Latest news with #AutismNewZealand
Newsroom
19-07-2025
- Health
- Newsroom
Where do the neurodiverse children play?
Mac and Maria Pouniu couldn't take their autistic son Mattias to a playground without feeling overwhelmed and judged by onlookers. Instead of staying at home, isolated and alone, the couple decided to take a negative experience and turn it into something positive – a play centre for kids like their son. About five years later, standing amidst the delightful chaos of a busy Wednesday morning, Poinui tells The Detail that Spectroom is more than just a play zone. It's a safe space where children with different disabilities – not just autism – can be themselves in an environment designed to let them play freely. 'A lot of our kids have grown up in that environment where they have very limited access to resources and they have very restricted access to things. 'Parents have become so used to, 'Oh nah we've never done that, oh nah we're not going to do that',' Mac says. But when parents come into an environment where their child can explore and they can take a step back, they see a whole different child. 'It's because we've never put them in a space where they can actually be themselves without restrictions,' he says. The diagnosis of Mattias led Maria Pounui to leave her job in marketing, retrain and work for Autism New Zealand as a play coach. She's the other half of the driving force behind Spectroom. Her long-term goal is to build a facility with wrap-around services for neurodivergent people of all ages, from day care for the little ones, to mock apartments for adults to practise everyday tasks. 'We started with our little ones because that's all the funding that I had … but the goal is at the end to have these services where we can assist and support our community when they are adults,' she says. Maria Pounui says while there are existing services already helping people with disabilities there simply aren't enough to serve all neurodiverse people. 'We need to have services that are umbrella services … because transitions for our kids with disabilities are really hard,' she says. Spectroom received global recognition within a year of opening, with FIFA asking Mac and Maria to build a similar sensory space at their centre at Eden Park. 'It's a quiet, dim space for our kids, also for adults, for them to go when they get overwhelmed. 'Especially for example at Eden Park when people get overwhelmed with crowd, crowded spaces, it could be anything, lighting, sound, and that triggers some people… and then sometimes they need a space to go into to recharge, recoup,' Mac says. The sensory room was only meant to stay for the duration of the 2023 FIFA Womens World Cup but it was so popular that Eden Park asked to keep it permanently. Now it's been expanded and Mac says they're working on a similar facility in Manukau, where he says the need is highest. 'The original plan was to set one here, one in Wellington and one in Christchurch, that is still in the pipeline. But we have also recently become a trust. 'Becoming a trust is not as straightforward as becoming a trust and then get funding; you still have to go through the whole process of proving who we are, why we need the funding and then we need to target our right audience. 'It's really important that we get it right from the beginning, but we do plan to set more [facilities] around the country?' Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here. You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.
Otago Daily Times
11-07-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Not all prepared for another pandemic, inquiry told
By Victor Waters of RNZ The week-long Royal Commission of Inquiry into the government's Covid-19 response has finalised its first session of public hearings in Auckland. The inquiry aimed to look at lessons learned from the government response in order to prepare for future pandemics. Friday's fifth and final day of evidence in Auckland included testimonies from mandated industries, nursing and midwifery sectors and researchers. Autism New Zealand research and advocacy adviser Lee Patrick said today the impacts on disability support staff for the autistic community were still being felt. Patrick said while there were some resignations due to the mandate, other staff left due to the pressures of childcare and lockdown. However, she said Autism New Zealand was in favour of vaccine mandates. "Where I think the vaccine mandate did hit quite hard was disability support workers - and that's because there weren't enough to begin with. "It's an understaffed area. The few disability support workers that chose to resign or who couldn't keep their jobs after refusing to be vaccinated had an enormous impact. "These are people who work intimately with disabled people - [they] come into their homes, in some cases help them bath and use the toilet, in other cases help them cook meals and clean their homes - it's a very close relationship. "Losing that relationship particularly for an autistic person or a person who struggles to communicate, who relies on that predictability and routine is an enormous blow." Patrick said many in the community wanted exemptions for their support workers and were willing to accept the risk of having an unvaccinated person in their home because of that important relationship. Many of those workers who left the sector during the pandemic had not returned, she said. Johnny Mulheron, general manager of ambulance operations for Hato Hone St John, said they lost 1% of their front-line staff during the pandemic. He said in general, most workers within the ambulance service were supportive of the vaccine and mandates. "Prior to the mandate we have 65 percent of our people get vaccinated - that's over 8000 people. "Our technical advisory group supported that mandate and its not unheard of in health to have vaccination and immunisation evidence... we have a policy and immunisation schooled and an expectation." St John had since re-engaged with