Previously not-the-original-nate

This new bill has been introduced in both the house and the Senate.

Among other things, it will:

Raise the monthly disability income by just over 30 percent - bringing it to poverty level.

Remove penalties for recieving financial help from friends and family.

Increase the amount of assets a disabled person may have from $2,000 to $10,000 (this hasn't been updated since 1989)

Update outside income restrictions to allow disabled people to receive up to $399 a month without reducing their benefits.

REWARD, not penalize, people who want to receive additional income while on social security income.

REMOVE THE MARRIAGE BAN YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT THIS WILL REMOVE THE MARRIAGE BAN

For those unaware current regulations do a lot to oppress disabled people. In fact marriage equality doesn't even extend to disbled people who risk having their benefits reduced or outright taken away if they marry someone. This means that in common law states disabled people can't even live with their significant other or they risk losing their financial independence.

Current regulations mean that if you're disbled you can't have so much as one penny over $2,000 to your name. So buying a car and gaining more independence or freedom is largely out of the question for disabled people.

Current regulations penalize social security recipients who receive income from outside sources, even if those sources are reimbursement. Did you get paid to babysit for a few hours? That's income, and you get your benefits reduced. Did you loan a friend $10 and they pay you back? The government considers that $10 income, and you get your benefits reduced.

These aren't mere anecdotes - these are all examples of actual things that have happened to disbled people I know, and if you have any disabled friends in your life I'm sure they can tell you the same stories.

If you really want to help indigenous people, now is your time.

Ngati Paoa and other protestors have been occupying Putiki Bay after resource consent was given to develop it without consent from the local iwi. Today, they are blocked by police as developers being to destroy Little Blue Penguin habitat, a species on the decline with climate change and habitat destruction.

Today (18/06/2021) was quiet, however there is a lot of recovery to do. Multiple people at the protest have said that security and police used excessive force of them to keep them away from the boundary line, and Protect Putiki is calling for a formal apology.

Protect Putiki has also claimed that they, police, security and developers all heard the penguins (currently in their mating season) calling within 5m of the demolition of rocks - this would put them at immediate risk of the construction.

Please continue to boost this on every platform you can. Protect Putiki now has a twitter here. They can be found on instagram here. They can also be found on Facebook here.

The petition to halt the construction can be found on actionstation here.

You can donate to their givealittle here.

You can contact David Parker, Minister for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, and Revenue, and Associate Minister of Finance to let him know what you think here.

You can contact Kiri Allan, Minister of Conservation, and Emergency Management and Associate Minister for Arts, Culture & Heritage, and the Environment to let her know what you think here.

You can make a formal complaint with the Auckland City Council here.

When Flowers Return, 1911, Lawrence Alma-Tadema