Who said there was no link between reality cooking shows and politics?

Posted on September 11, 2014

After watching My Kitchen Rules last night, I got inspired, not to cook but to frankly and honestly score the parties on their disability policies and their attitudes towards the disability community.

Conservative Party: 0/10

As soon as I realised that the Conservative Party had zero information on disability issues, I knew it would be a bit of a battle . What I didn't know, was this close out from the election, I would still have no information from them. Colin sort it out, you can not get away with ignoring over 20percent of the population for much longer. 

Act Party: 1/10

This is another one who has no disability policy.Disappointed, as it's another party that is snuggling up to John Key. The only reason why I gave them a point, was because I got a couple of replies out of them, even if they were a bit odd.

United Future: 5/10

United Future has a nice policy, focusing on important factors like housing, but when was the last time we saw Peter Dunne really standing up for disability issues? I think much like the last two terms in Government, United Future will just chill in the background.

Maori Party 8/10

I have ranked the Maori Party 8/10, but let's be honest it's Tariana Turia that deserves the credit. She was a champion for programs such as Be. Accessible and Enabling Good Lives. My concern is who is going to look after this portfolio in the next Parliament? 

National Party 5/10

I have found the National Party pretty poor when it came to disability issues this election. Two excuses often came up, the first Tony Ryall (Disability Spokesperson) is resigning or the buck got passed to Tariana as she was the Minister. To meet with someone from the party, I  pulled a personal favour from Tim Macindoe. Tim is lovely and I was grateful for his time, but just a bit miffed that I got no replies out of Ryall. They do need recognition for their work with Enabling Good Lives and Be. Accessible, but let's  not forget the NZ Health and Disability Act - Family Careers Bill. 

New Zealand First 6/10

Incredibly supportive of the campaign, New Zealand First has a positive disability policy, though it lacks measurable goals. However, with an aging population whoever makes up the next Government, I hope they listen to New Zealand First as they are aware of how big this issue will become for New Zealanders and the disability community. 

The Labour Party 7/10

The Labour Party deserves credit for signing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and making NZSL an official language. However in opposition they seem to have taken the backseat and let Greens take a lot of the fights when it comes to disability issues. Their policy can be found here, my favourite part of it is that they are passionate on bringing the Convention to the forefront again. Both Chris Hipkins and Ruth Dyson were happy to meet with me to talk about Special Education and Disability Issues respectively. 

The Green Party 9/10

Near faultless is the Green Party, has done well this election making sure their campaign material has been incredibly accessible. As an individual Mojo Mathers has been a trailblazer when it comes to disability involvement in politics. Us Kiwis love someone who leads by example. The mark down on the controversial abortion policy, no matter how the party frames it, there is fear that it will be easier for mothers to abort their baby due to it being diagnosed with a disability before birth.

Internet/MANA 7/10

The Internet Mana parties come under one party on voting day. Initially I worried that after Sue Bradford's departure disability issues would be put to the side. However the Internet Party have really reached out to the Deaf Community and made a point of pushing the need to realise how technology can increase accessibility to services.