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The Minister for Disability Issues, Tariana Turia, says she was upset by long-running official resistance to paying caregivers of disabled people who are family members.
The government has now put aside $23 million a year to pay carers who look after their own disabled adult family members with high or very high needs, after losing a case in the Court of Appeal.
Mrs Turia, who is in New York this week to report to the United Nations on New Zealand’s progress in meeting the aims of the UN Convention on Disabilities, says she always backed the families’ case.
"Frankly I was very embarrassed when the Minister of Health decided they would appeal the decision in court, and we lost that appeal as well. It’s one of the difficulties of being n government that if you’re an associate minister, and even though I’m the Minister for Disability Issues, the fact is there is a principal minister that is responsible for policy," she says.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH TARIANA TURIA CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MTg5NDU=
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