the majority of those people who had left because of the mandates, he said. But others within the health sector issued warnings to the commissioners. Anne Daniels, president of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, said they were not prepared should another pandemic hit. She said she had concerns around resourcing levels in public health, especially considering there were suggestions within the sector another pandemic could arise in the coming years. "It seems we might have a pandemic within the next two years and we're not ready for it. More recently, the funding of our health infrastructure has been decimated in my opinion - particularly in public health." Daniels believed it could be difficult to implement findings and recommendations from this inquiry in time, considering they were not expected to be released until next year. Claire Macdonald, of the New Zealand College of Midwives, said Health New Zealand was not prepared for the end of the vaccination mandate in September 2022, despite the government emphasising that the mandates were a temporary measure. Macdonald said it caused the health service to be "starved unnecessarily of staff". "There was no policy in place within Health NZ to re-employ those who had left - midwives or any other health profession - under the mandate and it was advised that so-called mandate would remain in place until a national vaccine policy was put in place. "That was initially expected to take two to three weeks. It took nine months and there was no re-employment in just about every hospital of unvaccinated health workers until that national vaccination policy was put in place in July 2023." Macdonald said they provided intensive support for some midwives "to be able to go back into those facilities and work as locums or contractors or anything that meant they could provide midwifery care but not be under an employment contract which is a work around and completely ridiculous". The inquiry would continue next month in Wellington and provide a second session of public hearings. These would gather evidence from key decision-makers who led and informed the government's response to the pandemic.
RNZ News
11-07-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Commission of Inquiry into Government's Covid-19 response wraps up first session of hearings
Public hearings have been held in Auckland this week. Photo: The week long Royal Commission of Inquiry into the government's Covid-19 response has finalised its first session of public hearings in Auckland. The inquiry aimed to look at lessons learned from the government response, in order to prepare for future pandemics. Friday's fifth and final day of evidence in Auckland, included testimonies from mandated industries, nursing and midwifery sectors and researchers. Autism New Zealand research and advocacy adviser, Lee Patrick was among the first to speak on Friday. She said the impacts on disability support staff for New Zealand's autistic community were still being felt. Patrick said while there were some resignations due to the mandate, other staff left due to the pressures of childcare and lockdown. However, she said Autism New Zealand was in favour of the vaccine mandates. "Where I think the vaccine mandate did hit quite hard was disability support workers and that's because there weren't enough to begin with. "It's an understaffed area, the few disability support workers that choose to resign or who couldn't keep their jobs after refusing to be vaccinated had an enormous impact. "These are people who work intimately with disabled people, come into their homes, in some cases help them bath and use the toilet, in other cases help them cook meals and clean their homes, it's a very close relationship. "Losing that relationship particularly for an autistic person or a person who struggles to communicate, who relies on that predictability and routine is an enormous blow." Patrick said many in the community wanted exemptions for their support workers and were willing to accept the risk of having an unvaccinated person in their home because of that important relationship. She said many of those workers who left the sector during the pandemic have not returned. Johnny Mulheron, general manager of ambulance operations for St John said they lost 1 percent of their front-line staff during the pandemic. One percent of front-line St John staff were lost due to the Covid-19 vaccine mandate. (File photo) Photo: RNZ/Calvin Samuel He said in general, most workers within St John were supportive of the vaccine and the mandates. "Prior to the mandate we have 65 percent of our people get vaccinated, that's over 8000 people. "Our technical advisory group supported that mandate and its not unheard of in health to have vaccination and immunisation evidence... we have a policy and immunisation schooled and an expectation." He said St John had since re-engaged with the majority of those people who had left because of the mandates. But others within the health sector issued warnings to the commissioners. The New Zealand Nurses organisation president Anne Daniels said they're not prepared should another pandemic hit. Daniels said she had concerns around resourcing levels in public health, especially considering there were suggestions within the health sector another pandemic could arise in the coming years. "It seems we might have a pandemic within the next two years and we're not ready for it. "More recently the funding of our health infrastructure has been decimated in my opinion, particularly in public health." Daniels said it could be difficult to implement findings and recommendations from this inquiry in time, considering they're not expected to be released until next year. Claire Macdonald of the New Zealand College of Midwives said Health NZ wasn't prepared for the end of the vaccination mandate in September 2022. She said this was despite the government emphasising the mandates were a temporary measure. Macdonald said it caused the health service to be "starved unnecessarily of staff". "There was no policy in place within Health NZ to re-employ those who had left, midwives or any other health profession, under the mandate and it was advised that so called mandate would remain in place until a national vaccine policy was put in place. "That was initially expected to take two to three weeks, it took nine months and there was no re-employment in just about every hospital of unvaccinated health workers until that national vaccination policy was put in place in July 2023." Macdonald said they provided intensive support for some midwives "to be able to go back into those facilities and work as locums or contractors or anything that meant they could provide midwifery care but not be under an employment contract which is a work around and completely ridiculous". The inquiry would continue next month in Wellington and provide a second session of public hearings. These hearings would gather evidence from key decision makers who led and informed the government's response to the pandemic. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
10-07-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Watch live: Focus turns to vaccines and mandates at Covid-19 Royal Commission
[livestream] Vaccine safety and mandates will come into focus as the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the government's Covid-19 response enters its fifth day. We will be livestreaming the day's hearings at the top of this page. Friday's evidence will include testimonies from mandated industries, nursing and midwifery sectors and researchers. Hato Hone St John, Autism New Zealand, New Zealand College of Midwives, New Zealand Nurses Organisation, University of Canterbury, University of Auckland, Auckland University of Technology and Hospitality New Zealand are among those speaking. It comes after a tense fourth day of hearings , with critics describing what they called red-flags in the vaccine roll-out and mandates. More hearings are also expected to be held in Wellington next month. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
The Spinoff
15-05-2025
- Business
- The Spinoff
Government unveils $190m social investment fund with focus on early intervention
Nicola Willis is betting on a 'top of the cliff' model of social services, backed by data and led by former a former police commissioner, writes Catherine McGregor in today's extract from The Bulletin. Social investment funding prioritises early support Finance minister Nicola Willis has announced a $190 million social investment fund to support 'services that deliver measurable improvements in the lives of those who need our help, guided by data and evidence'. The fund is part of a wider $275 million allocation to the newly empowered Social Investment Agency, and was unveiled in a pre-budget speech yesterday, The Post's Luke Malpass reports (paywalled). Three projects will receive initial funding: an Autism New Zealand programme providing early support to 50 families; an expansion of Emerge Aotearoa's work with at-risk youth; and He Piringa Whare, a data-informed programme to support at-risk Māori. Additional investments will focus on parenting in the early years and preventing children from entering state care, part of the Crown's response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care. A renamed agency with renewed purpose The announcement builds on changes made last year, when the Social Wellbeing Agency was rebranded as the Social Investment Agency and repositioned as a central government agency with system-wide oversight, explains RNZ's Russell Palmer in his comprehensive explainer on the past and present of social investment in NZ. Early moves such as reprioritising Oranga Tamariki contracts and overhauling Whānau Ora commissioning have caused some friction – not least with John Tamihere, who has taken the government to court over his agency's lost contracts. From policing to public services The agency's CEO is Andrew Coster, whose time as police commissioner was marked by both controversy and reform. Criticised early on by National and Act for being 'soft on crime', he was labelled 'cuddles Coster' by his critics, while former National leader Simon Bridges accused him of being a 'wokester'. The government has since largely changed its tune, with the PM saying Coster had 'delivered bigtime', reports Palmer. Now, Coster is excited to work at the 'top of the cliff', he tells Newsroom's Laura Walters, and to change a system that is hampered by fragmented funding and an excessive focus on compliance. He believes 'the culture of adding on services, rather than assessing the effectiveness of current services, has led to more money being spent but not always better outcomes being achieved', Walters writes. Says Coster: 'We want to know whether [a service] made a difference, not just that it was delivered.' A policy redux Social investment has long been associated with former prime minister Bill English, who promoted the idea of using data to intervene early and reduce the long-term fiscal burden of entrenched disadvantage. His approach was data-driven to the extreme, writes Eileen Joy in the Conversation, including commissioning an actuary firm to calculate the lifetime welfare cost to the state of people on benefits and which type of beneficiary 'is going to cost us the most money'. While English's model was praised for its logic, it gave no consideration 'to structural factors such as colonisation and poverty', writes Joy, and ultimately delivered few tangible results before being sidelined by the Labour government in 2017. Willis, once a staffer for English, has picked up the baton with a broader framing – emphasising both social and financial returns and apparently seeking to avoid English's ideological rigidity. Joy says she remains sceptical. 'Given the government's drive to remove any special policy considerations based on … the Treaty of Waitangi, the risk remains that some Māori will again come to be viewed as a 'cost' to the state.'
