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Otago Daily Times
27-05-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Beyond the pool: rethinking disability aid
Is New Zealand's approach to supporting the disabled actually solving anything, Graham Redding asks. In a time of deepening inequality, a Gospel story from John 5 offers a necessary reflection for Aotearoa. Jesus encounters a man who has waited 38 years by the pool of Bethesda — a place believed to offer healing. But healing, here, is conditional: only the quickest, strongest, or most fortunate are helped. "I have no-one to help me," the man tells Jesus. "Someone else always gets there ahead of me." Jesus does not wait for the waters to stir or for institutional permission. He simply says: "Get up. Pick up your mat and walk." The man is restored — not just physically, but socially. He is no longer invisible. This story is often treated as a healing miracle. But it is more than that. It is a critique of systems that neglect the vulnerable. The pool becomes a symbol of exclusion, where only a few benefit, and many are left waiting. In 2022, the creation of Whaikaha — the Ministry of Disabled People — was welcomed as a breakthrough response to long-standing fragmentation. Disabled people had been shuffled between agencies, often receiving inconsistent and inadequate support. Whaikaha promised a new era — one focused on human dignity rather than bureaucratic boundaries. But in 2024, the government announced a restructuring. Whaikaha was stripped of its service delivery role, which was transferred to the Ministry of Social Development. The rollout of Enabling Good Lives — a programme promoting greater choice and control — was put on hold. Cost and efficiency were cited. But the consequences have been stark. Early this year, the New Zealand Medical Journal warned that these changes, alongside budget cuts and funding freezes, were harming disabled people and their families. Residential care was scaled back. In-home support became harder to access. Families and carers were under pressure, and mental distress was rising. The May 2024 "A Thousand Cuts" report from the Fairer Future Coalition documented the cumulative impact of recent government policies — from the return of prescription fees and higher transport costs, to changes in welfare and education. It estimated that families with a disabled member now face up to $5500 more in annual costs. This is not just a policy failure. It is a moral one. In response, the May 2025 Budget committed $1.1 billion over five years to stabilise disability support services. This investment is widely welcomed. The government says it will help ensure access to essential equipment, services, and support for those in need. But it comes with caveats. Whaikaha will now focus solely on advocacy, while the Ministry of Social Development oversees delivery. Some see this as a pragmatic division of roles. Others worry it further marginalises the voices of disabled people from decisions that affect them. Meanwhile, services like Enabling Good Lives are operating under tighter budgets, and residential care funding remains frozen. So, while the investment signals a welcome shift, it does not yet signify transformation. At best, it may stabilise a strained system. This raises an unsettling question: are we merely managing a crisis, or working towards justice? Theologically, Jesus' action at Bethesda disrupts the logic of worth. The man is not asked to prove his eligibility or moral standing. He is seen, addressed, and restored. This act affirms that dignity is not earned by productivity or independence, but by being known and included. Yet in Aotearoa, support too often remains conditional — on diagnosis, funding, and the ability to navigate complex systems. Needs are rationed. Voices go unheard. People feel invisible. Disability theology calls us to see differently. The Gospel challenges us to move beyond transactional care towards communities grounded in justice and relationship. It asks: who still lies by the pool? Who is passed over? Who is told to wait? Real healing requires more than medical intervention. It demands systemic change. It calls for policies that prioritise dignity over dollars and inclusion over convenience. It urges us to see disabled people not as burdens or recipients, but as neighbours, kin, and co-builders of a just society. We need more than restored funding—we need restored trust. That means honouring lived experience, enabling choice, and redesigning systems that currently reinforce exclusion. The Gospel does not promise a world without suffering. But it does promise that no-one should suffer unseen or alone. In Aotearoa today, that means ensuring equitable access to healthcare, housing, education, and community — not as acts of charity, but as marks of justice. When Jesus says, "Pick up your mat," he gives the man back his agency — and calls the community to carry the weight of shared responsibility. His healing act dismantles exclusion and creates space for belonging. Will we do the same? • Dr Graham Redding is the Douglas Goodfellow lecturer in chaplaincy studies at the University of Otago.
The Guardian
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The best photography from Format 2025
A Thousand Cuts by Sujata Setia explores domestic abuse in South Asian culture, through portraiture and the traditional art of paper cutting called Sanjhi art Photograph: Sujata Setia WW Winter is a Derby institution, a photo studio that has documented the life of the city for more than 170 years. This image of interned German officers in 1918 near the city is one of 54 plates that was found in its studio archives Photograph: WW Winter Heritage Trust Part of the Young Format programme, this self portrait by Nicole Storer contributes to a body of work by students at Burton and South Derbyshire College, exploring the concept of conflict as it relates to their daily lives Photograph: Nicole Storer Hong Kong artist Lo Lai Lai Natalie created the project The Days Before the Silent Spring about farming in her homeland. Her multi-disciplinary work looks at themes around ecology and self-sufficiency through the work of the farming collective Sangwoodgoon Photograph: Lo Lai Lai Natalie Filming from the Rooftop, an image from El Gobierno Te Odia (The Government Hates You) by Puerto Rican photographer Christopher Gregory-Rivera. The project examines the surveillance by the Puerto Rican police, in collaboration with the FBI and CIA, of their own people, and is based on archival research into unredacted files released after the programme was uncovered in 1987 Photograph: Christopher Gregory-Rivera Flashed by Erin Todd from a project exploring the current state of rave culture in the UK. Todd is one of the outstanding students from the University of Derby BA Photography course 2024 recognised by Format Photograph: Erin Todd Child With Mask, 1989, by Michael Ormerod from his series States of America, a work that subverted traditional American icons, showing the country in a gritty, surreal fashion Photograph: Michael Ormerod Estate/Millenium Images/Crane Kalman Brighton Professional wrestler Harley Hudson, from Nicholas Priest's series on wrestlers in his home town of Stratford-upon-Avon. Priest was part of the East Meets West programme, where emerging photographers access masterclasses at Format Photograph: Nicholas Priest The Dancing Through Time archive documents the social history of the dance and music scene in Derby and includes this shot of Geno Washington performing at the opening night of Clouds in the 1960s Photograph: Dancing Through Time Archive
