Well I gave it a go - after all it is an election year. I explored the dark depths of all our Political Parties websites in search of, at times, that elusive creature – the disability spokesperson.

When I found him or her I tapped each one, metaphorically, on the shoulder, via email and said.

“Hi there
I'm the editor of the Cerebral Palsy Review which is a member based publication. Our members would very much like to hear how your party, over the next election term of office, is going to create a more inclusive society, eliminating the barriers to people with disabilities who participate in and contribute to society.”

I also explained that our review is rather small in structure so I requested six bullet style responses to my query.

I received three responses back. The threerespondents were from Labour’s Rob McCann, Press Secretary from the office of Hon Ruth Dyson, New Zealand First‘s Anne Moore - Executive Assistant to Disability spokesperson, Barbara Stewart and the Green Party’s Kate Strack Executive Assistant to Disability spokesperson, Metiria Turei.

Oops I do tell a lie. I did get a reply from a puzzled Paul Hutchison who is National's

spokesman for Disability Issues. Apparently he is still looking for my six questions to respond to. Never mind. Let’s move on.

The three actual responses I did get back were really, quite, encouraging. However the responses were a bit too long for the CP Review, so our website was the ideal vehicle for early political messages.

The Labour party spoke of the need to give disabled people choices, honouring the New Zealand Disability Strategy, nurturing an ongoing partnership between Government and the disability community, and pledged their ongoing commitment to improving the lives of disabled people will remain strong.
The Green Party wants to set up a national awareness project to raise public awareness of disability issues, support affirmative action to enable people with impairments to counteract the effects of past and present barriers to inclusion, advocate for effective and empowering processes and networks to support people with impairments and address key issues related to service provision including promoting individualised funding.

The New Zealand First Party would promote policies recognising that people with disabilities are in the best position to identify and articulate their own needs, promote disability services that facilitate independence and are delivered after informed self assessment wherever possible, review current streams for disability funding with a view to better directing service delivery and ensure that the office for Disability Issues has the resources to monitor and report on the full implementation of the Disability Strategy in a timely fashion.

To read in full the responses of the Labour party, the Green Party and the New Zealand First Party Click here

Ross Flood- Editor
55 Hillside Road
Papatoetoe
Auckland
Phone/Fax (including answer phone) (09) 278-7106
Email Ross Flood