Members of People First New Zealand Inc., a national self advocacy organisation for people with intellectual disability, are distressed and feeling uncertain about the future of their support services after the Court of Appeal’s ruling that disability support workers need to be paid minimum wage for their sleepovers.

Graeme Parish, National Chairperson states, “Many thousands of people with intellectual disability are now worried about their living situation. We are proud that New Zealand has no large institutions. We have fought long and hard to have a range of living options and we do not want to go backwards and live in larger homes with more people – we do not want to be reinstitutionalised.”

Cindy Johns, National Manager comments, “While at the moment the attention is focused on IHC this issue affects over 100 similar providers and many many people with intellectual disabilities and their families both now and in the future. New Zealand had signed up to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and needs to respond to this issue within this framework.”

People First NZ urges that this issue is sorted once and for all to enable people with intellectual disabilities and their families to get on with their lives.

ENDS

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