Ask the candidates
Voting in the New Zealand General Election starts on Monday 2 October, with election day on Saturday 14 October 2023.
Community Waikato asked local candidates to give us their party perspectives on some topical issues impacting the Waikato community and social service sector.
What are the 2 biggest issues you think are facing the community and social service sector in the Waikato region?
TOP
The fundamental issue is a lack of trust from the government and the bureaucracy for communities, leading to a lack of funding at the community level. The deck chairs keep getting shuffled, but the funding isn’t landing where communities need it. Community and social sector organisations know what’s needed (e.g. in social housing, policing, mental health, and wrap-around services). These organisations should be trusted and empowered to cater to their community’s needs.
LABOUR
The cost of living is front of mind for most of us, and rising costs impacts the lives of our communities and therefore the community sector. Funding is an ongoing issue. Funding remains an issue, funding for the sector is constantly squeezed and many funders are unwilling to fund areas that they see should be funded by Government (e.g. disability, health, education). This puts further pressure on the system in gaining adequate funding to provide services particularly to those that do not receive government funding, ones that come to mind are non-clinical support to those navigating health issues such as endometriosis, stroke or epilepsy.
Secondly, environmental events have placed additional pressures on non-profit entities providing support to people. This includes things like community transport (to hospitals and other treatment appointments etc) that have been compromised by diversions on the roads.
Lastly, strategic influence over the grassroots issues and ensuring we address the root cause of issues is important and not always addressed. For example, community-based entities work very closely with members of our community and can see strategic solutions to issues we often can only offer a band aid solution to – eg, food – foodbanks are a bottom of the cliff response to an issue that could be better addressed by enhancing food sovereignty – If we were to fund the infrastructure for food production, like through iwi or marae, we could resolve a lot of food poverty impacting Maaori.
ACT
Cost of living and crime.
Waikato people face increasing prices, brought about by excessive Government spending fuelled by debt and low productivity. Inflation is caused by too much money chasing too few products – by borrowing and spending, while New Zealand productivity remains low by OECD standards, has resulted in a cost-of-living crisis. This is impacting people in marginalised or socio-economically disadvantaged communities disproportionately. See https://www.act.org.nz/new-zealands-cost-of-living-crisis
Crime is rampant. So far in 2023 in the Waikato alone, there have been 1725 acts intended to cause injury, 141 sexual assaults, 308 robberies, and almost 16,000 burglaries and thefts. Crime affects people in disadvantaged or poorer communities disproportionately. https://www.act.org.nz/law-and-order
GREEN
Poverty and the increasing pressure on individuals, whānau, and communities of the cost of living. People deserve the right to live safe, healthy, and fulfilling lives without the fear of not being able to pay for power or put food on the table.
There are 1.4 million people in Aotearoa who rent and meanwhile we have some of the most expensive housing in the OECD. Access to affordable and healthy housing should not be left to chance, and must be accessible to all people living in New Zealand.
NATIONAL
The biggest issue facing all New Zealanders is the cost of living, affecting people working as well as those on the benefit.
The second biggest issue would be access to affordable housing – under Labour rents have increased on average by $175 a week.
What do you think is an effective political response to these issues?
TOP
A fence is needed at the top of the cliff rather than the ambulance at the bottom. TOP will invest in youth to ensure they are equipped with the skills needed to be resilient, thriving citizens and ensure every Kiwi has the opportunity for a secure, affordable home by raising incomes, stabilising rents & house prices and increasing housing supply. The Opportunities Party values collaboration and a Government that can deliver services effectively. We would work with either side to deliver funding to community organisations in social housing (CHIPS), mental health (rather than via DHBs) and community policing (with community kiosks). Our tax switch policy gives more to PAYE earners (first $15,000 taxfree) and places the burden on land bankers (this will also incentivise the productive use of land). We need a fairer tax system that doesn't rely on wage earners and moves the tax burden to non-productive assets, like property. When the tax system is fairer, people have more money in their pockets, and funding is available to invest in the fence at the top of the cliff.
LABOUR
Labour govt has recognised the need to work better with the community sector. The single year contracting that came in under the national government is being redressed by the reintroduction of multi- year funding. In 2022 Labour Government launched the Social Sector Commissioning Action Plan 2022-2028, marking a significant shift in the way social services deliver support for people, whānau and communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. This shift provides a pathway for how we can fundamentally change the way government works with social services, so they can be supported to better help their communities.
Budget 2023 has continued the Labour Government’s work towards a social sector that better serves our people and communities by improving how government commissions and works with social services.
We are creating social services that are responsive, whānau-centred and community-led and reflects their needs and aspirations, ensuring people, whānau and communities right across the country can expect to have their welfare needs at the heart of our social services.
