In the first half of 2022, I was co-lead of the team in the Establishment Unit for Whaikaha, responsible for designing the Ministry's Operating Model. Ironically, I was initially turned down for the position. A few weeks later, the team's co-lead called me and said, "Why aren't you here? I need you!" I was subsequently contracted for the role.

It was evident that setting up a ministry to serve 25% of the population in six months was ridiculous. Also, moving everything from Health to Whaikaha on day one was unrealistic — I believe there should have been a staged transfer of functions to stabilise Whaikaha, and colleagues agreed.

The decision to make Whaikaha a policy-focused ministry with MSD providing services is merely rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Prior to Whaikaha, MSD had a policy-focused Office for Disability Issues, and Health provided support services. This change is simply bringing back the previous structure under different organisations. The waste of money appals me.

The compulsory Needs Assessment and Service Co-ordination function (NASC) is also a total waste of money — costing millions of dollars that could be used for direct services. The majority of disabled people know what they need. NASC should be downsized to an as-needed service for those needing assisistance to find their optimal support.