From the Director - The Salvation Army
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
October
2020
From the Director
We are journeying through a Covid-19 world, emerging out of a
second lockdown with no definite end in sight, and now we have
launched off into the elections. Presidents and Prime Ministers
vying for power, leadership debates, fiery words (even insults),
opposing views, emotional topics, different camps, crises to deal
with, poverty, housing, unemployment, referendums and more.
Here we are. The best of times and the worst of the 2020 General
times! Election Booklet,
video and other
The politicians are listening more than ever.
information to aid
This is one of our best chances as citizens to
discussion and to highlight areas of social concern
participate in the shaping of our nation and the
to help you as you seek to inform yourself about
issues people and communities face. People have
how to vote—see the link here.
often been derisive of politics—the power games,
the compromise. It doesn’t seem very spiritually Our SPPU Facebook page also has multiple media
uplifting, until you acknowledge (as has been interviews, including a church leader elections
said), ‘politics is people’. All the rancour aside, interview I did on Shine TV.
the outcomes of our deliberations have a massive
There was the election issues event at the
impact on real people!
Porirua Salvation Army with Paul Barber from
We need to think and pray hard about how we SPPU speaking about various election issues with
vote and what the issues are. We encourage you to candidates present and allowing for good dialogue
participate as an active citizen. SPPU has produced with politicians, Salvationists and others over
areas of concern and ideas for possible solutions.
We also launched our 2020 State of Our
Communities Report (SOOC) that incorporated the
voices of people in the Queenstown, Johnsonville
and Rotorua communities. Each community
was unique, but there were common themes as
well. These voices provide a brilliant outline of
community concerns that should be used to inform
communities, political leaders and ourselves as we
try to consider what issues matter. See the link here.
Finally, we have the very important and contentious
referendum issues: the Legalisation of Cannabis and
Control Bill and the End of Life Choice Act (EOLC).
The Salvation Army has its positions on both issues,
and Commissioner Mark Campbell, as our Territorial
Candidates at the SPPU Porirua Election Debate (from left):
Leader, has signed up to two Church Leaders’ media
Jo Hayes (National), Jan Logie (Greens), Helen Cartwright
statements about these issues. Also, see the Army’s
(Integrity Party) & Barbara Edmond (Labour).
Continued ...
October 2020
own media releases regarding legalising cannabis Government
and the EOLC issues.
21/08 BERL Interview for Commerce Commission
May God be with you as you participate in this credit market research—Ronji.
noisy, messy, contentious, but ultimately critical
11/09 Government Policy Statement on Housing
aspect of the democratic process.
Workshop, online (MHUD)—Ronji.
He will take pity on the weak and the needy
18/09 Connect MBIE with TSA Human Resources
and save the needy from death.
Team—Ronji.
He will rescue them from oppression and violence,
for precious is their blood in his sight. 24/09 Interview with AT (council) on impact of
—Psalm 72:13–14 cashless payment on poorer Aucklanders—Ronji.
Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Hutson Community Advocacy
Director—Social Policy & Parliamentary Unit 21/08 Interview with BERL Economics around the
Commerce Commission’s monitoring and regulation
Out & About functions under the Credit Contracts and Consumer
Finance Act reforms—Ronji.
Speaking/Presentations 10/09 Attended Community Housing Aotearoa’s
online workshop on the Residential Tenancies Act
11/08 Lecture at U3A (Paul Barber)
reforms—Ana and Ronji.
10/09 Pacific resilience post-Covid-19, online,
11/09 Workshop from the Ministry of Housing and
Talanoa (Massey University)—Ronji.
Urban Development to draft the Government’s
10/09 350 Climate Change Warriors Election Panel, Housing Policy Statement—Ronji and SASH staff.
online—Ronji.
24/09 Wise Guys Update meeting with Ted Kim—
17/09 State Of Our Communities, Rotorua Ronji.
Presentation—Ana and Ronji.
Stakeholder Meetings
21/09 State Of Our Communities, Johnsonville
Presentation—Ana and Paul. 24/08 Linwood Corps, providing local data for PR
funding application—Ronji.
