Hello all,

A friend just sent me the following post.  I believe that the same stats would
most likely be similar here, if anyone really cared to check.

Pete
-----------
New Zealand Sensory disability stats
Media Release
The following media release is being sent out to all main media.
Regards, Jane

Thursday 23 July 1998
For Immediate Release

Foundation for the Blind backs consumer group's petition

The Foundation for the Blind is in full support of this country's blind
consumer group's call to Government to hold an inquiry into the State
funding of blindness services.

"It is both ironic and disturbing that the recent census information on
disabilities revealed that 20% of New Zealanders have a disability, and
that nearly half (43%) of these people have a sensory disability (vision
or hearing impaired), yet less than 1% of Disability Support Services'
(DSS) budget is allocated for sensory disabilities," says Royal New
Zealand Foundation for the Blind chairman Gordon Sanderson.

"Why doesn't the funding reflect these figures?"

The blind consumer group, the Association of Blind Citizens of New
Zealand (ABC NZ) has this week launched a nation-wide petition to gain
public support for the inquiry.

"We totally endorse the Association's move, and believe at the very
least there needs to be an inquiry similar to that undertaken recently
into mental health services," says Gordon Sanderson.

"For blind and vision impaired New Zealanders to have to rely on charity
for essential services is not only degrading to the individuals
concerned, but also downplays the value of the services themselves - as
the implication is if they can't attract government funding, they're not
essential."

"We have blind and vision impaired children, teenagers and adults
currently being denied essential services because of insufficient
government funding.  Sixty percent of blind and vision impaired people
of working age are unemployed.  These people want to work but face huge
obstacles because the funding for equipment and training in
blindness-specific technology is grossly insufficient.

A joint proposal from the Foundation and Workbridge to get 600 vision
impaired New Zealanders with low skills into training and employment was
earlier this year rejected by the New Zealand Employment Service. We
hope the government will see sense and that our re-application to the
Work and Income Agency on 1 October will be successful," says Gordon
Sanderson.

"The Foundation's steadily increasing membership, like the general
population, is ageing, with the majority of our members over the age of
60. This is going to continue and will mean increasing demand for
essential services like orientation and mobility training for blind and
vision impaired people to learn to travel safely and independently.

"The Foundation has to tread a very fine line between advocating for
adequate funding from government for essential services for blind and
vision impaired people, but not wishing to be seen as ungrateful to
those who generously support us through their donations.

We very much need donation support, but believe the charity dollar
should be used for things that are never going to be funded by
government, but are never-the-less extremely important in enabling us to
ensure blind and vision impaired New Zealanders can be full participants
in society," says Gordon Sanderson.
Ends