The Central North Island iwi described the claim as insulting and an attack on carers who deserved respect and recognition for their work.
Changes to funding rules were uploaded without notice on Monday to the website of Whaikaha, the Ministry of Disabled People.
Simmonds told RNZ on Wednesday that conditions and rules needed to be introduced because funding for disability support services had “blown out” and was as much as $65 million in the red.
She said funding going to carers supporting disabled people must be pulled back and prioritised for the disabled person.
Helen Leahy, pou ārahi (chief executive) for Ngā Waihua o Paerangi (formerly Ngāti Rangi Trust), said more than a million New Zealanders cared for whānau with health conditions, injury, disability and illness.
“For the Minister to publicly state that carers had been taking advantage of funding to use public money for massages, overseas travel, pedicures, haircuts for themselves is both irresponsible and undermines the vital work that whānau members give day in, day out to support tangata whaikaha to live their best life”.
Stats NZ said 24% of the population – 1.1 million people – were identified as disabled.
Leahy said respite care was extremely limited in a rural community such as Ruapehu, and the social return on investment in carers was substantial.
“Through our Forget-me-Not initiative, which supports whānau members who face health or social challenges, we appreciate the unstinting sacrifice and dedication of carers who do so much to support their loved ones,” Leahy said.
“These carers, and the disabled whānau members they support, deserve our respect and our recognition for the fundamental role they play in our homes and communities”.
The changes to purchasing rules include services, modification supports and equipment.
Leahy said she understood the new limits on what disabled people can buy with funding, including restrictions on equipment such as wheelchairs, electronic devices and home modifications.
“We are concerned that the new purchasing limits will mean tangata whaikaha will lose their ability and freedom to leave their homes [and] out of sight, out of mind.
“We see our Tamariki Takiwātanga, our children with autism, communicating on ipads that we understand are being questioned under the new purchasing rules on equipment and support services”.
Leahy said getting accessibility services in the Ruapehu area was usually “a drawn-out process” and for a disabled person in the district to gain access into their home involved a lengthy waiting time.
She said this week’s news headlines and social media chatter would add to anxiety felt by tangata whaikaha and whānau carers.
“We are concerned about the immediate impacts such a negative framing will cause for the mental health of our whānau.”
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
