Disability funding model doesn’t work for Pacific communities - advocate

Pacific advocate and T3 paraplegic Aiga Pouoa says the Government is missing the mark when it comes to supporting people with disabilities.

Figures from Stats NZ show that one in six people in Aotearoa New Zealand lives with some form of disability. Yet, Pacific people represent only eight per cent of those accessing disability support services.

Pouoa says the current system fails to address the collective needs of families caring for individuals with a disability.

“You've got a household, say they’ve got one tagata sa’ilimalo with down syndrome … everybody's trying to run around and find money for gas to take this boy to his appointments, take him to school, to look after the other kids, to find money for food to feed everybody.”

She says that individualism does not resonate with the Pacific disabled community.

”We have to rely on our natural supports, our own ecosystem to do it, the palagi system doesn't recognise our Pacific worldview of collectivism.”

Support that doesn’t fit the brief

As chair of Tōfā Mamao, a non-profit organisation of Pacific disabled people advocating for the disability communities and their families, Pouoa says there are barriers to accessing support, including a lack of clear guidance on available resources.

“‘Mainstream’ send in their people and they come over to your house and they speak palagi ‘we’re going to do this and that’, you don’t really get much of a say, nor are you given options.

“I didn’t even know Pacific disability services existed until much, much later, so why aren’t these services being offered to us in the first instance?”

Nicolette Edgar, Stats NZ social and community spokesperson, says three out of five disabled people (506,000) have at least one unmet need: Support, medical care, home modifications, or equipment.

Pouoa says it’s a challenge accessing government services and that there is mistrust towards the health system within Pacific families, including language barriers and stigma around disability.

“You're trying to ask for a hand up, they're looking at you like you're asking for a hand out.”

She credits the role of unpaid carers or tautua soifua in Pacific families.

“They're the people that run around and advocate for those people that don't have voices, that can't speak for themselves.

An advocate says the collective needs of family supporting those with disabilities must be considered. Photo/Tōfā Mamao

“They're part of the disability sector ecosystem and we share information amongst each other, so one family can have a car to take their son with cerebral palsy to church every Sunday, that’s how we work.”

A life-changing fall

Reflecting on her personal journey, Pouoa recalls a life-changing fall from a balcony in 2016 that left her paralysed.

Now a fitness studio owner in Avondale, she successfully hosted New Zealand’s first adaptive boxing match.

Before the accident, Pouoa relied heavily on her physicality. Now, she uses her mind and voice to navigate life.

“It took an accident for me to take everything away. It stripped me right down to my core to see it like this and think like this.”

Aiga Pouoa is the founder and director of Ryze Fitness Adaptive Studio. Photo/Tōfā Mamao

Questions and funding cuts

Last year, the coalition government transferred disability services from the dedicated Ministry of Disabled People, Whaikaha, back to the Ministry of Social Development.

The shift raised concerns when an independent review revealed inconsistencies and “inappropriate” policy settings in support services.

Pouoa says the pressure from ongoing funding cuts and questions about unfair treatment do not help the disabled community.

“It looked like Pacific disability services were being audited first before everybody else. If it was right across the board, I'd understand, but this felt targeted.”

Pouoa advocates for a broader perspective on funding models, urging stakeholders to explore family dynamics and the roles within them. 

“‘Who supports who? What is their role in everyday life? How can we improve on that? How can we put money in their pocket for doing so?’ These are unskilled people doing skilled work for the people they love.”

She says it’s time to abandon the outdated support models.

“Those systems are old systems that have been in there for decades. They don't work anymore, and they're not relevant, not in today's society.”