Goudie Sandra: General Debates 
Goudie Sandra: General Debates 
[Volume:617;Page:13078] 
SANDRA GOUDIE (National—Coromandel) 
: 
 I wish to further expand on this Government’s fiscal incompetence whereby a lack of forecasting has meant that the Government has frozen equipment funding for the sick the aged and the disabled. But oh no it does not care. Those people are most vulnerable in society—what does the Government think about that? It does not care. It is the Government’s fiscal incompetence that has done that and what has it resulted in? It has resulted in a loss of dignity and in frustration and hardship on families already struggling to care for children spouses and other family members. 
The Minister of Health should ask those families as I have done about the effects that a virtual shut-down of essential services is having on their lives. She may sit there and be very comfortable but a lot of people are not. They need essential equipment to have even some degree of quality of life—something that the Minister quite clearly takes for granted. I can tell the Minister that those families are sick of having to fight every step of the way for the essential things they need for a reasonable quality of life. To quote one mother it seems like every way they go there is some hurdle or brick wall that they come up against. The Minister might do well to listen to that. 
They would like to say to the Minister of Health and the Minister for Disability Issues that they would like them both to spend a day in their shoes looking after their children spouses or family members. For example a 7-year-old girl in my electorate who suffers from progressive lung disease hip disease and a multitude of other disabilities will face the winter at risk of severe chest infections. She needs a ventilation system and a special bed which would mean that she would have some degree of health and be able to attend school on a much more regular basis. That is the child’s wish the parents’ goal the disability strategy’s vision but the Minister’s failure. 
In another case some basic bathroom alterations could significantly ease the stress on a 58-year-old woman whose husband a diabetic chose to have his leg amputated so that he could get his life back. But that will not happen under the current funding policies where people are just cut off at the knees. 
There are plenty of stories from all around the country. Those people do not want to complain and given the problems they face every day they do not have the strength to do that. The Minister is supposed to have someone there to represent their concerns and issues and address their needs but that is not happening. They have had enough. They are sick of having to fight for a quality of life that this Government pretends they deserve. 
The Minister should come clean on the Government’s real policy for the disabled. Is the message “out of sight out of mind” until it suits the Budget? That is exactly what those people are feeling. Already one service provider has had to lay off staff and qualified staff are hard to come by and may not come back. I have asked the Minister what she will be doing to address the growing backlog in equipment. She says that the Ministry of Health is in the process of establishing how it will allocate its disability support. She goes on to say that it will include “consideration” and that it will take account of unmet demand. I am quoting the Minister’s response to my question. 
So far we have “establishing” “consideration” and “take account”. There is absolutely no indication of any extra funding for the 2004-05 Budget to meet the growing backlog. There is absolutely no comfort for people in the disability sector who are getting nothing from this Government and who need that equipment for some degree of quality of life. 
The Minister does not care because she is not meeting that demand. She is not indicating that she will even address the issue. She has made no indication of that in the answer to my question and therefore no indication to people in the disability sector. What assurances do they have as they struggle to have a reasonable quality of life? Absolutely none! It is about time that that was addressed. I urge the Government to take urgent action and address the issue so that people in the disability sector have some degree of quality of life and some assurances as they go into the new financial year because right now they are getting nothing.