 |
| Here-turi-kōkā | August Welcome to this month’s issue of Weaving Policy from the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS). We’re excited to bring you member insights, updates on our work, and opportunities to engage across the social service sector. You can jump to the section most relevant to your work: Tō Tātou Rāngai | Our Sector Ōritetanga me te whakaurunga | Equity & Inclusion Kaumātua | Older People Tamariki | Children Local Elections Local elections are being held across the motu from 9th September until 11th October at noon. This is a valuable opportunity to have a say on who makes decisions regarding town planning and how rates are set and spent. Voters need to be enrolled to vote, with the last day to enrol on Friday 10th October. WEAll Aotearoa New Zealand has put together Policy for the Public Good: A Local Government Resource Guide to share policies, case studies and a greater understanding of the value of local governance. For voters who are worried about personal safety, it is possible to apply to go on the confidential unpublished roll. This means their details won’t be included on printed electoral rolls. More information about the unpublished roll and enrolment forms for this are available here. Māori Wards and Constituencies Binding Referendums In addition to voting for local council representatives, 42 local councils are running binding referendums asking voters whether they support keeping Māori wards and constituencies. This referendum is being held as a result of the Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Act 2024 which was passed in July last year. This requires councils who introduced Māori wards or constituencies without previously completing a poll, to conduct a referendum to confirm if these will remain. Voting is open to everyone regardless of whether they are enrolled for the Māori or general roll. While the referendum is binding, it will not come into effect until the 2028 local elections, meaning Māori ward and constituency representatives elected in the 2025 local elections will complete their term regardless of the outcome of this referendum. Māori wards (as part of city and district councils) and constituencies (as part of regional councils) were introduced in 2001 and are designed to ensure there is a democratic process for collaboration with Māori and guarantee Māori representation on council. This ensures that the decisions council make consider Māori communities and provide benefit for everyone in the community. However, there has been some controversy surrounding their purpose and it is an issue that is complex and often misunderstood. Equip your Faith Community for Māori Ward Referendums Common Grace Aotearoa has developed two free resources to help church communities take this unique opportunity to create space for curious, gracious, and informed conversations —grounded in our faith and guided by the wisdom of Tangata Whenua: A 6-minute explainer video featuring Church leaders explaining their perspectives on Māori wards —ideal to play during a Sunday service or put in your church bulletin. ‘Table Talk Conversations for Māori Wards in local government’—a 2-hour workshop for small groups, with short videos, discussion questions, interactive activities and prayer. It’s designed to help those in your church learn, reflect and have their questions or anxieties on this topic answered. It features contributions from church leaders and theologians like Dr Alistair Reese, Jay Ruka, Sir David Moxon and Te Aroha Rountree, and the perspectives of Māori leaders in the movement for Māori wards. Hosting is simple—gather a small group at home or organise a session in your church. All materials are provided. Access the explainer video, sign up to receive the Table Talk resource or learn more about what’s involved at: commongrace.nz/maoriwards  The Big Sleepout: More Than One Night Earlier this month the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS) teamed up with Lifewise for our webinar event ‘The Big Sleepout: More than one night’. We heard from experts with lived experience, advocates and leaders about the challenge and solutions to homelessness in Aotearoa New Zealand. Big thank you to our speakers: Methodist Mission Northern Executive Chair Pam Elgar, Lifewise Chief Executive Haehaetu Barrett, AUT Chancellor Rob Campbell and Journalist SIX; and to all those who attended. A Circuit-Break on Intergenerational Trauma Wesley Community Action’s ‘Te Waka Kotahi: Intensive Caregivers Support (ICS)’ is a new approach to supporting the caregivers of young people with high support needs in Oranga Tamariki care. The service was developed after WCA kaimahi attended a Creative HQ GovtTech accelerator programme in 2022 and aimed to increase stability of care and circuit-break intergenerational trauma. The evaluation shows positive feedback from both caregivers and Oranga Tamariki staff. Caregivers “reported strongly that engaging with ICS has