GENERAL POLICY ISSUES CENTRAL TO THE "HIKOI OF HOPE" DEMANDS

 

Note: The Hikoi of Hope sought a change in present policy directions contributing to the growing gap between richer and poorer New Zealanders, and recognised that we have reached the point where more harm than good is already becoming apparent in the impact of current policy directions. To change direction will take years, and no one realistically expects instant solutions. Consultation about and implementation of the following policy proposals would however indicate a recognition that "enough is enough" and a willingness to start the process of change.

 

The Creation of Real Jobs

Develop active labour market policies that facilitate the creation of real jobs in the market. "Work enabling" policies that consist of active support to help people enter the workforce.

  1. Widespread access to the provision of high quality, multi-faceted, employment related education and training for employed and unemployed people. Emphases on both upskilling and employment development. A particular stress on technological development and value-added strategies;
  2. full recognition of the parenting responsibilities many in the workforce have, by the widespread provision of quality child care;
  3. secure benefit payments that recognise the market favours flexibility and will encourage job-seeking risk i.e. if insecure or short term employment is all that is available, job seekers are not disadvantaged financially by stand down periods, loss of benefit or bureaucratic requirements for taking up such work.

 

"Employment creating" policies that encourage entrepreneurial activity and authentic job creation in the market. They include:

  1. Value-added, high technology strategies towards our natural and non-natural resources that reflect both innovation and high quality for domestic and export markets;
  2. innovative product and market development;
  3. an emphasis on new abilities, understanding, skills and professional development by management and staff;
  4. private sector leadership liaison that helps develop successful cluster industries in a broad range of communities;
  5. strong research and development resourcing;
  6. developing high quality marketplace and industry prognosis to inform future entrepreneurial development.

 

A Health System that People can Trust

Restore democracy to the health system and remove the factors that have commercialised the provision of health.

  1. reintroduce elected regional health bodies;
  2. develop an adequately funded non-commercialised public health system;
  3. ensure elective surgery becomes quickly accessible to all New Zealanders;
  4. develop public health policies with other ministries, such as housing and social welfare, to prevent poverty and poverty related illnesses;
  5. ensure every New Zealander has affordable access to a local general practitioner;
  6. develop a participative and where possible consensual approach to the management of public health services.

 

Benefit and Wage Levels that lift People out of Poverty.

Poverty and the consequent need for foodbanks needs to be eliminated as a matter of priority. The following strategies would begin that process.

  1. Develop a scientific measure of poverty that takes into account all essential and reasonable household costs, and has widespread acceptance from low income householders, community organisations, social science researchers and the public in general;
  2. lift and maintain through time, all benefits, wage levels and other forms of household income above the poverty threshold;
  3. make public and regularly monitor the numbers of households in poverty and the poverty impacts of new policies;
  4. commit to the elimination of poverty in New Zealand as a fundamental tenet of human rights and the rights of citizenship.

 

Affordable Housing

Ensure all New Zealanders are safely and adequately housed.

  1. Provide a pool of houses that can be accessed by those who cannot compete in the housing market, by moving income-related rents towards 25% of household income on all state houses, for those living on low incomes;
  2. provide rent and mortgage support on the same income-related principle for households on low incomes, but which cannot access a state house;
  3. develop innovative and affordable rent to buy schemes, income related mortgages and low interest loans for households on low incomes;
  4. develop culturally-based affordable housing projects for Maori and Pacific Island people, eg papakainga housing;
  5. create inter-ministry liaisons and monitoring that highlight and remove the health impacts of bad housing and the income shortfalls that deny access to housing and encourage overcrowding.

 

Affordable and Accessible Education

Ensure tertiary education is affordable for students of all ages and does not create debt burdens.

  1. Resource the tertiary education sector and students sufficiently so that high standards of education are maintained and that student contributions do not require them to go into debt to pay for their education and essential living costs;
  2. focus on education as an investment in people and the future of New Zealand as opposed to a cost that must be extracted rigorously from the individual student;
  3. provide substantial loan relief to students with significant debt in the current loan scheme.

 

Ensure early childhood education is easily accessible and of a high quality.

  1. provide funding rates that will enable guaranteed access for all young children to participate fully in one of the recognised early childhood schemes eg kindergarten, play centre, kohanga reo, etc.;
  2. ensure there is sufficient funding for the necessary numbers of early childhood staff to be properly trained and qualified; 3. ensure such staff are fully recognised and adequately paid for their significant role with young New Zealanders.

 

The Removal of Cultural Bias in the Provision of Services.

The Hikoi of Hope recognised that Maori and Pacific Island people were significantly more disadvantaged in all of the above areas, when compared to their Pakeha counterparts. We strongly recommend that this fundamental disparity be removed by:

  1. the provision of funding and services that recognise this disadvantage and ensures a greater proportion of resources be earmarked for these communities;
  2. recognise Maori and Pacific Island cultural definitions, cultural responses and cultural solutions in all the above areas of social and economic policy;
  3. ensure the removal of cultural disparity is accomplished as soon as possible and publicly monitor the progress towards its removal.

 

 

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