Posts by Rosemary McDonald
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Hard News: Every option has costs, every…, in reply to BenWilson,
I’m surprised to see Germany and France so high.
No surprise for those of us who spend most of our time travelling and sharing campsites with this group.
These are the Young People, often doing a 'gap' year between secondary and tertiary education, who arrive here with the intention of working in between doing the tourist thing. They will often purchase a vehicle (Honda Odyssey of Toyota Estima), kit it out for basic camping and head off. Many land in the Far North where they will get temp jobs in horticulture. (These temp jobs are not the best option for locals due to the hassle of getting back on the Jobseeker Allowance when the work dries up.)
The vast majority of these YP are German. Like, seriously, they are bloody everywhere. So much so that when there were Dotterels nesting inconveniently on a beach in the very Far North last year I wrote a warning sign in Deutsche.
This is maybe not the place for a discussion about the impacts of budget tourists and their vulnerability to being exploited by employers and campground owners alike but they do love it here. We spend quite some time engaging with them (after a few lessons about not shitting in the sand dunes) and they are often doing the budget and working holiday now....and very often returning years later with their kids for an actual holiday.
The ones we've met looking to live here permanently are often from the UK....they often already have jobs here and try to get in as much tiki touring in their time off to check out places to live long term.
One thing that the Government should be mindful of is that these folk are noticing two major aspects of life in Godzone. Firstly...the cost of food produced here is often more expensive than what they pay at home, and secondly....all the "Do Not Swim / Collect Shellfish" signs all over the show. 100% Pure?
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Access: Disability as a wicked policy problem, in reply to Sacha,
and her pompous tone in that interview really angered me.
I thought it was just me....
When I have the time I will do a breakdown of at least the DSS spend in all areas. Be interesting to quantify the $$$ spent on blocking access to funding to the 'person'...and identifying the snouts in the trough.
What struck me about that interview was her saying that they fund organisations to support those trying to manage life with various impairments....as if that has ever been money well spent.
To them the $$$ would be an investment...especially if the recipients do nothing in the way of actual advocacy.
Hopefully there will be disability focused pre-election gatherings which the Minister will attend and we can test her mettle.
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Nicky Wagner on Natrad tonight in response to an interview with a Marton couple struggling to cope with their son....
It's late(early?), but I'm sure that the Minister said that 5 billion dollars was being spent on disability supports...but that doesn't seem to fit with the Budget..
There is just over 1 billion for DSS and a total of 11 billion over all the DHBs for 'health and disability supports'.
Then there's the $370 million through MSD for Disability Supports...and I still can't reach the $5 billion the Minister claims is spent...
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Access: Fighting seclusion with…, in reply to Angela Hart,
If it were the case that a key decision maker with oversight...
Realizing that Peter was well outside the 'normal' with respect to MOH:DSS's narrow and inflexible parameters for managing supports we did embark upon a mission to find and engage with such a person.
Fools we were.
Fools.
All that valuable fishing time wasted.
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Access: Fighting seclusion with…, in reply to Angela Hart,
And you don’t have to be as exceptional as Ashley to be in the too hard basket either.
But, but our wonderful Disability Support Service has a Strategic Direction that clearly states their commitment to...
Our vision is that disabled people and their families are supported to live the lives they choose. We are committed to increasing disabled people’s choice, control and flexibility regarding the supports they receive.
We are continuing to focus on supporting people to live the life they want. This includes increasing individualised funding and trialling new ways of delivering services (eg, supported self-assessment).
This talk of 'flexibility' and 'person centered support systems' has been going on forever.
The current mob are clearly suffering from intractable and incurable bureaucratic constipation and need to be put out of our misery as soon as possible.
Show some mercy.
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Access: Fighting seclusion with…, in reply to Neil,
The DHB spends a million dollars a year on Ashley Peacock’s care. The issue is risk not resources.
Is it?
I'm starting to wonder if perhaps they have dug in their wee toes over Ashley...sometimes the Ministry of Health and their minions react rather nastily to the kind of criticism they have copped on this case.
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Access: Fighting seclusion with…, in reply to Neil,
It’s important I think to understand the great difficulties faced by treating teams in these rare complex cases.
You make a fair and valid point Neil, and I too have reservations about holding responsible those staff immediately involved at the immediate time that the incident that ultimately leads to restraint/seclusion unfolds.
If the choice comes down to 'hands off to avoid criticism' or 'restrain to prevent harm'...bearing in mind that sometimes there is no time to formulate and enact another plan....then holding on to them until they calm down is the only option.
Imagine the headline...."Foster parents allow mentally unwell six year old to suicide by truck for fear of censure or prosecution if they had restrained him." The foster parents are not responsible for the child's mental health issues. They are the ambulance at the bottom of the proverbial. They do the best they can at the time, and seek immediate extra support for the child from the authorities. (...and in this case, because the foster parents were open and honest about the incident and assertive on behalf of the child, the child did receive professional help.)
It doesn't always work out like that. And very similar scenarios are being played out in schools struggling with children affected by their parent's drug use.
What to do?
Ultimately, we need to ensure that the rights of all are protected in all situations....and that means that central government must resource these sectors properly.
I'm off to train some pigs in flying techniques.
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An update from our Friend...
A scathing report has slammed New Zealand for its overuse of solitary confinement - found to be four times higher than in English prisons and in breach of international standards.
Shalev also highlighted the small but persistent number of "chronic" cases where solitary confinement and restraint were used for prolonged time - such as Ashley's case.
It was concerning to see very little thinking about new solutions for those people, she said.
"There was almost an apathy. There was an assumption that this is how things are done and this is how they will continue to be. No one was thinking outside the box," Shalev said.
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More stroppy parents...
It was unfair, unjust, mean, nasty and discriminatory ....
....we will not let the MoH treat families like dirt....
....it was about time that the MoH stopped being vindictive and nasty...
....The couple regarded the ministry and its Minister as bullies... -
Prior to the passing of the 2013 amendment to the PHDAct Peter and I arranged a face to face meeting with our local MP in his office in Te Awamutu. (We were still clinging to the last vestiges of hope that this kind of engagement might be of some use.)
The office was on a slope with an insurmountable number of steps to the main entrance. (Probably negotiable via tractor.)
We were directed to the rear entrance and had to wait our turn in a grotty wee storage area.
Not an auspicious start....and Our Representative proceeded to deflect our issues by launching into a tale of how he successfully lobbied on behalf of his electoral worker and her family for 'justice' regarding an incident involving her brother.
Time's up. So sorry. Now fuck off.
We have also taken the opportunity to pop into the Former Leader's electoral office as we pass by on the way north along SH16.
Goodness me. The way the staff speak...who knew that he, sorry, He was such a paragon of warmth and saintly benevolence and magnanimity?
You're asking a lot Hilary....endeavoring to engage with that lot and attemping to raise their consciousnesses...but we will commit a proportion of our remaining energy on this Sisyphean task.