Posts by Hilary Stace
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
Usually Ministers of Disability Issues gather all the disability-related issues in the Budget for a press release. But Nicky Wagner's only talks about one policy - more money for Very High Needs ORS students leaving school - up to a hundred students for each of the next three years. This is the cohort who stay till they are 21 in special schools and there is generally nothing for them to transition to. It is an important issue but only one of a great deal of disability policy that needs addressing.
-
One bright spot in the news this morning is a lovely picture of
Giovanni and Lucia, although the lack of sorting special needs funding remains a serious problem. -
I think I will wait for a bit more detail to see exactly what a beneficiary will get extra next year when these changes come in. There are so many ifs and buts around it already that I wouldn't be surprised if only a few people, such as those without an accommodation supplement disability allowance or any other assistance, will actually get it. Check back next 1 April.
It took National 24 years but they have remedied some of their Mother of All Budget cuts. Pity they didn't restore the family benefit though that was a major victim of that Budget. -
So sad about this. I am not a great TV watcher but it was good to know that you could rely on Campbell Live to tell the stories of ‘real ordinary’ people. And you could tell he had a happy cohesive team, such a rare thing these days. So many issues wouldn’t have gained traction without his input and hundreds of thousands of eyes and ears, most recently zero hours contracts.
I just hope he got a good payout, can de-stress and will pop up soon with a free rein on prime time TV1. Which will one day become our public broadcaster again.
-
At times. This is more about her own experiences.
-
She has written a series of posts over the last several years. They started with her finding out about autism as her first child was diagnosed (and much later the second), then her struggles finding suitable schools and trying both special and mainstream, and navigating the minefield of disability policy and support. More recently she has started writing about her own responses to it all. It is an anonymous blog and she carefully protects her and her children's privacy. She doesn't presume to know what her children want, but she describes experiences quite powerfully.
It is a great NZ autism blog with an international following.
-
An insightful new post from the autismandoughtisms blog
-
Up Front: Stand for... Something, in reply to Alfie,
Thanks for fixing that
-
This is what the consultation is about. Short time frame and only a couple more public meetings. But if you have a few minutes do send a response. It is standing for something.
-
Up Front: Stand for... Something, in reply to Alfie,
In contrast I attended a packed, but little advertised meeting last night in Wellington on New Zealand's response to climate change. I happened to see a mention on Facebook but there was no other obvious publicity. Yet the high school hall was full and the audience included a wide age range. There were many well informed speakers from the audience. No ministers of course. A few public servants - from the Ministry of the Environment which is running the consultation and reps from other ministries - sat on the stage and had to bear the brunt of the audience's anger at lack of government action or care about such an urgent issue. The flag consultation was referred to by many speakers. It is always heartening to hear smart and concerned young people, as they will inherit our mess, and one 17 year old spoke with great timing and delivery about accountability.