walking . is . overrated

Okay, so for all those who’ve been badgering me about the interview I did with Ruth Dyson, Minister of Disability Issues, last month, the wait is over! I’ve broken the interview down into several segments, as detailed below. Click on the link to hear the clip streamed online (good for Broadband users), otherwise right-click the […]

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Okay, so James is a 4-year-old boy who has Down’s Syndrome, and is currently funded 10 hours of one-on-one care per week, equivalent to two hours a day at his local Kindergarten. While other kids attend for 17 hours a week, James can only go for 10, because that’s all his support allocation allows. His […]

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Are thousands of our lives set to change forever? Or will the status quo prevail? Whatever the outcome, you’ve gotta admire Melanie Trevethick’s tenacity in taking the MOH vs. ACC battle to the High Court in Wellington. The court case is set down for today and tomorrow.
Would I love to be entitled to the […]

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I’ve written about Ryan Leitch before, but for those of you who don’t recognise the name, he’s the 18 year-old Auckland boy who topped the world in the Cambridge Geography exam last year. He’s also got muscular atrophy, and I reckon he’s a real inspiration for young disabled people in this country. Yet despite this, […]

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This is so, so important. Please read this post.
I’m sure many of you have a passionate stance on the whole ACC vs. MOH funding conundrum, and why those who can prove “medical misadventure” was the cause of their disability (or, ironically, those who got drunk, crashed their car, and are now wheelchair users) are entitled […]

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I’m sure you’ve all read the headlines about the blind couple who were charged $85 on top of their room charge because their guide dogs, shock horror, left hair on the carpet. If this is news to you, the story basically surrounds the indignation expressed by this blind couple after being charged extra by hotel […]

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I don’t read much about the Iraq war these days, it’s all such a mess and does nothing to raise one’s spirits. However on this lazy Sunday evening I happened across a story which upset me more than any news on this ghastly period of world history so far; that two women, both of whom […]

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The most recently-established Community Law Centre is one with the specific purpose of addressing the unmet legal needs of disabled people in the Auckland region, while making sure all other community law centres also accommodate disabled people as best they can. Auckland Disability Law are now seeking an experienced solicitor to join their small team.
This […]

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Really interesting post over at the Capabilities Blog, where the spotlight is on the recently-completed Riverton viewing platform, which has in fact just been awarded “Highly Commended” at the Carter Holt Harvey Timber Design Awards 2007. The catch is, it doesn’t comply with the access provisions of the building code, and in fact the wheelchair […]

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In what’s being hailed as a “landmark victory” for disabled Canadians, domestic Canadian airlines will no longer be able to charge an extra fare for a disabled person’s caregiver. That means it effectively puts an end to the one-person-one-fare policy, and enables disabled people to travel by plane without having to pay extra for a […]

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