Media release from Green MP Catherine Delahunty

Health Minister Tony Ryall needs to stop using discredited figures to deny justice to parents seeking financial support for looking after their disabled children, the Green Party said today.

"Tony Ryall is misleading the public when he says it will cost the Government $600 million if they start paying parents to undertake care of their disabled children," said Green Party disability issues spokesperson Catherine Delahunty.

"The Government would have to pay for a non-family caregiver anyway. All these parents are seeking is the removal of the discrimination which sees them receiving nothing for providing the same care.

"The Ministry of Health said it could cost up to $593 million when the case went to the Human Rights Tribunal and High Court, and it failed to persuade either one that it was accurate or even likely.

"The High Court judgment states; we were left unsatisfied that any changes would constitute a major drain on government resources.

"Even the expert for the Ministry of Health who said the costs could range from $17 million to $593 million added it was impossible to predict with accuracy what the response of disabled persons and their families might be to a change in policy and therefore the cost of it.

"Economist Brian Easton, who appeared as an independent expert at the Human Rights Tribunal hearing, said the maximum net fiscal costs would more likely be between $17m and $32 million.

"Tony Ryall needs to stop using out-dated figures to justify a further appeal in this case which the Government keeps losing.

"The Government should stop wasting taxpayer money, withdraw their appeal and instead work out a fair settlement that removes the current discrimination and provides parents with the income they need to support and care for their children," said Ms Delahunty.