Impact of government cuts on disabled people ‘cruel’ – report

A new report shows that a raft of cuts and new policies in disability support, health care, education and social care are having a disproportionate and cumulative impact on some of the country’s most vulnerable people.

The report, shared exclusively with Newsroom, shows that under the current government, families with a disabled person could pay up to $5,500 more a year.

This was due to policies such as refunding prescription co-pays for some people, an increase in public transport fares, a decision not to increase the minimum wage to the extent recommended by Department of Business, Innovation and Employment officials, and changes to the free school lunch program.

Report, A thousand cuts, published by the social justice collective Fairer Future, models a series of scenarios based on typical families. The report shows that under the current government, every family is worse off than under the previous administration.

• A non-paid carer whose children used public transport to get to school would face higher costs under the current government of $63.23 a week and $2,463.90 a year, according to the report’s model ;

• A person whose disability was not recognized by an existing disability service, who needed prescription medications and used public transportation to get to work incurred higher costs of $49.92 per week, or $2,602.72 per year;

• An Auckland single parent on the minimum wage who had a disabled child and used public transport faced higher costs of $128.15 a week and $5,742.88 a year;

• A disabled person who was not eligible for Disability Benefit and was on the Jobseeker scheme for 20-24-year-olds faced higher costs of $176.43 or $703.89 per year (depending on whether she received a discount card for disabled people on public transport);

• A disabled person who could only work part-time with flexible support incurred higher costs of $2.09 or $3.38 a week (depending on age) or $109.17 or $176.43 a year.

“This assessment paints a picture of a cruel government directly responsible for greater suffering in the lives of people, especially people with disabilities, in our community,” the report says.

While people with disabilities have long had to cope with inadequate funding and support, there have been some improvements in recent years, particularly in the form of more flexible funding models, he said.

When Whaikaha announced changes to its flexible support framework in March, the rug was pulled out from under it for people with disabilities.

With the removal of flexibility and autonomy, government decisions regarding welfare indexation, benefit sanctions, minimum wage increases, public transport costs, prescription co-payments, fair pay agreements and equal pay claims, and free school lunches have had an increasing impact impact on stated that it has a cumulative impact.

According to the Ministry of Health, approximately 1.1 million people, or a quarter of the population, have disabilities. Meanwhile, Stats NZ data for 2021 showed that children with disabilities and children in households where someone has a disability are more likely to live in poverty.

Households with a disabled person were already struggling to make ends meet. This means that policies that affected people already experiencing deprivation had a disproportionate impact on disabled people.

Although the government promised a significant increase in spending on first-class disability services in this week’s budget, community residents fear the situation could get worse.

The chief executive of the Assembly of Disabled People, Mojo Mathers, told Newsroom that people in her community were feeling “overwhelmed, anxious and scared of what else might come.”

“Some parts of our community are really worried and others are just angry.”

Many of them were just getting by or felt underappreciated all their lives, she added. But now it was worse than before.

The announcement in March was “like a bolt from the blue,” she said, adding that before Whaikaha’s announcement, there was real hope in the community.

While then-minister Penny Simmonds painted a picture of frivolous spending with people using the flexible support model to pay for pedicures, haircuts and massages, Mathers said this funding model was essential.

Mathers said one person who took part in a recent DPA survey had ordered a new wheelchair when Whaikaha suddenly announced funding changes. They were told to cancel the order, which forced them to continue using a wheelchair that was too small and caused bedsores.

Others had similarly painful stories, including a single mom who used funds to protect her disabled child from an abusive father.

Meanwhile, children and families will no longer have access to disability support programs, such as disability horse riding and swimming lessons, during school hours due to the government’s absenteeism policy.

Mathers said it’s not just about funding assistance for people with disabilities. Cuts were made elsewhere, putting greater pressure on the annuity system.

“The more cuts that are made elsewhere in government, the more precarious the lives of disabled people will become.”

The report said not enough attention had been paid to how the effects of cuts could add up and cause further suffering for people just trying to get on with their lives.

Fairer Future and ActionStation campaigner Max Harris said the government’s recent decisions had caused huge emotions.

“Real fear, uncertainty, anger and sometimes even hopelessness,” he said.

While the changes to Whaikaha funding that took place in March captured the nation’s attention, it was important to understand the cumulative effects for the wider community to join the call for a change in government policy.

The disability community has been calling for full funding and flexibility to be restored to Whaikaha, a change of course on the indexation of benefits so that benefits are linked to wage increases or inflation (whichever is higher) and an end to the suppression of minimum wage increases, Harris said .

Fairer Future also called for increased income support, debt relief to MSD and an end to the government’s recently reintroduced sanctions regime.

“With the recession now deeply felt, now is the time to provide resources to those struggling. This is not the time to withhold resources.”

Meanwhile, the disability community and its supporters are also planning to protest in Parliament on Wednesday in response to Whaikaha’s flexible funding cuts.

Newly appointed Disability Minister Louise Upston said disability support services are one of the essential services New Zealanders rely on and the Government will provide them with a significant funding boost in Thursday’s Budget.

“The Coalition Government wants the best outcomes for disabled people, their families and those who care for them. It is important that they have ongoing support that meets their needs and helps them lead a good life,” she said.

Upston reiterated the Government’s position that Whaikaha’s changes to the flexible funding model do not constitute a real funding cut, even though they reduce people’s access to finance.

She said the Government had recently increased funding for Whaikaha to ensure it was delivered by the end of the financial year, and had undertaken an independent review to look at what could be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of disability support services.

“It is important that the disability community has confidence in the support services they can access and taxpayers know they are getting value for money.”