March 13, 2024
WINZ hard line on disabled breaching UN convention
A disability advocate says Work and Income is placing unnecessary burdens on people with disabilities.
Huhana Hickey says WINZ is demanding people report regularly even though there is no change in their condition.
A typical example was a demand that a 60-year old with congenital cerebal palsy prove he can’t work by getting a statement from a specialist rather than accepting the word of his GP.
She says in the past the department said it wasn’t going to target people with various disabilities – but that’s now changed now National is in charge.
“Disabled people don’t stop being disabled. It would be very rare for somebody as a tetraplegic to suddenly get up and walk. This is a problem. They are not treating disabled in any way with respect and it is a breach of the UN (Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) because this is taking it too far,” Dr Hickey says.
There needs to be a different approach to disability, with people being shifted to the supported living payment rather than on jobseeker sickness benefits.