Budget good but could do more: disability advocate

• Published date: 25 May 2023
• Publication title: Star, The

Minister for Disability Issues Priyanca Radhakrishnan released details last week on how the budget provided increased support for disabled people to access disability services

‘‘Budget 2023 will provide $863.6million to help ease cost pressures on Government disability support services.

‘‘This support will ensure we can meet price increases due to inflation and increases in service volumes due to demand.’’

This included a demand for individualised funding, which gave disabled people more control over the support they received, she said.

‘‘Our disability system supports over 2.2million days of care in residential care, and the equivalent of 4.9million funded support hours through individualised funding.’’

Up to 120,000 people accessed disability support services that included equipment, vehicle, and housing modifications.

Some of the highlights from the budget that were of importance for the disability community were making half-price fares for Total Mobility services permanent.

Another key feature was ending the Minimum Wage Exemption (MWE), which allowed disabled people to be paid less than the minimum wage, by mid-2025.

‘‘This unfair exemption currently affects about 800 disabled people who are legally able to be paid less on the basis they’re perceived to be less productive,’’ she said.

Dunedin Disabled Persons Assembly kaituitui Chris Ford said while...