Legalising euthanasia while the world is in the grip of a deadly pandemic would further stretch an already stretched health system, and have implications far beyond that for the disabled community, writes Robyn Hunt. Read more perspectives on the assisted dying referendum here. Considering assisted dying in the middle of a deadly world pandemic seems counterintuitive. … Read more
Yesterday, a report was released calling for sweeping, systemic changes to disability employment. Here, Robyn Hunt writes from her own experience seeking work, and calls on employers and recruiters to do better. When I began my career many years ago, I applied for more than 40 jobs before I got my first one – unsuitable … Read more
Robyn Hunt writes on the challenges facing disabled people and what needs to be done to support them in lockdown and beyond. Disabled people at higher risk need more help. Many of the almost one quarter of New Zealanders who are disabled are doing it hard as the country goes into lockdown. If the levels … Read more
In literature, disability is everywhere. But more than a century after Dickens gave us Tiny Tim, writers often fail to make disability anything other than a narrative crutch. Robyn Hunt, writer, disability consultant and co-founder of the Crip the Lit project, explains. The use of disability as metaphor and plot device has been described as … Read more
Able-bodied commuters who think they’re up against it would do well to take a moment to consider the challenges faced by disabled people on the same journey. Robyn Hunt writes. My daily commute these days is a few steps to my home office in my PJs and barefoot if I want. But I’ve done the … Read more
People’s ability to make choices is sometimes impaired, but murder of disabled people is still murder. The systemic forces that underlie such shocking events have never been adequately addressed, argues Robyn Hunt. The case of Donella Knox, convicted of murdering her daughter Ruby, represents the dark side of disability. It is the flip side of … Read more
Opposition among disabled people to assisted suicide stems from long experience of encountering negative attitudes and human rights abuses, writes Robyn Hunt. I assure David Seymour that assisted suicide is a really big and complicated deal. It is no coincidence that disabled people all over the world oppose it. Our opposition arises from a (largely … Read more