28/09 Social Justice and Pacific Perspectives, Fiji
TSA Cadets—Ana and Ronji. 26/08 RadioNZ and Pacific Media Network,
Cannabis Legislation, Talanoa—Ian.
28/09 RadioNZ and Pacific Media Network,
Cannabis Legislation Talanoa—Ana. Media
20/08 Pacific Against Covid (PAC) Community
Submissions Livestream Facebook—Ronji. LINK
Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Amendment
Regulations (No 2) 2020 This Bill provides for 21/08 Shine TV Media Interview—Ian. LINK
the creation of regulations to support a range 27/08 Phone Interview with Eva Corlett, Pacific
of these new requirements of the principal homelessness/housing RadioNZ—Ronji. LINK
Act. The key areas covered in these proposed
policies—relevant to TSA and our mission, people 02/09 Spinoff, under-funding of DHBs because of
and communities—are regulations on disclosure Census 2018—Ronji. LINK
before debt collection, affordability and suitability
09/09 Interview TV3, The AM Show, High Rates of
requirements, responsible advertising and secured
Child Poverty—Ronji. LINK
bonds. SPPU submitted on first and second rounds
of this Exposure Draft of Regulations. This is the 10/09 Sunday Star Times/Cryptocurrency article—
final round of policy consultation. CLOSED 17/09 Ronji. LINK
15/09 Cause Collective/JR McKenzie filming on
social change/Pacific communities/housing—Ronji.
Continued ...October 2020
15/09 Social Change Documentary for Cause 09/09 Meeting with corps officer Ameet Londhe,
Collection—Ronji. Dot Loves Data—Ronji.
17/09 Interview with TV3, The AM Show—Ian. LINK 10/09 Attended Young Lives Matter (Adolescence
Suicide) Workshop—Ana.
30/09 RadioNZ Pasifika, Impacts of Cannabis
Referendum article—Ronji. LINK 11/09 Meeting with corps officer Ruth Wilson/Child
Poverty—Ronji.
02/10 One News, Your Vote 2020 article—Paul. LINK
28/09 Theological Reflection with David Noakes—
05/10 Scoop Politics, Equality Network article—
the team.
Paul. LINK
29/09 Meeting with Rev Dr Stuart Lange (NZ
05/10 Scoop Politics, Benefits: The Unkindest
Christian Network)—Ronji.
Politics of All—Paul. LINK
30/09 Meeting with New Lynn Home League—Ronji.
State of Our Communities
Media Coverage
Rotorua Daily Post 1
Think Piece
Rotorua Daily Post 2
In the early days of The Salvation Army, William
One News Booth, along with early Salvationists, would take to
the streets of the communities they served to talk
Otage Daily Times to the people and find out what they wanted and
needed. These conversations with the community
Sun Live (Bay of Plenty)
attributed to the driving force behind many of the
Newshub good works The Salvation Army started. In the
world of academia, this would be called a ‘bottom-
Radio New Zealand up approach’, where the process and the decision-
Stuff making is largely influenced from the bottom.
The execution of these processes and decisions,
however, is still managed at the top. The bottom-
Internal Salvation Army up approach and the concept of taking it back to
18/08 Determining The Salvation Army approach the communities was how the Social Policy and
and action related to The End of Life referendum Parliamentary Unit (SPPU) came up with the idea
27/08 Kiwibuy Meeting—Ian. of the State of our Communities report (SOOC)—to
put communities back into the driver’s seat. Local
06/09 Preaching East City Corps—Ronji. corps and volunteers from Rotorua, Johnsonville
and Queenstown surveyed their local communities
07/09 Te Ohu Whakawhanaunga Trustees meeting— about what they liked, concerns they had, impacts
Ian. of Covid-19, Election 2020 and their aspirations
12/09 Masic Meeting—Ian. for their communities. The result was SOOC 2020,
which is an advocacy report collating the voices of
23/09 Meeting with Te Ohu Interns—Ronji. these communities to advocate for change. Just like
SOOC 2020, the hope for a bottom-up approach is
28/09 Meeting with ASARS—the team.
that the voices from the bottom are not diluted on
their way to the top.
