[3] Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership is fundamental to the establishment of Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People, it is clear through its being core to the whakapapa of the organisation.

[10] Paula Tesoriero was announced as the first chief executive of Whaikaha on 30 August 2022 and is the first disabled person to lead a New Zealand public service department.

[15] In response to criticism, Minister of Finance Nicola Willis summoned Ministry officials and Simmonds for an urgent briefing, after families were blindsided by news of cuts to respite care.

[16] On 26 March 2024, Willis announced that future decisions about the Ministry's funding would go to the New Zealand Cabinet to be signed off, with the disabled community being consulted.

The opposition Labour Party described the new decision-making directive as a "massive vote of no confidence" in Simmonds's role as Disability Issues Minister.

[17] In mid April 2024, disability advocate Jane Carrigan called on the Auditor-General to investigate the Ministry after it spent nearly NZ$10 million on hiring contractors and consultants.

In response to Newshub's report, the Ministry said that it was a new agency and needed to hire contractors to fill temporary roles while building the organisation.

[18] In late April 2024, The New Zealand Herald obtained a confidential briefing to the-then Finance Minister Grant Robertson from September 2023 detailing the Ministry's problems.