Posts by WaterDragon

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  • Access: Disability as a wicked policy problem,

    Have to say I wondered what the bleep our Bill was talking about in calling Enabling Good Lives a voucher system. Maybe someone spiked his porridge I mused. Ah, ideology! Having been there at the start of the Enabling Good Lives way back when it was a gleam in the bureaucratic eye, I am sure that the disabled people who drove it, along with some sound allies, were not talking about vouchers. It got hijacked en route by some people who appropriated the principles, the rhetoric and the funding- the usual supects who still, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, think they know what is best for us and how that may best be described.Vouchers, my foot

    Behind you • Since Jul 2011 • 79 posts Report Reply

  • Access: The disabled soldier “problem”,

    Thanks Robyn, good to remember and recollect this exhibition. Iv isited it when first it opened and I wouldn't mind betting the solitude I experienced as I wandered around and wondered is still a common experience. It is surely not easy to find. And thinking of all of our casualties, it is shameful that we have devoted so little space to remembering and reflecting. The British Imperial War Museum has a much broader and inclusive kaupapa, and in this tiny fleck of homage to some of those who pay the price of war (and as singer Judy Small reminds us, it's not only men in uniform ) a few of us have had the chance to see a bit behind the curtain. But those guys, they came back to an unfriendly social climate. So much suffering. So little remembering

    Behind you • Since Jul 2011 • 79 posts Report Reply

  • Access: It’s just a bout of Chronic Sorrow,

    Lovely piece that shines Hilary.For some time now I've said that parents of disabled sons and daughters also have a "place in the sun" and valid concerns- not one and the same as the place to stand of disabled people, but one that is valid too. Your words illuminate that place in the sun, and you understand the subtleties of the boundaries. Well done you

    Behind you • Since Jul 2011 • 79 posts Report Reply

  • Envirologue: What has Neoliberalism Done…, in reply to Steve Curtis,

    You may not have run across indications theat DHBs were providing such dental services Steve, but I can assure you it was happening- my mouth is testament to this.

    Behind you • Since Jul 2011 • 79 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: The other kind of phone tapping,

    Clearly I had a deprived childhood/young adulthood.

    Behind you • Since Jul 2011 • 79 posts Report Reply

  • Access: Right to die?,

    Thank you Martin for this.
    I find it both disappointing and unsurprising that your points are being taken to mean something about your motivations and perspectives. Just as non-disabled people have a range of views on this topic, so do disabled people. The views of those supporting euthanasia have dominated airplay, so I fail to see why a disabled person expressing their opposition to this, and saying that this poses risks for our community should attract such outrage. He has, when all is said and done a right to express his views without being shat on for doing so. Can we all "play" nicely boys and girls?

    Behind you • Since Jul 2011 • 79 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: CWC 2015: Contains graphic horror,

    Sounds/looks incredibly underwhelming. Will we be shot of this meglomaniac and his totty ideas sometime soon? Or is this truly the way of the future (no don't answer that, can't bear to hear)

    Behind you • Since Jul 2011 • 79 posts Report Reply

  • Access: Some aspects of New Zealand's…,

    For those who are interested to read more, Alison Riseborough's VUW history thesis details the beginnings of the IHC. She got to see source documents including, if memory serves me, the Anyon papers. Not all theses are readable, but hers is. And no, I don't remember the exact title.

    Behind you • Since Jul 2011 • 79 posts Report Reply

  • Access: Phillip Hughes: a personal reflection,

    ."What’s the spirit in which we engage with questions around disability? We talk about values a lot in our sector, but I’m thinking after what I’ve seen in the last few days that spirit is something different"
    That last question you have asked is a good one

    Behind you • Since Jul 2011 • 79 posts Report Reply

  • Access: Some aspects of New Zealand’s…, in reply to Sacha,

    It has also affected the culture around too many disability leaders – a real reluctance to stand up to power

    You’re right, Sacha-few too many individually focussed souls around but there’s another aspect to it too- there may have been a lot more standing up that was done, but it doesn’t get into the public attention space anywhere near enough- maybe it’s not as enticing to a journo as a nice juicy stereotype of inspiration, or a government department engulfs and vanishes it as part of the process.
    It’s part of the public record that Quentin Angus wrote a bill about having a disability advocacy agency way back around 1981 (International Year of Disabled People) that after some full free and frank discussions got debated in Parliament (possibly due to the energies of JB Munro). But who today really knows Quentin stood up to power about it, because it was important for disabled people.
    As I said, you’re right, but like FB relationship statuses, standing up can be “its complicated”.

    Behind you • Since Jul 2011 • 79 posts Report Reply

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