External
10/08 Theological Reflection with Roshan Allpress— The bottom-up approach is somewhat similar to
the team. democracy—if we think of democracy as a pyramid
with those in our team of 5 million that are eligible
24/08 Hard 2 Reach Consulting meeting—Ian. to vote at the bottom of the pyramid and the
execution and distribution of policies, legislations
25/08 Tax Justice Aotearoa meeting—Paul.
and funding at the top—but, theoretically, what
26/08 Interview with Jasmine Wagner (Masters in percentage of voices from the bottom of the
Planning student/Kainga Ora)—Ronji. pyramid make it to the top?October 2020
If the 2017 election is anything to go by, off’. Other driving factors these communities
approximately 80 percent of those who are eligible identified included poverty, homelessness, drugs,
will vote. The ballot box on election day is the immigration and Covid-19 recovery.
most important and formal process of democracy.
In this process the bottom-up approach has Many of the driving voting factors drawn from
absolutely no dilution. The party that the majority SOOC were rooted in the concerns they had for
will choose will become the government. The their community and the impacts of Covid-19.
ballot box is the final end-point for the majority of Across all communities, the loss of employment
New Zealanders in their democratic journey. A few and income created a domino effect that
will continue in the democratic process through exacerbated the current housing crisis and created
meeting and lobbying their local MPs, submissions serious mental health issues, particularly for young
to new and changing legislations, or protesting to people. These communities also faced challenges
influence decisions in parliament. These actions that were unique: Rotorua, with its large Māori
have resulted in positive change; for example, population, was struggling with homelessness and
take the recent changes to the Credit Contracts drugs; Queenstown, as a tourist mecca, was now
and Consumer Finance Act (2003)—an interest rate struggling with loss of income and employment
cap on high-cost loans and responsible lending and the impact this had on the large migrant
requirements for mobile traders—The Salvation population in the community; Johnsonville, a small,
Army strongly advocated for this change. diverse yet rapidly growing suburb, has pockets of
poverty exacerbated, particularly with minorities
However, there are also instances where it seems and refugees. Despite these concerns, locals were
like community voices are not heard. Take the aspirational for change in their community—hoping
Abortion Legislation Act: over 25,000 written for more housing, more employment and better
submissions to the select committee, with 90.6 mental health services, to name a few.
percent against the bill; protests for and against
across the country; and, of the 2890 submissions In an ideal world, party policy would address
that had opted to speak, only 5 percent were all the concerns these communities voiced, but
given the opportunity. The End of Life Choice Bill that would require parties to be homogenous in
had received nearly 38,000 written submissions, nature and that wouldn’t reflect the diversity of
with 90 percent of submissions opposing the our country—diversity in beliefs, in thought and
bill in 2019, yet, ‘Do you support the End of Life in culture. The hope is that communities would be
Choice Act 2019 coming into force?’ is one of the informed enough to vote for parties whose voice,
referendum questions we will have to answer this in the form of policy, would align with their own.
year. Our voices are the loudest at the ballot box After the 17 October 2020, the loudest voice in the
and as our country faces the cannabis referendum, room will be the one to govern our country for the
the euthanasia referendum and recovery from next three years, so make sure your voice is heard,
Covid-19, now would be the time to speak up. it may be the greatest opportunity you have in this
democracy.
So, what are you trying to say at the ballot box and
what is driving your decision? SOOC 2020 asked For more information about elections and selected
locals in Queenstown, Rotorua and Johnsonville general issues in New Zealand check out the SPPU
and this is what they had to say: Housing, because 2020 General Election Issues here.
‘Affordable housing is a luxury for the average To read out latest report State of our communities
person’; Health, because ‘Healthcare services 2020 you can find it here.
should try to be a fence at the top of the cliff,
rather than an ambulance at the bottom; and, Ana Ika
Employment and Income, because ‘If everyone Policy Analyst
had jobs our community would be much better
We welcome your feedback
PO Box 76249, Manukau, Auckland 2241
Phone (09) 262 2332 • social.policy@salvationarmy.org.nz
twitter.com/SPPU • facebook.com/SPPUNZYou can also read
