walking . is . overrated

I’m sure many of you are familiar with TVNZ’s Attitude programme, which focuses on NZ’s disabled community and their lives, struggles, and achievements. Well now, Attitude are launching the ‘Attitude Awards’!
Says the Attitude website:
The Attitude Awards seek to honour the outstanding achievements of ordinary New Zealanders who have disabilities – men and women who […]

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In today’s politically correct world, using the right word to describe minority groups is becoming increasingly important. No longer are black people described as ‘black’. No longer are gay people described as ‘faggots’. So why, then, is it deemed appropriate for disabled people to be called ‘retards’?
The latest Hollywood blockbuster ‘Tropic Thunder’, produced by movie […]

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Some things really baffle me. One of those things is when a teenager with Down’s Syndrome is prevented from participating in a mainstream schooling environment because he isn’t allocated sufficient support funding, and, by mere virtue of the fact that he’s disabled, is seen as “a potential danger to themselves and others”. I’ve just been […]

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Apologies for the late notice folks, but for those of you interested in the ongoing ACC vs. MOH saga featuring Melanie Trevethick, this issue will be played out in a full debate tonight on TV One’s CloseUp programme. It’ll definitely be worth a watch so make sure you tune in from 7pm!

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In what came as quite a shock to me, more than half of the respondents of a recent online poll said they’d rather be dead than severely disabled.
Really? Dead? It’s not that bad, honestly…
Reuters reports:
In the online poll commissioned by Disaboom, a website and social network for people affected by disabilities, 52 percent of […]

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I shake my head in bewilderment…
Melissa Barton said she is considering legal action after her son’s kindergarten teacher led his classmates to vote him out of class.
After each classmate was allowed to say what they didn’t like about Barton’s 5-year-old son, Alex, his Morningside Elementary teacher said they were going to take a vote, Barton […]

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So I’m sure you’ve all heard of how PM Helen Clark’s security entourage blocked all the mobility parking spaces outside Christchurch’s Town Hall last week.
What that did, interestingly, is bring this debate over the misuse of mobility parking spots into the mainstream, and the NZ Herald has a really fascinating debate going on over […]

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The winner of walkingisoverrated.com’s first ever iPod nano competition is…
Jenny Smyth!
For her fantastic review of Auckland’s Sylvia Park Mall.
Congratulations Jenny, I’ll be in touch shortly to send out your prize!
To all those that entered, thank you so much, and don’t feel too bummed - there’s a new iPod competition starting next week! Stay tuned!

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Okay team, I’ll keep this brief - if you live in Auckland and are passionate about access issues, then a research team want to hear from you! Prepare yourself for the pitch blurb, it reads like this:
The Disability Resource Centre (DRC) is working in partnership with independent research company Bennett and Bijoux Ltd to conduct […]

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As far as I can see - nothing!
I’m really putting this out there to see if anyone within the disability sector, with more expertise in such things than I, can explain if the budget, released yesterday by Finance Minister Michael Cullen, should have included any provisions for the movement towards a wholly inclusive New […]

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