“The mobility card was issued by his doctor for exactly this reason.”Marydie Bartle, an Auckland mother of two, holds a valid mobility parking permit in her car for her non-verbal, autistic son. “He said to me, ‘Who’s the person with a disability?’ I said, ‘My son, he’s autistic’. Informing the man the family had a valid mobility permit for her son that allowed her to legally park there, he allegedly replied: “You probably get that disability car park from your Chinese doctor”. “I tried to calm him down ... we ended up leaving the swimming pool,” Bartle said. “We have to be very careful when we query someone’s use of the permit just because they don’t have a visible disability,” Clark said.

Source: New Zealand Herald February 24, 2026 04:33 UTC