Politicians scrap over disability funding

Tensions rose in Parliament over disability funding, and families say they were left shell-shocked as they learned via social media about changes to funding relied on by parents and carers of disabled people.

The changes have seen all purchases including respite items, travel related costs for carers and whanau as well as any purchases that may be made to give carers a break, axed temporarily with no restart date given.

Only last week Stuff reported Whaikaha Ministry of Disabled People is reducing services for wheelchair-users in response to increasing pressure on the disability support system.

Backlash spurred Disability Issues Minister Penny Simmonds to release a statement saying, “no disabled person will lose access to funding for essential services, equipment, or support, despite a forecast budget overrun in the disability support appropriation”.

“To be clear, this is not a reduction in funding – it simply changes how the current funding can be used to ensure maximum benefit for the disabled person.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon also had to front up on the issue during Question Time.

“There has been no change to the disability services support budget from the budget that was set in your last Government,” Luxon said to Opposition leader Chris Hipkins. “What there has been is a tightening up of the criteria of the modifications and equipment budget to make sure that disabled people are getting the direct support they need.”

Luxon said the ministry made the decision “to tighten up the criteria for modifications and equipment, which is a piece of the total disability services budget”. Simmonds later said she was consulted about the decision. Questioned by Labour’s finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds, Finance Minister Nicola Willis committed to increasing funding to Whaikaha Ministry of Disabled People to maintain crucial frontline services.

Families were not consulted before the changes were announced by Whaikaha, the Ministry of Disabled People.