Removing unnecessary red-tape, through continuing to modernising our welfare system so that social sector organisations can support New Zealanders to live with dignity and deliver support where necessary.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi and Māori-Crown partnerships must be at the heart of effective commissioning. Our approach will support iwi, hapū, and whānau to create their own solutions, equitable access, positive experiences and outcomes for Māori who work in the sector, and applying tikanga in a way that informs how support is provided.
ACT
A focus on dealing with the root causes. Government spending must be reduced. You cannot spend your way out of a cost-of-living crisis. If New Zealand productivity is not increased, then social issues will result with increasing poverty and an ever-shrinking capacity to deal with it. There needs to be a much more intelligent response to crime. Repeat youth offenders are not being treated appropriately, and only ACT has a plan to deal to repeat youth offenders, by creating proper secure youth justice facilities where they can receive the help to turn their lives around.
GREEN
The Green Party’s Income Guarantee is the right and compassionate thing to do to lift everyone out of poverty and set all families up to thrive from the start, while reprogramming our tax system in a way that means we can collect the resources we need from those most able to pay. The Green Party will guarantee a decent income for all. It works by making sure everyone - whether they are in or out of work - has an income of at least $385 per week. A family top up of $215 every week for the first child, and $135 a week for every other child, with an extra $140 a week for every child under three years. We will introduce a new tax-free threshold, so no one has to pay tax on the first $10,000 of their income. This will allow you to keep more of your income. Simple changes to the tax rules will unlock the resources all of us need to thrive, this includes a new top rate of income tax of 45% on income over $180,000, so the top earners contribute more, while those earning under $125,000 will pay less, and a new corporate tax rate of 33%, returning corporate tax to what it was before National came into government in 2008. You can find our full policy for Ending Poverty Together here: https://www.greens.org.nz/ending_poverty_together
The Green Party will show the political leadership necessary to cap rents, so more of your income can go towards other essentials; introduce a Rental Warrant of Fitness so your home is always warm and dry; ensure there are more public homes for the people who need them; and to build thousands more affordable houses in the places people want to live, so if you do want to buy that first home, it is a realistic option. You can find our full Pledge to Renters policy here: https://www.greens.org.nz/our_pledge_to_renters
NATIONAL
To reduce the cost of living for all New Zealanders, National will rebuild the economy. To achieve this we will address the drivers of inflation by restoring discipline to government spending, delivering meaningful tax relief by adjusting income tax brackets, stop adding unnecessary costs to businesses, and restore the Reserve Bank’s single mandate of putting the lid back on inflation.
To fix New Zealand’s housing crisis we need to build more houses – to do this National will unlock land for housing inside and around cities and build infrastructure. National will also restore interest deductibility for rental properties, take the Brightline test back to two years and allow people under the age of 30 to access their Kiwisaver to help pay for the bond on rental property.
The increases in the cost of living has put extra pressure on social service providers, but downturns in investment returns for local funders has impacted funds available to social service providers. What role do you see for Government in bridging gaps to ensure localised community services are retained?
TOP
When service providers experience a shortfall in funding that impacts their ability to deliver services, the Government should provide funding. As the productivity of our economy improves (through investment in business and innovation rather than land banking), the Government will be able to invest more in community and social services. TOP will bring a fresh voice to Parliament to make these changes we’ve all been wanting for decades.
LABOUR
Govt partnering with community organisations to enable them to meet community needs – needs to be a partnership model rather than a low-trust single year funding. Needs to be relationship driven rather than output driven. Govt partnering with the community sector to better hear
and understand localised issues and co-design solutions that involve govt, community sector, Maaori, business etc.
ACT
ACT is committed to localised delivery of social services and wants to devolve what are currently centralised social provision much more to local communities and iwi. ACT believes local communities know the people in those communities best, and understand the different nuances of those communities. Local or devolved delivery creates more incentive for more people to engage in the solutions, as there is a direct impact for them.
GREEN
Uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi throughout the approach of the public service, including by finding Māori organisations, iwi, hapū and marae to run community and environmental initiatives that meet the needs and aspirations of Māori.
Provide secure, flexible and full funding arrangements for the community sector, recognising the value of the work, and ensuring independence within a supportive legislative framework.
Provide local authorities with new revenue tools such as targeted environmental taxes, congestion charges, resource rentals, and tourism infrastructure levies, to better enable funding of local programmes without relying solely on rates.
Work with local government to improve resilience of telecommunications and transport networks for flooding, earthquakes, and other natural disasters.
You can find our policy for Community and the Economy here: https://www.greens.org.nz/community_and_the_economy_policy and our full party policies here: https://www.greens.org.nz/policy_complete_party
NATIONAL
National knows that Government doesn’t always know best, and sometimes community providers for things like housing, looking for work, or addiction services get better outcomes than Government agencies. A National led-government would work with these organisations so that they can continue their great work that they do in their communities.
The Government can also reduce the rules and regulations that add burden to those community services and cut wasteful spending on projects that are costly and not getting any outcomes to improve New Zealanders lives.
Thank you to all the candidates who participated and shared their party views.