The D*List Wrapped: 2025 Edition

It is that time of the year - again! - when we can nearly have a big sigh of relief that the year is over and we head into festive season awaiting our much-deserved time for replenishment! But not before we take a moment to reflect on all the delicious, disabled storytelling we did together as a community in 2025.

This year we published 116 articles on The D*List, with 25 new writers and disabled voices contributing towards our storytelling. We did 13 original new podcast episodes, with most of them being hosted in our podcast studio at our Community Hub. We also welcomed new kaimahi to the tari - executive assistant Von Ridgley, editorial producer Joegen Daniels, designer and social media coordinator Mili Ghosh and communications manager Soph Jackson. We also had interns Naomi Vailima and Marlo Schorr-Kon spend time with us in the tari.

We started the year off with introducing a new format of storytelling through Access Guide videos. Eda Tang and I headed to Waitangi prior to the commemorations to check out the access so tāngata whaikaha, whānau hauā and Deaf and disabled people got a heads up on what to expect. And whether disabled or not, people responded to this access guide format with great appreciation: just one example of how when you make it good for disabled people, you make it good for everyone.

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Later in February, Able released their new audio-described web-series Sight Unseen about living with blindness and low vision in Aotearoa. We were also honoured to host the series launch party at our Community Hub.

This year, Stats NZ published new data indicating that the percentage of disabled people is shrinking?! The data estimated 17% of New Zealanders were disabled in 2023, compared to 24% in 2013. So we wondered where did the other 200,000 disabled people go? It all came down to who qualified as ‘disabled’ according to the Washington Group Short Set, and that raised some questions on whether there should be a boundary between ‘disabled’ and ‘non-disabled’ in our social and political identification with disability.

We covered quite a few arts and culture stories — from accessible music festivals, chats with film director Paula Whetu Jones to writer Dominic Hoey, and dissections of what disability arts meant in Aotearoa. We also had the pleasure of meeting the cast of Siblings and chatting to them about how talanoa and games were used to create their show. 

Even for those of us who aren’t sport-inclined, I always enjoy reading about other’s success on the court or field. The Halberg Games celebrated 10 years of bringing together young athletes, and the NZ Roller Blacks team went to Bangkok for the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation Asia Oceania Championships. 

Existing as disabled people is political, so of course there will never be a shortage of political stories on The D*List.  We looked at a bunch of political issues through a disability lens: the Regulatory Standards Bill, Pay Equity, Local Body Elections and the Government’s proposal to change NCEA. And I’m sure this will all ramp up for the General Elections next year!

Anxieties rose as the review of the Total Mobility Scheme got delayed. I found that while the subsidy has risen by $48.6m per year since the 2020/21 year, it’s a sign that the scheme is being used for its purpose. Just this week, the Ministry of Transport announced cutting the subsidy from 75% to 65% which makes us wonder if the health system may face greater costs down the line.

Our communities were also still feeling the fallout from the March 18 funding cuts in 2024, so we chatted with DSS boss, Chris Bunny, about the reality of changes for many disabled people and their whānau and how they could have their say in the DSS consultation process. Finally, later in the year, it was announced that the purchasing guidelines would be no more — although we still have questions…

After the popularity of our Waitangi Access Guide, we produced a few more: one in partnership with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei at Takaparawhau for their Matariki Hautapu, and one at The Auckland Showgrounds for Armageddon Expo. If you have any ideas for Access Guides in 2026, please get in touch!

We were also really excited to work on a few multi-media projects in partnership with community. Pieta Bouma produced and hosted the podcast Pieta Pokes the Elephant in the Room which delved into touchy subjects we don’t often talk about so openly as disabled people, even if we’re all thinking about it. For example, ‘Am I a burden?’ and ‘Are we wrapped in cotton wool?’ We also produced Custom Club with photographer Becki Moss, a series celebrating the freedom that mobility aids can give. 

And last, but not least, we ended the year with a bang with Disabled and Delicious Week: a week-long celebration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities by embracing play. We made an open call for community submissions and were delighted by the response; from puns to pole dance and sex siren, I loved reading about different interpretations of play and how other people in our communities find joy.

One significant shift in 2025 for The D*List was our capacity to run more online and in-person events at our Community Hub in Tāmaki Makaurau. As someone who loves words, and expresses best through written language, I’ve come to learn that storytelling can also take place in the form of community gatherings. It’s those in-person interactions and face-to-face conversations which can also spark conversation and new ideas, and help you feel validated in your experiences — which is exactly what we set out to do with The D*List as a storytelling platform. 

Our community hub manager, Ella Sargison, has done an incredible job creating spaces for this, so I asked her what some of her D*List Wrapped highlights would include. Across our 16 D*List events and 14 community-led events at The D*List community hub, Ella really enjoyed learning NZSL alongside others with tutors Seijin, Prakashni and Jon. Some other highlights included heading up to Waitangi, seeing people gain confidence and new skills in our Spoken Word workshops, producing the Creative Writing Zine with talented writers and our waiata sessions with community to celebrate Mahuru Māori. All the people who came through our hub were also a highlight. “Our recent Disabled and Delicious week with three creative and fun online events and our beautiful market day,” she says. “What a busy and amazing day that was, I'm still riding that high!”

It has truly been a privilege to serve you as The D*List editor this year. I’ve felt smiles slowly spread across my face from the joy of reading some of the article submissions, I’ve been stretched and challenged from differing opinions, and learnt so much from a community I am proud to be a part of.

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