improved their wellbeing, and their ability to continue to provide safe and loving care for their tamariki / rangatahi”. We invite you to find out more and read the evaluation here. Partnership in Auckland to Impact Older Persons Homelessness A landmark partnership between Kainga Ora, Auckland City Council, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and Haumaru Housing has delivered a boost to Auckland’s shortage of quality, affordable rentals for older people this month. Opening on August 8, the Greenslade Court apartment complex in Northcote is made up of 52 one-bedroom apartments designed specifically for older tenants. All 55 new residents are due to move into their new, warm homes by the end of August. Haumaru Housing is a joint venture between Auckland Council and NZCCSS member organisation, The Selwyn Foundation. They already manage over 1,500 units specifically for older people in positive, inclusive, age-friendly communities. Greenslade Court is the newest feather in their cap, with an initial management term of twenty five years on this development.  Effective partnership, forward-thinking and accessible design, and expert management at the hands of Haumaru Housing has set up these residents and all the ones who come after them to live safely, securely, and with dignity. We send our congratulations to Haumaru Housing and The Selwyn Foundation on this latest success. Find out more about Haumaru Housing and read the press release here. Anglican Care Waiapu Outcome Report Anglican Care Waiapu have recently released their Outcomes Report for 2024-2025. This report highlights the important mahi they have completed over the past year and the direct impact that this has had on the people they serve. You can read the Outcomes Report here.  Policy Statement on Housing Open for Comment The Ministry for Housing and Urban Development has released its Government Policy Statement, setting the direction for housing and urban development in Aotearoa. The document outlines the current government’s priorities and is intended to guide the system towards more ‘equitable and effective outcomes’. It also includes the Māori and Iwi Housing Innovation approach, reinforcing that Māori housing solutions are integral to the fitness of the housing system as a whole. The draft document is open for consultation until September 21st. Read more here. Emergency Housing – Kōrero Mai Minister Bishop has indicated that he is open to advice surrounding the current Emergency Housing framework. To ensure our response to this call for information is grounded in our membership’s mahi, we are asking for feedback in key areas: An increase in the number of declined emergency housing grants An reduction in the number of people applying for supports and the reasons why The experiences of advocates and supporters trying to help people navigate this space If you work in housing, or alongside those accessing housing supports and emergency housing special needs grants, please be in touch with Dr Katie Schraders, the lead analyst on this work. Pay Equity Committee Update Spearheaded by former National MP, Dame Marilyn Waring, The Peoples Select Committee on Pay Equity was launched in response to the Pay Equity Amendment Bill 2025. Submissions closed on 4th August. With the first oral submission held in Wellington on 11th August these will continue until 14th October and are available to watch both live and retrospectively online. NZCCSS’s submission is available here. Despite the Peoples Select Committee receiving more than 1600 submissions, the government stand by the legislation which was passed without a select committee process, with Minister van Velden confirming that as the Peoples Select Committee is not a formal parliamentary process it will not be treated as one. In addition to the submissions urging for a repeal of this legislation five unions are set to take the government to the high court on 29th August arguing that the legislation breaches the Bill of Rights Act. Women whose pay equity claims were cancelled as a result of this legislation will rally outside the high court at this time.  Women’s Day of Action Further protest against the Pay Equity Amendment Bill 2025 will be held on the 20th September, 132 years and one day after women secured the right to vote. Women’s Day of action is a way for everyone and anyone to stand up in support of the more than 182,000 people who would have benefited from pay equity claims. Events are planned for across the motu, with details for the location and time to meet for a few locations still to be announced. Come march for justice!  