will certainly be advocating for our community to get its appropriate share.”
Bates understood the process to secure funding would involve public consultation later this year and he encouraged people in the local disability community to participate in it.
“I would heavily support anyone to do that in an appropriate manner.
“Whether it’s access to information or they want to talk through what they would like to submit, I’m happy to engage.”
Kenny said disabled people were tired of fighting to be valued the same as everybody else.
She was also concerned about MSD taking charge of the distribution of disability funding.
“If you don’t employ disabled people to help - which is what Whaikaha basically was - you can’t understand their perspectives.
“There is already a petition about the poor guy who could not get access to funding because he didn’t have a driver’s licence. He was blind. That‘s just one incident.”
He had gone to report his landlord’s rent increase to see if the accommodation supplement could be adjusted.
The ministry has since apologised.
Kenny, who also runs the Whanganui Unique Needs Children Group, said she was glad Bates was willing to meet with the disabled community but “the proof is in the pudding”.
“Is he going to make the first move or is he going to leave it to everybody else?
“I’m always willing to engage. The community wants to keep on moving forward, we don’t want to go right back to where we started.
“I know there needs to be austerity and all that sort of stuff but don’t mess with things that are already going well, even if it costs a bit more money.”
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
