Community Law Centres o Aotearoa in partnership with Citizen AI has released a chatbot for people having problems with renting. “Rentbot” makes information about tenancy law more accessible to the over 2.9 million people in New Zealand who use Facebook. Rentbot is a free digital assistant to answer questions about renting, and the rights and…

Christchurch is seeing a drop in the number of people living on the streets thanks to the work of the Housing First collective impact group down there, including Christchurch Methodist Mission, Comcare, Otautahi Community Housing Trust, Emerge Aotearoa, the Anglican City Mission and Te Whare Roimata. In other cities where Housing First is operating, Hamilton…

The Child Poverty Reduction Bill has completed its journey through Parliament and will become law later this month when the Governor General signs off the Royal Assent. Just before this historic example of cross-party consensus is formalised as legislation, the release of the Child Poverty Monitor on 10th December gives the latest information on child…

The Minister of Finance Grant Robertson will be releasing the annual Budget Policy Statement in the week ending 14th December. This is an opportunity for people to comment on plans for the 2019 Budget and make a submission to the Parliament Finance and Expenditure Select Committee that considers this. NZCCSS and other groups in our…

There are many important ways that the tax and welfare systems interact, especially to support low and middle income earners and the Tax Working Group (TWG) needs to make recommendations about this in its final report. This is one of the key points raised by NZCCSS in commenting on the Interim Report of the TWG…

Paul Barber, Policy Advisor, NZCCSS Demand for home and community support services will continue to grow over the coming decades, largely driven by population changes including an ageing population. Alongside this increasing demand is the fact that more than half of the support workers in the sector are aged 55 or over. These are some…

Community Forums in October & November: Welfare Expert Advisory Group The Welfare Expert Advisory Group was established in May this year to advise the Government on options to ensure the welfare system is accessible and fair to all New Zealanders.  To ensure people have an adequate income and standard of living, are treated with and…

Healthy Homes Guarantee Standards Consultation Another chance to help improve renting is the consultation on the rules about insulation, heating, moisture, ventilation and draught-stopping that will be set under the Healthy Homes Guarantee Act. With nearly 600,000 rental households including more than 200,000 children, it is vital that the warmth and dryness of our house…

Change has arrived at Willis Street Work and Income Office in Wellington and this is only the start.  Four service delivery sites around the country are trialing a new front of house model aiming to create a more welcoming and responsive environment that puts people at the centre of service delivery. Along with beneficiary advocates,…

Harriet Payne, Alzheimers NZ Every 3 seconds, someone in the world develops dementia. Here in New Zealand, 4 out of 5 Kiwis are affected by dementia. The impact of dementia on Kiwi families and whānau is growing each year, and affects people of all ages. Dementia is one New Zealand’s most significant and growing health…

Some ideas for first steps towards better taxing income on capital were a feature of the interim report of the Tax Working Group (TWG) released on 19th September. The TWG is asking for feedback over the next few weeks on two options as it prepares it final report, as well as the other interim findings….

MEDIA RELEASE:   Tuesday 25th September 2018 NZCCSS welcomes the announcement today that Oranga Tamariki social workers have reached agreement on a pay equity settlement. “Recognition of the value of social work in supporting family, whānau and community wellbeing is long overdue.  However, it is critical pay rates for NGO social workers are not left behind”,…

Social Security Re-write to become law A modern, clear, and accessible Social Security Act Under the previous National-led government, a complete re-write of the Social Security Act 1964 was initiated. NZCCSS was among the many people who made submissions on the resulting Social Security Rewrite Bill (see our 2016 article on this and submission). The…

Kia Pike Ake – Welfare Expert Advisory Group The Kia Pike Ake The Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) was established by the Minister for Social Development Hon Carmel Sepuloni in June 2018 to conduct a review of the social welfare system. The government describes its vision for welfare as: “A welfare system that ensures people…

A Decade Overdue: the need for regulation of property management in New Zealand Anglican Advocacy in Christchurch released this damning report on the antics of the property management industry on 28th August. Tenants and property owners shared their stories of how property managers have broken the law or failed to provide even the most basic…