Dear Ms Tolley,
Firstly this email is an Official Information Act request asking for the government’s definition of ‘the most vulnerable’.
I was in the house on Tuesday for the first time in 2 1/2 years after being trespassed for standing in silence to pray during the opening prayer and singing in a casual voice as I walked up the stairs to the gallery. It was emotional, the security guards welcomed me back and asked how I was, they have only seen me outside and seen over the years what has happened to me. They also know what my issues are and why I rage at the injustices I am experiencing and witnessing around me.
I took notes about what I heard at question time and one thing that the government repeated over and over again was how they were helping and going to help ‘the most vulnerable’. I cried, because I know for a fact me and all other vulnerable people like me are losing services, mental health services are abusive and a fence at the bottom of the cliff, our benefits are worth less and less, we don’t have safe and reliable housing and jobs are almost non-existent for people with psychological disabilities – no matter how many posters you put up that it is only to do with confidence. Discrimination and bigotry in the community are rife and the hatred towards people on welfare – who look OK, makes you want to kill yourself.
Over the past six months I have been really studying government propaganda and noted that every time some bad news came out that you would post something that looked like good news. Not only that you would say exactly the opposite to what the media or others were saying. So when you kept going on and on about helping ‘the most vulnerable’ I realised this was to somehow counter the fact you were cutting services to thousands of disabled, abused, stress disordered, suicidal and mentally ill people. Not only that you have found ways of further frightening these desperate disabled people by changing welfare entitlements yet again – one of the first things you did as Minister is go for disabled people. While others in your cabinet sell off state housing and start a programme of housing disabled people in inhuman, culturally inappropriate housing, that is never going to make it to Wairarapa.
I am Pakeha, Third generation New Zealander and I do have a culture and cruel immoral neo-liberals like yourself are not going to destroy this country without a fight. I have Complex PTSD, which you probably already know, as a result of rape sodomy, a not guilty verdict and 13 years of neglect, degradation and abuse by ACC, mental health and others. Only people who are subjected to prolonged trauma and bullying develop this disorder – that is what you neo-liberal ‘cuts’ (NOT REFORMS) did to me.
Watching what your government are doing to people around me hurts me beyond words. Watching you lie in the house made me cry. Watching you all lie and be deceitful when you are supposed to be leading this country made me cry and get very angry when I was protesting outside afterwards. I couldn’t even sing I was so upset. All the pieces of the puzzle about why abuse victims, traumatised people and mentally ill people aren’t getting the professional health care and rehabilitation they are entitled to under the law have come together. I will be putting these in a report to the UN and every political party or person I believe needs one.
You are driving people to suicide and violence with your degrading inhuman policies and political agendas, then you are covering up this fact by prosecuting the people becoming violent and bullying/threatening/drugging the people who are becoming suicidal. No more, we all know what is going on and I am going to use everything in my power to get this gross miscarriage of justice exposed.
How can you sleep at night, how can you knowingly drive people mad – do you know the message you are sending to the community about people on welfare by having security guards posted outside offices. You are inciting dissension and hatred towards them, also the idea they are there to protect clients is a manipulative lie – ask Nigel Latta if you don’t believe me.
The fact MSD took no responsibility for driving John Tully mad is grossly irresponsible, when you and I both know that you did. If the man had had any of his basic human needs met he wouldn’t have lost it and killed those women (refer to Maslows Pyramid of needs). Can you also please advise me the outcome of the suicide by a staff member three days later – what was she ashamed of?
I know a woman who had left the office not long before the shootings, she had been telling me it was a terrible place to work and she couldn’t wait to get out of there, it was killing her. What was going on in that place – how come we don’t get to hear what John Tully says about it – he’s obviously told you what happened.
A girl I met recently, disabled looking after her disabled dad in State Housing that was going to be sold, said to me. “Why is it we are getting hammered again, the same people over and over again, people can’t take any more.”
This is what you do to people Anne Tolley, in our beautiful country where everybody is supposed to have a house, a job and be valued, you treat them worse than animals – because you degrade them over and over and turn people against them. You have almost unlimited money at your disposal – refusing to take it from very wealthy people to pay for unemployment (you created) and basic necessities to live a dignified life for ‘vulnerable people’ is more than grossly irresponsible, it is corrupt and it is evil.
I am ashamed and disgusted in the 30 years of neo-liberal politicians that have turned this country from one of the most advanced to one of the most mean, callous, hateful, hypocritical, unequal and dysfunctional. It creates lots of jobs to have an industry focused on poor people – you better hope there is no evidence out there to prove the government have purposely stopped abused and mentally ill people getting treatment to create jobs and further their disturbing political games.
Sincerely