Many lives, especially those of young children, would be saved if we had decent standards for rental housing in New Zealand. It is good news that the Government is finally doing something but proposed new laws set the standards too low to make any real difference. The Government has now brought a draft law into…
Consultation on Reducing the Required Return from Pokie Trusts to the Community It seems only yesterday that NZCCSS was working hard on comments in support of increasing the amount that pokie trusts return to the community. In fact it was just two years ago in October 2013 and it was only September last year that…
The consciences of Government MPs will be “whipped” into line it seems as a new Easter Trading Bill has been introduced into Parliament. The Minister sponsoring the Bill, Michael Woodhouse, has previously voted against changes but he has now ironed out his conscience and declared himself “comfortable” with fronting this legislation. Catholic social justice agency…
The Ministry of Health (MoH) has released an updated New Zealand Health Strategy for public consultation and is running a thorough consultation process to engage New Zealanders in the future direction of their health system. Two draft documents have been produced:1) Future Direction, which sets out the high level thinking behind the strategy, and 2) Roadmap of…
What a difference a day makes! It seems an error on the part of Work and Income has seen benefits commenced after a stand down period a day later than legally required under Section 80BA (4) of the Social Security Act 1964. To err is human and in today’s world this also applies to computers. “The…
Homes for 50,000 more people in next 5 years Your feedback is needed. ‘Our Place’ is the proposed sector strategy for community housing. The goal of the strategy is to house 50,000 more people in community housing by 2020. What do you think of this goal? Can we achieve it and what will it take…
Every Child deserves the best start in a warm, dry, secure home. This is the key message of CPAG’s campaign for healthy and affordable homes. CPAG is calling on the Government to act urgently to make sure all rental accommodation is healthy and affordable for families. Introduce and enforce a Warrant of Fitness for housing….
The Downtown Community Ministry (DCM), the Soup Kitchen, Wellington Homeless Women’s Trust, Wellington Night Shelter and The Salvation Army have joined together to raise funds for their work with homeless people and to raise awareness about Wellington City Council’s Te Mahana initiative to eradicate homelessness in the city. Collectively these organisations work with hundreds of people each year who…
The next phase of the social housing transfer process for HNZ houses in Tauranga and Invercargill beings on 31st August with a “market sounding” process. This involves organisations interested in the transfers outlining their level of interest and whether the Treasury’s proposed terns for the transactions would achieve the outcomes being sought. After this phase,…
New Minister of Health Jonathan Coleman and Associate Minister of Health Sam Lotu Iiga have re-discovered the idea of having a strategy and all of a sudden both the NZ Health Strategy and the Health of Older People Strategy are being reviewed and revised. The draft Health Strategy is now due to be released later…
The Support for Children in Hardship Bill is the legislation implementing the increases to welfare benefits announced in the Budget 2015. Public comments on this Bill are important way that politicians can hear directly the views of the public on the changes proposed. Changes proposed in this Bill are: raise work requirements for parents receiving…
Treasury continues to feel its way into the unexplored territory of selling off Housing NZ houses in Invercargill and Tauranga to non-government buyers. In series of Market Information and Feedback sessions being held around the country, Treasury and Ministry of Social Development have been sketching the outlines of the tortuous path the government has chosen…
If you are an older carer or the carer of an older person (or both), the Ministry of Social Development would like to know more about the kind of information you need to support you, what formats you would like to have this information in, and where you would like to find this information. This…
Elder Abuse and Neglect is a single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person. Elder Abuse Awareness week begins on 15th June with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Most elder abuse tends to be…
The Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Health are jointly reviewing the way in which children with severe disabilities are placed in voluntary out-of home care under the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989 (Section 141 or 142). These agencies have produced a clearly written consultation document that is accompanied by a range of…