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…
Child Wellbeing Strategy in the making Sonia Scott, NZCCSS Polocy Advisor The children’s advocacy sector has long asked for government to develop a cross-government strategy to reduce child poverty. Today there is great potential for this to be realised. The Coalition Government has pledged to reduce rates of child poverty and improve the wellbeing of…
An important time for your voice to be heard Kete Kupu 47 July 2018 Wellbeing is the word du jour in government as the Labour-led coalition seeks to shape how government spending and reporting of progress will be assessed. The Government is undertaking a huge amount of consultation and seeking feedback far and wide on…
Haumaru Housing Celebrates First Year of Operation Haumaru Housing is a partnership between Auckland Council and The Selwyn Foundation operating 62 villages across Auckland with more than 1400 units for older people. It is a not-for-profit NGO that retains all earnings to invest in the people and properties to the benefit of the local neighbourhoods….
Grainne Moss, the CEO of Oranga Tamariki, told groups at the national provider Focus on The Future Hui on 28th June that organisations contracted through the department will receive a 1.3% funding increase from 1 July 2018. This funding has been made available from Oranga Tamariki operational budget after no increases to NGO funding were…
Positive Ageing Strategy Consultation – ends 24th August How do we plan together as a country for the impact of our ageing population? The combination of a lower birth rate and people enjoying longer lives means that the structure of our population is in the middle of a massive shift. In 20 years’ time there…
Treasury Proposed Living Standards Dashboard Paul Barber, NZCCSS Policy Advisor The NZ Treasury has been tasked by Finance Minister Grant Robertson with preparing a Wellbeing Budget in May 2019. To guide this approach Treasury is working together with StatsNZ to design a Living Standards Framework for Monitoring Intergenerational Wellbeing. NZCCSS is part of the Equality…
Review of New Zealand’s consumer credit regulation The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is seeking feedback on proposals to strengthen the controls on high-cost credit (such as pay day lenders, truck shops). There are proposals covering five main areas and NZCCSS supports change for stronger regulation and control of lending in all of them….
Policy Watch: Budget 2018 Special “Budget 18 sets out the first steps in a plan for transformation – a transformation of our economy, a transformation of our public services, and a transformation of the way we work together to improve the lives of all New Zealanders”. Hon Grant Robertson, Minister of Finance All eyes were…
Minister for Seniors Tracey Martin has signalled that promoting housing options for older people will be one of two key areas focus for a new Positive Ageing Strategy to be developed this year. The current Positive Ageing Strategy was written in 2001 and needs to be updated to reflect the continuing changes as our population…
Disappointment that the Select Committee has not recommend changes in key areas of the Bill on scope of practice for social work was the first reaction from social workers’ organisations to the report on the Social Workers Registration Amendment Bill released on 19th April. Both the Association of Social Workers and the Public Service Association…
More good news for low income renters was the decision by Housing Minister Phil Twyford to pause all tenancy reviews for people living in public housing, which are Housing NZ or community housing where an income-related rent subsidy (IRRS) is paid. The introduction of tenancy reviews for almost all of those living in social housing…
Excessive pay rises at CEO level are the headline-grabbing examples of the rise in inequality in this country. This excess extends into the government sector, with New Zealand shown to have the second highest paid public service Chief Executives among the 34 wealthy countries in the OECD. This puts New Zealand ahead of much larger…
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…