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…

NZCCSS Submission on the Child Poverty Reduction Bill NZCCSS has given its support for the overall intent of the Bill which for the first time in this country’s history sets out a process for measuring and planning to reduce child poverty into legislation. Setting measures and targets in legislation to reduce child poverty is a…

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…

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…

Rest homes and hospitals for older people are changing the way they design new buildings to help make them places that people can really call their ‘home’. One of the challenges older people face when moving into rest home or hospital level care is losing the sense of being at home. Now the Selwyn Foundation…

Lt. Col. Ian Hutson, Director of the Salvation Army Social Policy and Parliament Unit, is the new President of NZCSS. At the AGM held on 23rd November in Wellington past-President Lisa Woolley, who remains on Council as Vice-President, welcomed Ian into the role and, also reflected on her time as President: “over these last few…

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…

At the November NZCCSS national Council meeting the members’ Denominational Representatives approved a Briefing to Incoming Ministers (BIM) from NZCCSS.  The need for this BIM to BE short, well laid out and easy to read was considered extremely important as the new government’s Ministers will have many Briefings to read.  Anything too long is unlikely…

Empowerment and Success Conference 2017 –  A Brief Recap Change Happens! The conference took place only day after the confirmation of new Labour-led coalition government. Keynote speakers and presenters made some last minute updates and government speakers found their messages cast in a new political light. More than a hundred people from the community and…

In response to the release of the latest Child Poverty Monitor, Prime Minister Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern  has re-stated her Government’s intention to legislate a set of targets and measures to reduce child poverty. “I am ambitious for all our children. They are relying on the Government to make real change, and I am prepared…

“..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…