APRIL 2023

Mahia te mahi, hei painga mo te iwi.

Work for the betterment of the people.

Princess Te Puea Herangi

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)

Tēnā koe! In this month’s Policy Watch: Summary of recent NZCCSS submissions Blog Series: Housing in Aotearoa Children & Families Policy Group 2023-26 Focus Progressing a standard for mandatory unit pricing for Groceries An update from the Social Sector Commissioning Hub Release of the 2021/22 Annual Report for the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy MSD Welfare Overhaul Work Programme Update: key priorities and next steps Com Voices State of the Sector Survey Report 2022 2022 Annual Social Worker Workforce Survey Ageing without Equity Online Election Forum-May 1st 1pm ACE Kōrero: Visionary Leadership Just Action Conference: Alcohol Harm & Community Action It makes you think Dates for your Diary

Summary of recent NZCCSS submissions Here’s a summary of our policy team’s mahi over the last month, with links to the submissions. Child Support (Pass on) Acts Amendment Bill Submission NZCCSS tautokos the intention of the Bill, but question the ability for it to be enacted as intended. Our submission reiterates points that we raised as this Bill was developed, that we do not see addressed in the final result. Read more > Debt to Government Framework Submission NZCCSS supports the kaupapa to update the manner in which central agencies address debt to government in Aotearoa. Despite this, we have some significant concerns regarding the implementation of this framework and accountability in this area. Read more >

See all NZCCSS submissions on our website here.

Blog Series: Housing in Aotearoa NZCCSS Senior Analyst Rachel Mackay has been digging deeper into housing here in Aotearoa. We will be releasing these as blogs over the coming months with the first (about the Housing Continuum Model) released in the last issue and available to view on our website HERE. Click below to read the second blog in the series The Problem with Our Homelessness Intervention in Aotearoa. Click to read the Blog

Children and Families Policy Group Focus for 2023-2026

NZCCSS has a long whakapapa of commitment to equity and inclusion, particularly for children, families and older people.

Over the last year Council, our Policy Groups and the Secretariat have been working hard to identify where our attention is most needed, to clarify what mahi is most urgent, and seek out where we can be most useful.

Over the coming editions of Policy Watch, we are excited to share with you what these focus areas are. Our second focus area that we’d like to share with you relates to our commitment to children and whānau with a focus on 5-12 year olds.

You can read more about that below.
Click HERE to view >

We are also aware that some of you may have been unable to access the Older People’s Policy Group focus area in the last issue, apologies.
Click HERE to view >

Progressing a standard for mandatory unit pricing for Groceries The Government is progressing work on a standard, consistent display of unit pricing for grocery products. Unit pricing is the price per unit of measure for a product, such as the cost per kilogram or litre, and is usually displayed together with the retail price. Implementation of mandatory unit pricing will help consumers make informed purchasing decisions, support inter-brand competition, and encourage grocery retailers to compete on metrics such as price and transparency. MBIE held an intial public consultation from May to July 2022 to seek feedback on the design and scope of mandatory unit pricing for grocery products. They are now seeking feedback on the exposure draft of the Consumer Information Standards (Unit Pricing for Grocery Products) Regulations 2023, to ensure these are appropriate and fit-for-purpose. Consultation will close on 12 May 2023. Click HERE to share your feedback on the exposure draft of the Consumer Information Standards (Unit Pricing for Grocery Products) Regulations 2023 or please email [email protected] with your thoughts for him to include in the NZCCSS feedback. Click HERE to read more >

An update from the Social Sector Commissioning Hub

Transforming commissioning across the entire social sector will take time and will affect the support delivered by NGOs in welfare, housing, health, education, child wellbeing, justice, and disability support.

The Social Sector Commissioning Hub is implementing a six-year Action Plan to make deep and sustainable changes. The Hub is in the first phase of that work, ‘growing and extending’, before moving to the ‘scale up’ phase in mid-2024.

We’re currently focusing on:

• Continuing to listen to and share the voices of people who are being supported, the communities to which they belong and those providing the support.
• Connecting with colleagues who are already working in a relational way to learn what is working for them and why and build on their successes.
• Developing tools, guidance, and training to support the sector’s uptake of a relational approach to commissioning.
• Supporting government agencies and Crown entities to prepare to scale-up their planning around relational commissioning, so government commissioning is productive.
• Working with government agencies, Crown entities, NGOs, and communities to address system barriers, so we move forward in implementing a relational approach to commissioning.

We believe relational commissioning is the path forward to a community-driven, people-focused, sustainable, and mutually beneficial social sector that invests in intergenerational well-being for the people of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Those in the Hub look forward to hearing from you and connecting with you throughout 2023. You can reach out if you have questions to [email protected] or visit their webpage to read more.

