Community update - 6 December 2024

Kia ora koutou. I'm Chris Bunny. I'm leading the work to improve Disability Support Services both now and in the future.

This is my second update to let you know about our work for you, the disabled community.

First off, I would like to acknowledge the International day of Persons with Disabilities. 

The Minister for Disability Issues Louise Upston and I attended a celebration event in Porirua on the 3rd of December. This was hosted jointly by Whaikaha and Pacific disability provider Vaka Tautua. 

I was inspired by disabled people’s stories on how they are living this year’s theme by amplifying their leadership for an inclusive and sustainable future.

It was a really positive event underpinned with a real sense that we can and must do better in how we support our community.

I would like to say a big thank you to the over 1,500 people, groups and organisations who completed the survey on the future of disability support services. 

You gave it to us straight. And I am pleased you did. 

I know you’ve been giving feedback for a while, but it is so important that we understand your thoughts and ideas on the work we are doing now.

You told us, for the most part, disability support services are useful and appropriate but many of you feel we could do better at information sharing between agencies and services. 

You want better and more accessible information about the services available to you.

You said that services should be more flexible. You told us again that services are not delivered consistently and that a system that varies based on where you live is unfair. 

You think the assessment and review process should reflect the diversity of people and recognise the role of carers. 

And you told us that flexible funding is crucial to enable disabled people to live a good life. These were the main themes of what you told us.

Our job is to do justice to the valuable feedback you have provided and incorporate what you shared into the work the Government has asked us to do.

We are planning our work for 2025. We will be able to share more about how and when you can contribute in a couple of weeks. 

We talk a lot about change but I want to remind you that your first point of contact continues to be your NASC, provider, or EGL site.

 Mā te wā, bye for now.