Enable disabled people, family and whānau to thrive

Open letter

To: The Honourable Louise Upston, Minister for Disability Issues and Social Development and The Honourable Nicola Willis, Minister of Finance.

7th May 2024

Tēnā kōrua Minister Upston rāua ko Minister Willis.

We write as organisations representing disabled people, their families and whānau, disability support services, and the wider disability community.

We know that disabled people and those who love, support and care for us could be thriving right now. We could contribute to our communities in ways that work for us without fear of losing the income we need to support us.

But persistent underinvestment from successive Governments for disabled people and our wellbeing means many of us are spending precious energy just trying to keep our heads above water.

When others decide who is worthy of support and on what conditions, they often fail to recognise the extent to which health conditions, disabilities, cost of living pressures and employment-related barriers impact on our community.

When Government fails to resource our disability ministry enough to flexibly support our disabled community and whānau, we are funnelled towards poverty, stress, and isolation.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

We urge Government to:

• Fully reverse the restrictions within the Disability Support Services Purchasing Guidance and to Equipment and Modification Services made on 18 March 2024.
• Recognise disability support and services as frontline work and fund accordingly.
• Ensure an equitable, culturally responsive approach to resourcing support and services to disabled people across the whole of Government.
• Recognise that people with disabilities and health conditions are the experts on the barriers we face by increasing income and employment support and removing sanctions that cause harm to disabled people.
• Support meaningful involvement of disabled people, whānau and the wider disability sector in all Disability Support System reviews and high-level decisions.

There is a pressing need for Government to demonstrate that it values disabled people as key members of our community by ensuring that disabled people and their families and whānau have the resources they need to thrive.

With hope,

• Disabled Persons Assembly NZ Inc.
• 350 Aotearoa
• Access Community Health
• Access Matters Aotearoa
• ActionStation Aotearoa
• ADULT GUARDIANSHIP SERVICES TRUST
• Aotearoa New Zealand Adult Safeguarding Alliance
• AraHina Consultancy
• Association of Blind Citizens of New Zealand (Blind Citizens NZ)
• Auckland Action Against Poverty
• Auckland Women's Centre
• Autism Support Network New Zealand
• Beneficiaries and Unwaged Workers Trust Carers NZ
• CCS Disability Action
• Child Poverty Action Group
• College of Child & Youth Nurses | Tapuhita Ngā Mokopuna Mō Apōpō
• Complex Care Group
• Continence NZ
• Deaf Aotearoa
• Deafblind Association of New Zealand Charitable Trust
• Disability Connect
• Disability Leadership Canterbury
• Disability Responsiveness New Zealand Ltd
• Disabled People Against Cuts Aotearoa
• Disabled United (DUNZ)
• Donald Beasley Institute
• Enabling Good Lives Taranaki
• Fairer Future Coalition
• FinCap
• Foundation for Equity and Research New Zealand
• Fragile X New Zealand
• Good Lives Wairarapa
• Hearing NZ
• Ifunz
• Inclusive Education Action Group Incorporated
• Kanohi ki te Kanohi
• Methodist Alliance
• Migrants Against the Acceptable Standard of Health Aotearoa
• My Life My Voice
• National Disabled Students’ Association
• New Zealand Association of Gerontology NZAG
• New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services
• New Zealand Disability Support Network
• New Zealand Down Syndrome Association
• New Zealand Riding for the Disabled
• NorthAble Matapuna Hauora Northern Monthly Meeting, Te Hāhi Tūhauwiri , Religious Society of Friends ANZ
• NZ Carers Alliance
• NZ Disability Advisory Trust Inc
• NZ Foundation for Conductive Education
• Older Disabled Persons Group
• Parent Help
• Parents of Vision Impaired NZ
• People First NZ
• Poverty Free Aotearoa
• Project Gender
• Public Housing Futures
• Public Service Association
• Rare Disorders New Zealand
• Save the Children NZ
• Social Equity & Wellbeing Network (SEWN)
• System Change Aotearoa
• Te Ao Marama Aotearoa Trust
• Te Taitokerau Tangata Whai Ora Network Trust
• The Swan Nest
• Tiaho Trust
• Together Diverse
• United Community Action Network (UCAN)
• VIPS - Equity in Education
• VISABLE
• Young Carers NZ

If your organisation would like to sign up to this open letter, fill in this form.

---