Release of the 2021/22 Annual Report for the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy The Government has just released the 2021/22 Annual Report for the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy, which details progress towards achieving the ambitions of the Strategy. It includes specific information on outcomes for Māori and Pacific children and young people, and for other population groups where data is available. For the first time, this year’s Annual Report features the findings from the Youth Health and Wellbeing Survey, ‘What About Me?’, along with quotes from children and young people themselves, giving us a much richer insight into their lived experiences. The report shows that, while the majority of children and young people continue to do well across most wellbeing outcome areas, disparities persist for many groups, in particular for Māori, Pacific, rainbow and disabled children and young people and those from ethnic communities. Find out more and read the report HERE >

MSD Welfare Overhaul Work Programme Update: key priorities and next steps Released towards the end of March, this Cabinet paper on the MSD website provides an update on the progress of the welfare overhaul work programme, including the impact of the programme since 2017 and achievements of the work. It also outlines key priorities for the next phase of the work. Priority work areas over the next 12 months include: Implementing Child Support Pass-On Continuing to explore options to improve MSD’s Childcare Assistance Continuing the Working for Families review to reduce child poverty and help make work pay Continuing the debt to Government work programme Exploring options to change hardship assistance settings. Find out more and read the papers and appendices HERE >

2022 Annual Social Worker Workforce Survey The Social Workers Registration Board released their workforce survey for 2022. The results confirm the broad range of environments where social workers contribute, and that social workers joined and stay in the profession “to make a difference to people’s lives”. Thousands of registered social workers participated in the survey, and the results provide incredibly valuable insights into the profession and reveals trends in the workforce. You can see the headlines in the image below and more highlights (and some graphics) on their website: Click HERE to view > Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the report link. Ageing without Equity Online Election Forum-May 1st 1pm In every region of Aotearoa, Presbyterian Support provides social and health services to those who need it most. Recently their Enliven Service Managers identified a growing need among one particularly vulnerable population, poorer older people. To support and inform voter decision-making in the national election later this year, we invited all five major political parties to send their Spokesperson for Seniors and answer our burning question: How will we ensure equitable care and enough suitable, stable housing for poorer older people as their population rapidly grows? Following all five answers a response will be given by the Right Reverend Hamish Galloway, Moderator for the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. Please email [email protected] to get your link to this event. ACE Kōrero: Visionary Leadership-How do you stay visionary amidst the unpredictability of the world? Date: Friday 28 April 2023 Time: 10:30 – 11:30 am In the context of being a leader in adverse times. Join this 45-minute session to hear from NGO leaders: Dr Claire Achmad, Chief Executive Officer for Social Service Providers Aotearoa, Nikki Hurst, Kaiwhakahaere – Executive Officer for New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services Chaired by ACE Aotearoa Tumuaki – Director, Analiese Robertson. Register for FREE here Just Action Conference: Voices for Change- Alcohol Harm & Community Action Tuesday 23 May 2023 The Salvation Army Johnsonville The conference will include speakers who will bring the voice of community concern about the palpable harm alcohol is causing, advocacy efforts that have been carried out and practical ideas for advocacy in your community – including advocacy more broadly than purely around alcohol. Come hear community advocates, policy experts, theological reflection, the experience of those in recovery from addiction to alcohol and find out what you can do to make a difference where you are. Tickets are $15- $30 and available through Eventbrite or by clicking HERE IT MAKES YOU THINK Abuse in Care extension necessary to do the job right Last week the Government announced it would extend the Royal Commission for Abuse in Care’s final report deadline from June to March 2024. This is the commission’s second extension, having received an additional five months in 2021. And though the latest extension has received a mixed response, it will give Aotearoa’s largest and most complex inquiry the time it needs. Read the Newsroom Opinion Piece here > Is ageism the last acceptable bastion of workplace prejudice? The subtle and invisible bias against being older still has huge consequences for women in the workplace. “In a 2021 report, the World Health Organisation issued warnings about ageism, finding that it leads to social isolation, earlier deaths and costs economies billions. Last year, the UN was more gender specific in a report entitled old-age poverty has a female face“. Read the Spinoff Article here > The price pain of supermarket shopping It is nearly a year since the Government announced a crackdown on the big supermarket chains, but grocery bills keep climbing and shoppers are losing hope as they wait for competitors to enter the market. The Grocery Industry Competition bill is set to come into effect by the middle of this year, and will include a grocery commissioner to monitor the industry, a mandatory code of conduct, a new regime opening up access to the wholesale sector, collective bargaining among suppliers, tougher rules on pricing display and loyalty scheme transparency. The changes are aimed at stoking competition, but the new laws will take a long time to make a difference, Business Desk senior journalist Paul McBeth tells The Detail. Read the Newsroom Article or listen to the Audio from RNZ here > Renting when you are over 65- Kiwis facing an uncertain future What’s life like when you reach retirement age, but don’t own a home of your own? Home ownership data from the 2018 Census found that one in four 60 to 64 year-olds did not own the home they lived in. On current trends by 2053, almost half of over-65s would be renting. Read the article from Colleen Hawkes on Stuff below. Read more > Dates for your Diary International Nurses day May 12 IND is celebrated around the world every May 12, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. Click HERE to access logos and posters to show your support. Youth Week May 15th-21st Youth Week is a nationwide festival of events organised by young New Zealanders to celebrate the talents, passion and success of local young people. Youth Week aims to amplify young people’s valuable contributions to their communities by supporting them to design, deliver and evaluate all aspects of the week. Click HERE to visit the Ara Taiohi website to learn more and click HERE for your guide to running an accessible event during Youth Week.

We welcome your feedback on POLICY WATCH and other publications produced by the Council, email: [email protected] Ngā mihi nui From all of us in the team at NZCCSS