Poverty Action
1998 Hikoi | November 1999 campaign | PN Poverty Action Group
Act on Poverty - Election Week & Beyond
Keeping the Spirit of the Hikoi Alive
Over the weekend, 16-17 October 1999, a group of us from Palmerston North and Wellington got together and decided to push the Poverty Action Week, as recommended at the last National Food Bank conference, for Election Week - 21 to 27 November.
That conference recommended it include a food bank strike, and extending the invitation to all groups in the voluntary welfare sector to be involved. Groups/ agencies are encouraged to think of ways they can support the "Act on Poverty" week in such a way that highlights the ever increasing levels of poverty etc in the community and the effects of dumping servicing the social needs of the community on under-resourced voluntary agencies across the welfare sector.
E-mail will be an important part of the organising and we are looking for people who are willing to be contacts for their area or agencies around the country, who could on forward messages, or for agency or contact e-mail addresses that we can add to our list.
We also invite community/advocacy groups all round the country to prepare submissions to the Social Services Select Committee on the problems people they deal with have with WINZ getting their entitlements, and other difficulties with income support in our present environment, for presentation in early March. These would form the basis for arguing that we need changes to the legislation, policy and practice of WINZ - a draft paper is being prepared which will be circulated so that hopefully we can all endorse it. It will include a series of specific measures that could be taken immediately by the new Minister, in the then, near future.
We are also organising a campaign to restore the public service to a Public Service, rather than the current "Minister's service" with a corporate mentality and no accountabilities. A background and discussion paper is being prepared for circulation on this.
I look forward to hearing from you and any thoughts you may have on any of the three thrusts of the campaign.
"Act on Poverty" - Election Week 1999
Remember the effects of the first "Act on Poverty" Week
[poster] [poem]
At the 4th National Foodbank Conference in Wellington in November 1998 it was recommended that there be another national "Act on Poverty" week before the next election, to include a foodbank strike and to be extended to the whole of the voluntary welfare sector. This follows on from the Hikoi of Hope statement that "Enough is Enough" of the policies that lead to increasing levels of poverty in New Zealand. The wider voluntary welfare sector is invited to join in protest at the continuing dumping by government of caring for the social well-being of those in our community on under-resourced community groups.
The information here is about the campaign for Poverty Action Week and beyond. It includes background resources you may find useful. If you know of other papers and resources that could be included here, please send them to us.
Ian Ritchie
to be part of the e-mail network contact: ian.ritchie@inspire.net.nz
Bibliography:
Hard Times, Poverty in New Zealand 1990-1998,
Robin Peace, Jo Barnes, Marc Elliot; University of Waikato
Poverty Mediawatch
Tick. Tock. The Bell Will Toll On Tory Rule, Selwyn Manning, Scoop, 23 Nov 1999
Reform has left rural districts in disaster, Sunday Star-Times, 21 Nov 1999
Patchy policies on plight of children, NZ Herald, 19 Nov 1999
Evans cartoon, NZ Herald, 19 Nov 1999
Fresh eyes find poverty, Hannah Anderson, City Voice, 18 Nov 1999
Evans cartoon, NZ Herald, 17 Nov 1999
'In-your-face' poverty forum, Central Leader, 17 Nov 1999
Evans cartoon, NZ Herald, 10 Nov 1999
For Richer or Poorer, Anthony Hubbard, Sunday Star-Times, 7 Nov 1999
Too many Aucklanders going for broke, Central Leader, 5 Nov 1999
Rations, Lois Daish, NZ Listener 23 Oct 1999
Survey Confirms Scoop Social Decline Investigation, Selwyn Manning, Scoop, 24 Sep 1999
Background Material
Address in the Square on Poverty, Bishop PJ Cullinane, 24 November 1999
Poverty Rally address Palmerston North, Judith Marshall, 24 Nov 1999
New Zealand poor students miss out on tertiary education, Dirk Heinsius, 25 Oct 1999
The monetary constraints and consumer behaviour in New Zealand low income households (executive summary) Sep 1999, by Charles Waldegrave, Peter King and Shane Stuart for The Family Centre Social Policy Research Unit
WIN on poverty 2000 election kit, Toni Allwood, Women's Information Network, Aug 1999
The Voluntary Welfare Agencies in Palmerston North and the issues facing them and their clients, Signpost 1/99, from a 1998 paper by Cindy Johns
The Hikoi General Policy Issues
Backgrounders on the five Hikoi issues
Real Jobs, Housing, Health, Poverty, Education
Updated for the election:
Before you Vote from Public Questions (if you can read pdf files)
Links
Electoral Statistics; Income, Employment and Deprivation Statistics, The Jobs Letter
Child Poverty Action
incl. Hidden Hunger report
Poverty Myths at http://www.pq.godzone.net.nz/Public Questions
The 1996 "Act on Poverty" Campaign Information Sheet
Christchurch Poverty Task Force
Christchurch City Council sets up Poverty Task Force
Poverty in Christchurch: council report, speech by Ewen Coker (both 11 October 1999)
Reports from the Christchurch City Council are available from:
Kath Jamieson, Policy Directorate, CCC, PO Box 237, Christchurch
03 371 1885, Kath.Jamieson@ccc.govt.nz
Poverty and Hardship in Christchurch, Findings from In Depth Interview Data,
Christchurch City Council Social Monitoring Programme.
Kath Jamieson, Policy Directorate, CCC, January 1999.
Poverty and Hardship in Christchurch, A Reference Guide
Christchurch City Council Social Monitoring Programme.
Kath Jamieson, Leisure and Community Services Unit, CCC, March 1998
Poverty and Hardship in Christchurch, Findings from Target Week Survey Data.
Christchurch City Council Social Monitoring Programme.
Kath Jamieson, Leisure and Community Services Unit, CCC, January 1998
Reports from the Palmerston North City Council
Serious Housing Need in Palmerston North; a Report Prepared by David Spicer for the Palmerston North City Council, August 1999 (MS WORD97 zip file.)
Survey of Concerns about WINZ (Work and Income NZ), July 1999
(Executive Summary)
Reports from the Downtown Community Ministry
,Proceedings of the 4th National Food Bank Conference: Hidden Poverty in New Zealand, Nov 1998.
Hidden Hunger - Food & Low Income in New Zealand, by the NZ Network on Food Poverty, Oct 1999.
Too Poor to Help - How Welfare Debt is Replacing Welfare, Nov 1999
PALMERSTON NORTH POVERTY ACTION GROUP MATERIAL:
November Report, 13 November 2000
Poverty or Wellbeing, Ian Ritchie, no date
Monitoring Social Issues and Trends, 14 August 2000
Meetings with the Department of Work and Income, 20 April 2000
Mental Health, Mental Illness and the Role of the City Council, 6 April 2000
Hunn Report, 24 March 2000
Proposal: Manawatu Tenants Union, 9 February 2000
A City Charter, 3 February 2000
Employment and Income Trends and Economic Development Issues; a post-Hikoi initiative, Ian Ritchie, 19 October 1999
The Changing Nature of Work, Employment and Income Support, (MS WORD file), Ian Ritchie, 8 September 1999
Poverty in Palmerston North: Meetings with the Mayor
re the commercialisation of City Council Services
The Voluntary Welfare Agencies in Palmerston North and the issues facing them and their clients, by Cindy Johns, November 1998 (summary)
The Voluntary Welfare Sector in Palmerston North - Overviewing 25 Years, July 1998
www.wairaka.net/ubinz/IR/pov.html
