Advocate: Disability support funding changes could have greater impact on Pacific

Sudden changes to disability funding is sparking questions around how inequities for the disabled community are being addressed.

With more than 50,000 Pacific people in New Zealand having a disability, the chair of the Enabling Good Lives National Leadership Group, Cook Islander Jade Farrar, joined 531pi's Pacific Mornings to discuss what these changes means for the disabled Pacific community.

Watch the full interview with Jade Farrar below:

Farrar says fixing longstanding issues shouldn't be constrained to one government department.

"Why are employment stats so low, why does it take so long for children with autism to be able to access a diagnosis and why are we delegating responsibility to one ministry, and why are we not as a holistic society mucking in and doing what we can?"

And the advocacy group is also questioning how funding changes will impact Pacific people with disabilities.

Farrar says this could become another barrier to Pacific families being able to access support.

"Pacific people in New Zealand have some of the lowest uptake of disability support, there's also a suggestion that Pacific people are reluctant to engage services because sometimes they struggle to understand [due to language barriers] ... and lack the confidence to engage."

In response to criticism of the changes, the Disability Issues Minister says restrictions on purchasing rules for won't be lifted, even with a top-up of funding.

The Ministry of Disabled People has narrowed the rules for carers, so funding can only be used on wages, not on travel, accommodation, or respite services such as massages.

Penny Simmonds says enough money has been given to the ministry to get it to the end of the financial year.

But she says even with additional funding, there's still a risk of the ministry running out, so the restrictions will remain. And Penny Simmonds says the restrictions were put in place so the ministry could manage its funding.

For more information on Enabling Good Lives you can visit this website www.enablinggoodlives.co.nz