Greens go it alone with early policy promises

Newsroom

a day ago

Analysis: On one level, the new Green Party initiative to protect children could be seen as business as usual – a political play to pressure an opposing government into action.
Certainly, launching the party's new 'seven promises to tamariki' by way of an open letter to Children's Minister Karen Chhour of Act and urging the public to sign on to its message online meets that tactic. The petition preamble talks of Chhour 'taking some personal responsibility' for the safety of vulnerable tamariki.
And timing it for the anniversary of when a range of community care providers lost state contracts under this Government carries its own message.
But the 'For our Children' policy also represents another move by the Greens to set out political priorities and new thinking, out of government, well ahead of next year's election; to get out in front.
The party had tried to arrange meetings with Chhour to lobby her directly for attention to its seven goals for child care and protection, but her schedule did not allow it.
So, 14 months out from a likely election date, it made its goals into public promises and committed at a launch by co-leader Marama Davidson and children's spokesperson Kahurangi Carter that voters 'can hold us to this'.
The Greens did not seek agreement or endorsement from Labour or Te Pāti Māori, its likely governing partners in any future administration, ahead of Friday's launch after months of consulting those in the child welfare sector.
Instead, the party has struck out on its own to put the issue of care of tamariki to the front, and near the top, of its policy package for 2026.
The seven promises are that:
every child's whānau and whakapapa must be centred
must be free from poverty
must be supported every step of their journey
must be heard, respected and placed at the heart of decision making
must be protected
must have a stable, nurturing home
is cared for by a well-supported workforce
Few would find much in those commitments to argue with. Who would oppose those standards or sentiments?
But on the flip side these are pretty broad and challenging measures to say any politicians or government agency can guarantee to achieve. Promising that children 'must be free from poverty' and 'supported every step of their journey' goes beyond the aspirational.
Each of the seven promises is expanded on in the policy package – for example, the first, on centring whānau and whakapapa would be achieved by two changes to the Oranga Tamariki Act and creation of a Māori Transition Authority as recommended in the past by the Waitangi Tribunal.
Other specific changes would be to make early intervention and prevention core principles of the OT law, new top-up payments and increased Best Start funding for households, guaranteed and ring-fenced funding and enacting changes recommended by the Royal Commission into abuse in state care.
The party's letter to Chhour is blunt. 'Right now, far too many tamariki are being failed by a care system that is under-resourced, disconnected from whakapapa, and lacking a focus on preventing harm before it happens.
'Social workers are overwhelmed, facing dangerously high caseloads. Community providers are dealing with funding cuts and funding uncertainty every year. Independent oversight recommendations are constantly ignored. Far too many children in our care system are not having their fundamental rights met.
'As Minister for Children, you hold responsibility to ensure this system upholds the rights and dignity of every child in Aotearoa.
'That is why we are asking you to commit to a 'Duty of Care'. A set of seven core promises that speak to the fundamental system change required to protect tamariki, put them at the heart of government decision making and deliver a system that truly serves children.'
Carter told Newsroom the Greens would make themselves accountable for those seven promises when in government. Better still, it wanted Chhour to recognise their value and adopt them now, ahead of any change of administration.
But she wouldn't be holding her breath. 'This Government has put a real focus on punishment rather than prevention, slashing of safety and care organisations' funding and a move away from prevention. We've got to get back to getting support for children, parents and communities.'
Carter said the coalition Government had failed to take up numerous recommendations from the commission, and in her view had taken actions against the spirit of the commission report by introducing and continuing boot camps and allowing third parties to use force on young people.
Making a big commitment on child protection and poverty is not new in NZ politics. Labour's Jacinda Ardern put these issues at the centre of her government from 2017, taking the child portfolio, setting up the Royal Commission and with Grant Robertson putting child poverty reports into the suite of wellbeing measures in Budgets.
Carter says things have gone backwards under this Government and, while it might be debatable if prioritising child protection automatically wins votes for a party at an election, it's important the Greens did the work now.
'What's important is that we're ready to go into our first 100 days with policies that will protect children and keep families together.
'For me, it's about having a mandate from the community and people we are serving to go through and do this work. Polls and votes are important but doing the work and having the foundations is what's behind this campaign.'
She acknowledged the seven promises would come with possibly substantial costs – in reducing social worker caseloads, as one example – but said the funding would largely come from re-prioritising other spending, away from this coalition's centralised systems and 'back into the community'.
As just one MP, Carter couldn't say if the Greens would make the seven promises a bottom line in governing talks with Labour or Te Pāti Māori. 'But we are going hard on ensuring our kids are safe.'
A good response from Chhour to the letter would be to say 'this is awesome, let's see how we can implement the seven promises' and adopt them as their own.
On the other hand, if the minister remained silent and ignored the Greens' proposals, that would reject the work of people in the sector who had contributed. 'It's the mandate of the people out there doing the mahi and the kids who have been through the system. They want to see action.
'I think New Zealanders want politicians to work together to put New Zealand first and our children first.'