'Demolishing the foundations while plastering over the cracks'

Transcript of video
Published on Stuff, 22 May 2025 – 6.12pm
Link to video: https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360698984/demolishing-foundations-while-plastering-over-cracks

Introduction
The President of the Disabled Persons Assembly, Kera Sherwood-O'Regan, has expressed concern that the Budget continues to leave disabled people behind, particularly in terms of pay equity.

Video begins:
"Look, ultimately this is really a budget that is continuing to leave disabled people behind. It’s really demolishing the foundations while plastering over the cracks here and there.

"So we’re seeing some things come through that look quite positive on the surface, but overall we’re really concerned at where that funding is actually coming from and seeing some really critical things not get the attention they deserve in this budget.

"Ultimately, the cuts to pay equity taking $12.8b dollars out of the pockets of low-income, hard-working women, and those include disabled women.

"One of the best investments that the government could have made would have been to fund the pay equity claims.

"We know that disabled people benefit when the people who are supporting us are paid fairly and we also know that disabled women who work in these sectors also benefit when they are paid fairly.

"So ultimately, the pay equity issue is a really massive issue for disabled people.

"We’re appalled at the means testing of 18- and 19-year-olds access to WINZ. This is a really major disability and equity issue, particularly for disabled and queer youth who are more at risk of abuse.

"They really should not be forced into that economic dependency on their parents, so it’s very disappointing to see that come through in this budget as well.

"We’re really disappointed to see the Government continuing support for military style boot camps and see that being touted as something positive particulary in the Budget at a Glance document.

"Ultimately, these military style boot camps are an ableist approach, we know that the pilot went very poorly, and there is a very high risk of picking up more disabled youth.

"So in that switch, really trying to …, we’re hearing from the government a lot about this real focus on law and order, but the ways in which they’re going about it are fundamentally ableist and inappropriate."

End