The Green Party says the Government has failed persons with disabilities by rushing the Strengthening Disability Support Services Bill through its first reading just days after it was quietly introduced, with little warning and no meaningful consultation with the disability community.
“Nothing about us without us is supposed to mean something in Aotearoa. Instead, disabled people were blindsided,” says Green Party Disability Spokesperson Kahurangi Carter.
“This bill was introduced on Monday night with no consultation with persons with disabilities and, incredibly, disability groups were only briefed around 30 minutes before it became public.
“Now, just days later, the Government has forced it through its first reading with coalition support. That is not good lawmaking and it is not respectful engagement with the community most affected.
The Green Party says the Government cannot claim to support disabled people while shutting them out of decisions that directly impact their lives.
“Disabled people deserve access to their communities, access to the care they need, and support workers deserve to be properly valued and paid for the work they do,” says Kahurangi Carter.
“The Government keeps trying to frame this as a technical bill, but disabled people know the real-world consequences these changes could have.
“The least the Government can do now is ensure the select committee process is genuinely accessible and gives disabled people enough time to have their voices heard.
“We need a longer submission period to ensure accessibly submission formats like voice recording and for live oral hearings to have captions, to ensure disabled people can fully participate in the democratic process.
“Disabled people should not have to fight just to be included in decisions about their own lives.
“This Government should be taking the democratic rights of disabled people seriously, instead of rushing through legislation at speed and hoping nobody notices.”
