Palmerston North Poverty Action Group

 

3 February 2000

 

 

The Chairperson and Members

Low Income Sub-Committee

Palmerston North City Council

Countering Poor Service and Standards, and Discrimination

                              - A City Charter

 

 

1.  Reason for this Report

 

For some time, voluntary agencies in the city have been gathering information on the standard of service provided to their clients. The agencies decided to do this because of the repeated information from clients about poor service, low standards, discrimination and even victimisation.  The great majority of those affected are on low incomes and often in other circumstances which make them particularly vulnerable, with limited options and choices.

 

While this information is useful it has limited effect on the problems people encounter.

One approach to addressing these problems is to promote the City Vision as a Charter and for goods and service providers to be encouraged to endorse it and to report on an annual basis what they have done to further the aspects of it.

 

Such an approach could have a powerful, positive impact on the spirit, nature and reputation of the City.

 

 

2.  Introduction

 

Most of the many voluntary agencies in the city were established to assist their clientele to get better service as well as support and serve them themselves. The Citizens Advice Bureau is one of the oldest of these. It offers general support and advice with particular reference to consumer rights. Most other agencies are much more specific in their field of action. Some example are given below.

 

Over the years many people have experienced difficulties getting good service and their entitlements from the income support agency, currently WINZ, that specific agencies have been formed to assist these people; the Workers Unemployed Rights Centre, the Manawatu Peoples Centre and the Central Region Advocacy Service.

 

The Womens Health Collective has probably been the most active in the city in building files of  those who give good and bad service to its client group; its Hot and Cold files on doctors, dentists, midwives and lawyers. These are almost certainly the most detailed and systematic.

 

On the employment side, the Mature Employment Support Agency has been gathering information on bad employment experiences their clients have had.  Local Trade Union organisers have extensive information on “bad employers”,  but this information has not been systematically documented.

 

Both the Manawatu Tenants Union and the Housing Advice Centre  have extensive experience in the rental accommodation field. The Housing Advice Centre has been gathering specific information about “good and bad” landlords. A Landlords Register has been mooted.

 

While this information can be of use in assisting some people to get better service it is also useful in supporting cases which advocate for changes in policies and practices

 

 

3.  Discussion

 

The above agencies and their fields of interest are only a small sample of those active in the city.  The problems they are documenting involve poor service, low standards and include discrimination and victimisation. The complaints relate to both large and small organisations and include statutory and other government funded bodies.

 

The majority of agencies receiving the complaints are substantially under-resourced and over-worked and have limited ability to lobby or otherwise achieve an improvement in the standards and level of service their clientele receive. This is particularly so where structural or other organisational change is necessary for this, as demonstrated by the reluctance of WINZ personnel to admit let alone discuss the well documented problems people have with that organisation. (Indeed, if they did so, their behaviour might be seen as disloyal to the organisation and their employment jeopardised.)

 

A complementary, all embracing approach would have considerable merit.

 

The City Council has the basis for such an approach. It is included in the City Vision and the supporting detail. This is based on wide community consultation and focuses on why people like living in the city and highlights the most important and desirable characteristics of it. The Key Result Areas are the specific areas to be worked on to achieve the Vision. If the components of these were developed into a Charter, many groups in the city would be prepared to endorse it and work towards achieving a city we are all proud to live in.

 

An approach along similar lines has been used elsewhere. Manukau City has reframed their Vision Statement into a Charter for the City and encourages the major organisations in the city to sign up to it.

 

This approach has a number of significant benefits.

 

·     It focuses on the positive and desirable

·     It has grown from extensive community consultation and is therefore widely identified with

·     It is likely to be very widely supported.

·     It is relevant to all providers of goods and services in the city, both large and small.

·     It is likely to gather momentum over time.

·     It will build pride in our city.

 

Those organisations that sign up to the Charter could be encouraged to report on what they had done to further the specific aspects of  it , on an annual basis.

 

 

4.   Recommendations

 

1.  That the City Manager report on the feasibility of developing a Charter from the City Vision, including the Key Result Areas, and the promotion of this to providers of goods and services in the city for them to sign up to and report annually on the contributions they have made in relation to the specific aspects of the Charter.

 

 

 

 

Ian Ritchie

Independent Researcher

for the Poverty Action Group