National Shame
Moving Disability Services to MSD
“And on my way, I would visit your mother
If I were you, I would ask about her life
Maybe you'll find that being noticed for so long
Will make her cry”
Lyrics - Victoria Canal.
I’ll begin today by offering my apologies.
I don’t like making people feel bad about what’s happening in our country, yet every day there seems to be something more, a new low that makes you shake your head and say, “they wouldn’t do that, would they?”
Yesterday was more of the same I’m afraid, another callous decision almost as if the coalition wake up each day and ask themselves - “how can we be even worse today?” Safe in the knowledge that wildly unpopular governments having to flee as the people rise up is something that only happens in other countries.
Besides which, they’re not that unpopular.
Yes, while you weep or feel sick to your stomach at the latest cuts or other cruelty that the Luxon/Willis government is delivering a disturbing number of people are cheering them on. They like what they’re seeing, be it bringing Māori down a peg or two, or threatening those without a job with punitive sanctions. But how do they feel now the attacks are on the disabled and those who care for them?
Do the disabled have it coming too? Like the other groups who have been targeted by this government? Or is there actually a rock bottom? A minimum level of humanity beyond which they become uncomfortable? Easy to blame the poor for being poor, but even ACT supporters might balk at lumping disability services in with other things for the chopping block.
Ok, probably not ACT supporters, but perhaps some of the more moderate voters who backed National last year? They might look at this and question whether these tracks we’re getting back on are actually heading in the right direction.
Under any other government this would be front page news and a disastrous look - to these guys it’s just BAU. Bastards As Usual. Or maybe - Benevolent Ain’t Us.
Whaikaha - the Ministry of Disabled People - will lose responsibility for funding disability support services. This follows a review which the disabled community were not involved in, and were not consulted over.
Who does that? Who holds a review and makes major decisions like this without even consulting the people who will be affected? Those who use, and need, the services provided? You wouldn’t do that - would you? But these guys would, it’s just another day to them.
Another day. I bet that has different meaning to those this decision impacts. Another day in their lives, while those who make the decisions move on to something else.
Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston confirmed on Thursday that the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) would take over responsibility for the funding and contracting of disability support services. This would leave Whaikaha with a far smaller budget and staff, acting as an advisory office for other ministers and departments.
Isn’t that nice? They’ll lose most of their funding, but they will be able to provide advice. It reminds me of an old IT joke which almost none of you will get.
My backups run much faster now that I send them to dev null.
Hilarious right?
A backup is a copy of a database, or file system, taken so it can be used to restore information in the event of a failure. Dev null is a “null” device, where you can send information and it simply gets thrown away. So if you send those backups into the ether it’s a lot faster than having them recorded to physical storage.
Oh how they laughed.
But the thing is dear listeners I haven’t shared this with you to make you laugh. There is an analogy in there. I reckon it’ll be a lot quicker to deal with advice from Whaikaha now it will be sent to Louise Upston c/o MSD. Dev Null indeed when it comes to compassion or empathy, her well rehearsed backstory aside.
Would you like to hear some more IT jokes? Didn’t think so.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said, “The government has hollowed the functions and removed funding control from the Ministry of Disabled People. What should be ‘nothing about us without us’ has become the opposite. A disgraceful and sad day.”
Your fellow reader Darien Fenton tweeted, “I would never trust Ms Upston with anything, let alone another restructure affecting vulnerable people.”
Huhana Hickey, a lawyer, and founding member of the Whaikaha board, said “It won’t work if they mould it into MSD. MSD is one of the cruellest ministries in this country.”
Upston has just finished announcing her traffic light system for assessing the worthiness of those on welfare to receive a safety net. Although I think such a move is a pointless gimmick, which will do nothing whatsoever to address unemployment, other than the need to hire more people at MSD to deal with all the additional bureaucracy, I do get it. The mob hate the idea of the almost entirely false narrative that those on welfare are abusing the system.
There seems to be a dark part of the psyche of some Kiwis that enjoys seeing those most vulnerable made to suffer for their assistance. But do they really want to see disability services treated that way?
Disability Support Network chief executive Peter Reynolds called it a “heart breaking decision” saying, “we thought we were on the right track, we were following the Government’s policy called Enabling Good Lives, which gives disabled people the right to choose.”
The Enabling Good Lives programme is on hold as the government assesses funding. Note that is “assesses”, not “asses” as published in Stuff above. Although to be fair they’re not entirely wrong - that does seem to be where this government pull most of their decisions from.
People were understandably horrified about the changes, and the lack of consultation. Acting disability spokesperson, Carmel Sepuloni, said:
“It’s beyond disgraceful how this Government is treating our disability communities. The Government plans to leave the Ministry with minimal staff and will remove financial control. Support services worth $2 billion are also being taken from Whaikaha.
It’s also cruel that the Government has halted the Enabling Good Lives programme. A programme disabled people have been greatly worried and vocal about being tampered with. This programme gives choice and control to disabled people to lead better, meaningful, and dignified lives. To halt the rollout in its tracks, is nothing short of shameful.”
The following Facebook post from Emily Writes last night really struck me, you can hear the pain in her words:
People are becoming exhausted by this government. Attacks on frontline services occur daily as they smirk and say it isn’t happening. But it is, and people are hurting and fearful because of their actions.
Is that how a government is supposed to make people feel? Hurt and fearful?
Everyday it seems there is more, and I’m sorry that it’s not nice to read about or think about. But we have to - because it matters and these people who’re running our country do not care, they think they can just keep getting away with things like this.
Whether they can will come down to the character of those swing voters. Is this finally too much, seeing those who need disability services lumped in with MSD, or do they have to wait until it’s something that affects them directly?
First they came for Māori, and I said nothing…
Then they came for those on the minimum wage, and I said nothing…
Now they’re here for disability services…
Now is it time to speak up?
I’ve decided to keep this one open to the public, so if you know anyone that maybe voted for the coalition but might care about this, please feel free to send it to them. 🙂
The situation of advising from the sidelines is well known to nursing. Consistently directors of nursing are moved to advisory positions where they provide endless advice which is generally ignored on the grounds of budgetary constraints. This means in effect that nursing which holds legal accountability for its practice has little control over the conditions in which it delivers services. Unsafe staffing levels being a core example. It will be exactly the same for disability advice. As Nick says; every day I wake up and think it cannot get worse...and most days it does. Thanks Nick for your tireless energy but my growing feeling is we all need to do more but its hard to know how best to do it.
Utterly disgraceful and beyond comprehension. Those National voters in the motu should be ashamed to have ushered in such appallingly callous government. Upston deserves to be publicly vilified for the rest of her time on this earth. Such a callous disregard for our most vulnerable citizens.