Posts by Rosemary McDonald
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Hard News: Doing over the witness, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
Yep. Got my attention. The ladies had a ball....obviously making Gentle Jim squirm with their left-wing offensive. You go girls.
As for Natrad's new interviewing style....classic example was this morning's interview with Sue Henry from the Housing Lobby. http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/20152583
Sue Henry knows her stuff. She obviously has a very good grasp of the issues and the machinations behind the scenes. Each time she was making a pertinent point...Ferguson shut her up. Makes Scary Mary sound like a counselor.
In days of old...I might have fired off an indignant email, demanding the National Broadcaster do it's job properly.
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Evening all.
While we are all trying to talk our way through anger/grief/despair over the election result, trying to find a creed to take us through the next three years (without destroying ourselves with bitter debate)...a little can is being kicked down the road.
In June last year, hot on the heels of the PHDAct(2), a lady called Margaret Spencer took a case of discrimination against the Ministry of Health over payment for the care of her adult disabled son.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8837871/Caregivers-fight-for-payment-to-get-court-hearing
Margaret Spencer's lawyer, Jim Farmer
" said there were "many shocking aspects" to the case.
These included the Government's decision to ignore court rulings, to take away the right to recompense and the ouster condition in a new "discriminatory" law passed on family caregivers - which allows minimum wages for 40 hours per week - preventing challenges to the law. "
In a statement to the Court, Spencer said, " I stand here for democracy,
And this is not a democracy as a democracy ensures equality of rights. This is a dictatorship where the Government is trying to gag the courts."
Couldn't have put it better myself.
And blow me down....if the Judge didn't rule in her favour....
http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1310/Spencer_v_Attorney_General.pdf
Of course, there was the usual debate over the significance of this case....
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/223730/high-court-backs-mother-in-ongoing-family-carer-row
With Geddis saying... "the new ruling will not open the door to more legal action because legislation introduced in May means only Mrs Spencer and the nine other claimants are exempt from a prohibition on any future legal challenges.
"The Government has passed new laws, passed new legislation and closed off any avenue to challenge to those laws - so for the people who aren't Mrs Spencer, well, tough." (Gee, thanks Andrew, mate.)
and Joychild (the barrister for the original Atkinson plaintiffs) saying " the court ruling may open the door for more people to seek compensation for past care of their adult disabled children."
Of course, the Government are appealing Judge Winkelmann's decision.
The hearing is at the Court of Appeal in Wellington on the 22nd and 23rd October.
Peter and I have our Bus pointed south as I type.
As with the previous hearings regarding this case, we feel it is important to show some support and solidarity with the plaintiffs and the legal teams working on this issue.
It also does no harm to have people directly affected by this legislation sitting in front of the Bench. Keeping it real.
The Spencer case involved some rather interesting discussions.
I have the transcript of the High Court hearing...I shall try to re-read it over the next few days...but it is very _wordy_!
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Access: You Can Call Me Brave Now, in reply to Russell Brown,
Thank you for the update Russell.
It is a big and brave step to take Chelle, and I wish you all the best.
Speaking with other people living with SB who have had to undergo the same surgery....you WILL start to feel better. Constantly dealing with wounds and infections, taking antibiotics....makes you feel like crap.
Please take care of yourself.
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Hard News: Doing over the witness, in reply to Shaun Lott,
but the announcement of the Cabinet and this raid seem very similarly timed.
Cabinet was announced yesterday.
The raid happened last Thursday.
Perhaps someone could shed some light on why there was such a delay in the news of the raid being released to the media?
Oh, and Russell.... "And the implications of what the police have done are very, very troubling."....me, I'd give it a sphincter factor of about 9.5.
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Access: Disability: Election Promises…, in reply to Hilary Stace,
Nicky Wagner.....well, she did participate in the 'pretend to be Deaf' / walk a mile stunt...in between schmoozing her Boss. Trained as a teacher but quickly morphed into business...specifically fashion.
Read all about it here...http://www.nickywagner.co.nz/
Coleman...trained as a doctor, but clearly had taken the wrong fork. Got back on track by doing an MBA, and teaming up with PWC, while slumming it as a part time GP in Otara....gives him the common touch perhaps, a touch of street cred???
Here...https://www.national.org.nz/team/mps/detail/jonathan.coleman
Hilary...Tariana had a brother who was a tetraplegic...as she frequently liked to remind us to give her 'crip cred'. Certainly this experience with disability failed to give her any real empathy for those with high and very high care needs.
I appear to have taken out a life membership in the Pessimists Society...
However...one glimmer of hope...Anne Tolley might actually take a gander at what the Government is happy to spend per year on a prisoner ($90,000), and what a person with a disability is supposed to live on on the SLP per year....about $11,000.... and think....hmmm...somethings not right here....
You think?
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Access: Disability: Election Promises…, in reply to Marc C,
Always interesting to see who is chosen to sit on these panels and advisory groups Marc C....always interesting.