The Older Persons Poverty Monitor Engagement Our Older Persons Analyst, Rachel Mackay, has been busy this month engaging with our sector on the NZCCSS Older Persons Poverty Monitor. The feedback so far has been gracious, considered, and supportive, highlighting the importance of this piece of work and the appetite for action in this space. There is still time to give your feedback! You can find the full document and ways to be in touch with your thoughts about our design here. Alzheimers Awareness Month in September Almost 83,000 Kiwis are living with dementia mate wareware in 2025, with four out of five New Zealanders knowing someone who has lived with it. This September, join with Alzheimers New Zealand to challenge the stigma around diagnosis. Small actions and education can help people and whānau navigating life with dementia mate wareware. The Alzheimers NZ Summit for 2025 takes place on September 23 and 24, with expert speakers and the presentation on the refreshed Dementia Mate Wareware Action Plan. Local Alzheimer’s and Dementia organisations will be running their own events, including Memory Walks and education session. Find out how you can be involved here. Aged Care Modelling Review Released The long awaited second part of the Government’s Aged Care Funding and Service Models Review has been released. Produced by Sapere, the same organisation that completed the Phase One report on Demand and Supply Analysis in 2023, the report is supplemented by a report on engagement themes from a series of hui run across the country in 2024. According to the Phase One report, 20% of all beds in the aged care sector were run by charitable organisations. This equates to approximately 8,200 of the almost 41,000 beds estimated for 2021/2022. Of this, approximately 2,300 were run by NZCCSS member organisations, constituting nearly a third of all charitable beds in the country. NZCCSS welcomes the release of the Sapere report and looks forward to hearing more as the Government progresses its aged care work. We will continue to advocate for improved funding models for aged care across Aotearoa, with a focus on sustainability of the not-for-profit providers and the vulnerable older people who are at the centre of their service. You can find the full reports here. Farewell to Carolyn Cooper NZCCSS acknowledges the hard work and advocacy of the Aged Care Commissioner Carolyn Cooper who will be ending her time in the role this week. Her report, ‘Amplifying the Voices of Older People Across Aotearoa New Zealand’ released last year, is a call to action to improve support for older people with robust recommendations that will live on beyond Carolyn’s tenure as Commissioner.  Sustainable Social Work Pathways – Have your Say We encourage you to provide feedback to inform the development of the first ever Social Worker Workforce Strategy and Action Plan for the social work profession. The deadline for feedback has now been extended until Friday 19th September. Submit your feedback by completing this form or alternatively, feedback can be mailed directly to [email protected] Social Investment Fund Now Open The Social Investment Fund is now open for applications for round one of the New Investment pathway. Funding for this round of the new pathway will focus on the following: Priority Cohorts Children whose parent(s) are currently or have recently been in prison,children of parent(s) who experienced the care system, and Children that were stood down or suspended from school when they were 12 or younger. Priority Outcomes Improved health Greater safety Ensuring stable and secure housing Improving knowledge and skills Growing income and wealth Supporting people into work Applications will close at midday on Tuesday 23 September 2025 Further information and guidance on applying to this fund can be found here. Join us at Whakamanawa 2025! We are pleased to announce our report on middle childhood – Te Kōrero mō ngā Tamariki – will be featuring at SSPA’s Whakamanawa Conference in September. Our Child and Family Senior Analyst, Melanie Wilson, will be presenting findings from her landmark report on Middle Childhood, and spotlighting member initiatives that are focused on this age stage. Presbyterian Support Northern’s Anita Langthaller will also be presenting in a workshop session: From Challenges to Change: Research and Evaluation in NGOS. Further information about the conference can be found here. For all our recent submissions visit our website. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. Proverbs 23:18 |
29 August, 2025
Te Raranga Kaupapa Here – Here-turi-kōkā
Here-turi-kōkā | AugustWelcome to this month's issue of Weaving Policy from the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS). We're excited to bring you member insights, updates on our work, and opportunities to engage across the social service sector. You can jump to the section most relevant to your work:Tō Tātou Rāngai | Our SectorŌritetanga me…
Te Raranga Kaupapa Here – Hōngongoi
Hōngongoi | JulyWelcome to this month’s issue of Weaving Policy from the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS).…
News
Te Raranga Kaupapa Here – Hakihea
The December edition of our Weaving Policy newsletter
News
Te Raranaga Kaupapa Here – Whiringa-ā-rangi
The November edition of our Weaving Policy newsletter
News