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 Zealand? Looking at the Budget’s breakdown, there doesn’t seem to be anything explicitly laid out to address the social and economic divide facing the average

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 link, and select “Save target as…” (or similar) to download the files to your desktop. Enjoy, and let me know your thoughts by leaving a

How’s this for a fantastic initiative? The NSW Govt has announced the ‘Companion Card‘, enabling disabled people to take a carer with them to sporting matches, movie theatres, and even aboard public transport for the price of a single ticket. So now whenever Aussies with disabilities are out and about and want to go to the movies or hop on a bus, they can take a support person for no extra charge! Minister for Disability Services Kristina Keneally says people

Well – have you?! I’m pleased to announce I’ve scooped an interview with the Minister for Disability Affairs, Hon. Ruth Dyson, at the end of next week, and I’d love to know what you’d like me to ask her! Leave your questions for the Minister in the comments below, and I’ll try to squeeze them in! Full interview transcript to follow late next week

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, for some absurd reason, he can’t get funding for a support person at University, despite wanting to continue with his passion – Geography – at

Perhaps it’s old hat now, considering it’s been more than 400 days since the Ministry of Health agreed to replace the ageing wheelchair stair-lift that was forcing Arthur and Barbara Broomes’ lives apart, but I’d like to join the growing public cry to hurry up and fix this ghastly situation! For those of you who are unaware of the Broomes’ predicament, the South Auckland couple’s application to replace their 18-year-old lift was approved in November, 2006. Barbara had switched to

Taken from stuff.co.nz: A centre that cares for severely disabled people faces having to turn people away next year because the Government is refusing to provide extra funding. The Chris Ruth Centre offers long-term, one-on-one care and specialist services for people in Christchurch with very high special needs who are too old to stay in the school system. Six more people want to enrol at the centre next year, but may not be able to because of the Government’s refusal

Check out the picture on the left. This is what you get when you type “invalid” into Google. Honestly, I like to put the word “invalid” along with “wheelchair-bound” in the ‘Words That Really Piss Me Off’ bucket. Namely because they are such archaic vernacular, not to mention their grossly offensive connotations, and being so reminiscent of a time when disabled people were not to be seen or spoken of. If you weren’t aware, the ‘Disability Benefit’ in New Zealand

Gosh, this is such a tough one. I know I’ve harped on about this before, but reading this article in the Herald today made me think about it all over again, and I’m interested in your thoughts too. The gist of it is this: that a new law being introduced next week will make it illegal for employers to pay disabled workers less than the minimum wage, unless an exemption is applied for. What does this mean? Well, for those

I for one certainly didn’t, and I was shocked/amazed/inspired (yes, all three at once) to discover that one of the world’s most prominent cities, and a previous host of the Olympics and Paralympics, has a man at the helm who is in fact disabled! His name is Sam Sullivan, and he was elected the Mayor of Vancouver in 2005, after serving 12 years as a City Councillor. He is a quadriplegic after breaking his neck when he was aged just