Mā te huruhuru te manu ka rere Let our rangatahi be the wings that give us flight. The skills and abilities of Māori are central to the future wellbeing of our whole nation: “Rangitahi success represents the most significant opportunity to enhance productivity and ensure collective prosperity for the future”. That is the message from…
Two key Christian social service organisations in Hamilton have now combined, with Methodist Tamahere Eventide taking over the Catholic Atawhai Assisi aged care facilities from the beginning of April. Tamahere CEO Louis Fick, who is also a member of the NZCCSS Services for Older People Policy Group, says “we are Christian faith-based organisation and also…
Make a submission due 23 May Another step to improve renting is being taken with a new law on the way that will ban letting fees. Usually charged as the equivalent of one week’s rent on top of the usual 4 weeks rent as bond and 2 weeks rent in advance, these fees are an…
The Moral Force of the Living Wage The Living Wage movement continues to go from strength to strength with the 2018 Living Wage rate of $20.55 announced on the 4th April marking another step in the journey to lift low wages and set a benchmark for decent incomes. NZCCSS is one of nearly 100 organisations…
Mental Health and Addiction Inquiry The Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction is also looking for public comment. Head of this Inquiry is Ron Paterson and he is wanting the inquiry to get feedback as widely as possible. Paterson says that listening well to a wide range of communities and stakeholders is important for…
Tax Working Group 2018 Paul Barber, NZCCSS Policy Advisor Tax is one of the ways that we as citizens of this country relate to each other. We seek to bring more justice and fairness to our communities, because we are all connected and interdependent. The wellbeing of all of us is bound up with the…
The Families Package and Reducing Poverty Today is the day to celebrate that children’s needs are being taken seriously On 14th December the Labour-led coalition Government announced more details of the Families Package that were then put through Parliament under urgency and became law on 20th December. The package of measures will begin to come…
Food rescue organisation Kaivolution is an example of the ways people in communities around the country are responding to food insecurity. When people do not have access to good nutritious food to meet their needs for an active and healthy lives – that is food insecurity. “Food is the easiest thing to control. Food is…
Access to no-interest loans and a cap on the maximum interest rate on loans are two ways to help people on low incomes to escape the poverty trap of high interest debts. As reported in Kete Kupu June 2017, communities are under siege from predatory lending practices. In the lead-up to the General Election, a…
Aged care workers from overseas are among those affected by changing approaches to migration in this country. The aged care sector relies heavily on migrant nurses and healthcare assistants. Around a quarter of the nursing workforce is overseas qualified. A recent survey of some Auckland residential aged care providers found that one-quarter of their healthcare…
Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill No.2 The impact on children needs to be a central focus for changes to rental law. This was one of the key points made by NZ Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS) on 6th December in comments to the Parliament Select Committee considering changes to the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA). NZCCSS…
“..the biggest overhaul of housing policy since the time of the First Labour Government” This is how Housing Minister Phil Twyford described the new Government’s housing policies in his speech in Auckland on 1st December. Having just passed the Healthy Housing Bill into law, he is moving on to the other tasks the new government…
International Day of Older Persons 1st October Stepping into the Future: Tapping the Talents, Contributions and Participation of Older Persons in Society This year’s International Day of the Older Persons coincides with the negotiations to form a new coalition government in New Zealand. The theme for 2017 is “about enabling and expanding the contributions of…
Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill (Nr 2) NZCCSS Submission The proposed changes to rental laws are not sufficient and another example of a piecemeal approach to rental law in this country. This is the key message of the NZCCSS submission to Parliament in August. Rental law changes are on the table in Parliament and even though…
Fair Incomes and Affordable Housing for Older People The economic wellbeing of older people, is crucial says Age Concern. Three out of five older people rely almost completely on NZ Super for their income with little or no savings or other income. That means that what happens with NZ Super is a central issue. Grey…