The TAG for the Family Carers issue.....ALL of the members had some financial relationship with the Ministry of Health.
Two of the members' primary experience with disabilty was through the ACC system...which pays family carers....so what the hell they were doing in an MOH Advisory Group was beyond me.
Some folk, it seems, have found a niche in which they can purport to represent the interests of a particular group on a particular issue, collect their pay, and are in no way accountable for any negative outcomes.
Some of these people would appear to have a certain level of intelligence....so how is it that they do not see that their 'involement' is mere tokenism?
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Oooops..the pdf should be on the bottom of the text....
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Access: Disability: Election Promises…, in reply to Marc C,
Even Bennett is going to leave social security, as it must be a too “hot potato” for her now.
Hmmm…..from left field again….
Bennett did such an awesome job of whipping us beneficiaries into shape. Her staunch stance against we lazy bludgers has created the perfect environment and culture…going forward…as they say.
We KNOW an enquiry, or god forbid, a complaint, will risk public humiliation …or worse…a ‘review’. We know about the ‘kick them when they’re down’ philosophy.
Some of us are cowed. Some of us engage with WINZ in automatic defensive mode. Others….with a tenuous hold on their sanity …have reacted with extreme violence. Only Sue Bradford had the guts to publicly put THAT one in its true context.
Just think what Paula could do with Health…and it’s unwanted offspring… Disability.
ACC…is fat for the selling, Marc….Key will claim he has a mandate….
As for the opposition parties failing to get their collective shit together…forgive me…but I knda told you so a couple of months back.
Speaking with true blue National voters…( the few who actually admitted to it!!!) in the Far North, and more recently on the East Coast….most were horrified when we explained exactly what National had done on the 17th May 2013.
All most knew was this…
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/9214236/92m-for-family-carers
Not the truth, which was this.
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"The meeting started badly when Te Ururoa Flavell stated that the Māori party wants to repeal the NZ Public Health and Disability Amendment Act No 2 – the bill that was passed under urgency following the 2013 Budget and which denies the paid care option to many family members, and even worse removes any avenue for challenge under human rights legislation. Repeal is a popular policy – except that his Party voted for it and helped it pass. Which he then denied. And then he had to leave."
From left field here (where else?)....I wonder if, under some arcane Rule of the House, that if the majority of a particular Party's sitting members deny that they voted a particular way on a certain piece of legislation....then their votes are declared null and void?
Yes, weird; but it seems truly bizzarre to me that both Flavell and Turia are under the mistaken impression that they voted AGAINST the PHDAct ammendment.
In short....WTF????
Good piece Hilary...
We made the effort to attend a similar 'do' in Kaitaia, organised and run by an enthusiastic and competent Taiaho Trust.
Torrential rain. Truly a challenge for the mobility impaired to attend, but they did.
Only two candidates bothered to show. The Green candidate, and a guy from the Maori Party who was obivious winging it.
We do not watch telly while on the road (as we have been for the past six weeks or so) ...but did catch in passing that Catherine Delahunty and Ruth Dyson had a go about the PHDAct....too little too late guys.
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Up Front: Oh, God, in reply to BenWilson,
You’d know that you can’t actually do this, right? Putting aside utter impracticality of it to the point of ridiculousness, you are aware that parents can’t just rock up to classes
Err....unless things have radically changed in the past five years, then I am sure that parents would not be refused permission to sit in on classes. Any 'having a go' sessions would of course be held in private...unless of course the 'teacher' was advocating the kids reject their godless parents immediately and give themselves over to the lord...immediate intervention probably understandable at that point.
What "story", Ben? I am offering my experience and my opinion.
Not the same as yours maybe. I respect that.
It is truly offensive to accuse someone of lying, simply because you disagree with them.
Where is it written that we should all have the same opinion?
Giovanni...the Catholic Church has a hell of a lot to answer for....one wishes there really was a hell for those who abuse children. There were no priests or nuns teaching in my childrens schools, and they were not involved closely in the liturgical aspects of church activities, so opportunities did not arise for priests to be alone with them. And, of course, my children had been well educated about keeping safe, and speaking out if they felt something was not right. Like the music teacher....
And, to continue the sporting theme...how many coaches of childrens teams have turned out to be paedophiles? Concerned parents would be at every practise, on every sports trip...
Okay...ban all God Stuff in State Schools. Seems to be a majority opinion.
But I do hope that all those who demand this also refuse to celebrate Christmas and Easter.
On the grounds that they are Christian festivals, and you are not Christian, this is not a Christian country etc etc...because, as "Danielle" says...
"The insidious religious bullshit everywhere is at best tiresome and at worst actively harmful. "
Even worse is when religion is used to promote orgies of consumerism.
If you want to piss someone off...ask them at the height of their Christmas shopping frenzy if they are going to midnight mass at their local church....