Posts by Hilary Stace
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Several amazing women and representatives of minorities winning races all over the place. Emily's list has been effective. And in Florida a win for a proposition that people with convictions who have served their time can now vote.But very hard to get around the gerrymandering of electoral districts done a few years ago under the Republicans.
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By the way the recent Labour Party conference voted that the party will now have a policy of lowering the voting age to 16. Unfortunately, that requires support from 75% of MPs to implement. It is about 45 years ago since the Kirk Government lowered it from 21 to 18. But he had the numbers.
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Access: Reaching out, in reply to Chelle Hope,
Happy to help. I'm part of the supervision team for a student who has recently submitted her PhD on a disability topic. Finding interviewees who fitted the eligibility criteria and then found the time and energy to be interviewed at a time and place that suited them both was a lot harder than she anticipated. Of course, once she did she got some great and original data.
I have a vuw email. -
Doing a PhD is tough, regardless. Have you found enough interviewees? I might be able to help if you are looking for more.
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Hard News: The big vision and the small problems, in reply to tussock,
I'm really keen on some major review of ACC to create one fair, equitable disability and income support system - as recently advocated by Sir Geoffrey Palmer. The original commission in the 1960s was headed by Sir Owen Woodhouse but has never been fully implemented. So there is a lot of talk about the 'Woodhouse" principles. I have just realised why people look puzzled when you talk about this in Dunedin.
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Thanks for this, Chelle. And best wishes for dealing with all those challenges - particularly finding an accessible house in Wellington.
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An interesting aspect of this announcement of 600 dedicated Learning Support Coordinators (yay - not the exclusionary 'special needs') is its gestation. The last government carried out a select committee inquiry into support for kids with autism, dyslexia etc.
The Opposition members of the Education select committee were lobbied by parents, families and the disability sector generally to have an inquiry as there had been numerous reviews over a couple of decades but nothing much improved. But without a majority on the committee there could be no agreement about an inquiry much as Green MP, Catherine Delahunty, particularly, tried.Then there was a moment when Judith Collins stopped being a minister and joined the committee. Very cleverly, Catherine built an alliance and got her support for an inquiry (she apparently has family experience) and the numbers were there. Then Judith went back to being a Minister and the committee lost its progressive majority.
So the inquiry happened and heard hundreds of stories of educational injustice. Chris Hipkins, Tracey Martin and Catherine worked as a team and when the committee's very limited official report came out a couple of years ago they wrote a minority report with numerous recommendations. Now in government, Ministers Martin and Hipkins have a list to work through. Learning support coordinators is high on the list, and is also a major part of the NZEI's claim. So lots of people are happy about this announcement. Though it shows that you often have to play the long game in politics.
I would also like to see Catherine appointed to something educational and important to recognise and utilise her effectiveness. -
Hard News: NZ On Air and the bill that…, in reply to Russell Brown,
But I do occasionally buy whiteware and am looking forward to having a regular income in the form of the National Superannuation Universal Basic Income (after years of irregularity of income), so will likely become more of a consumer.
I do miss TVNZ7 - there were so many good programmes on it such as the democratisation of understanding of the justice system via the Court Report.
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By the way I mentioned the Taxpayer's Union in my submission to a parliamentary select committee hearing on the Election Access Fund Bill. This Bill, developed by Mojo Mathers and taken on by Chloe Swarbrick, provides a specialised fund to support disabled people as candidates for general elections. It could fund essential support like NZSL interpreters or transport.
But you can imagine how the Taxpayers Union would dig up information about individuals or organisations and make a trolling fuss. They once publicly objected to Mojo travelling to Masterton to talk on community radio. So the Bill needs to have safeguards against such attacks.
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I really like Spinoff TV - particularly that it is fronted by two smart women and does actually mention the news. Unfortunately, when it began it clashed with Coronation Street (and there are many of us who need that on a Friday night) and is now on too late for me. I try and catch up with it later. But then I'm from a demographic that no one cares about so it doesn't matter what I watch or when.