'Kick in the guts,' Abuse in care survivor on redress package
774 million dollars in this year's budget is earmarked for payments to survivors and making the claims process faster and more effcient. Minister Erica Stanford said it increases the average redress payment for new claims from just over $19,000 to $30,000. But the govermment won't be setting up a new compensation scheme for survivors, ignoring a key recommendation of the Royal Commission; instead it will inject more resources into existing agencies. Tu Chapman spoke to Lisa Owen.
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RNZ News
28 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Marlborough residents speak against council's preferred water plan
By Kira Carrington, Local Democracy Reporter Brendan Kearney speaks at the Marlborough District Council's Local Water Done Well hearing. Photo: LDR/Kira Carrington Residents have spoken against the Marlborough District Council's preferred water services model at a Local Water Done Well hearing on Monday. The Government requires councils to choose from five water service delivery options ‒ a modified status quo (an in-house council department), a single council-controlled organisation, a multi-council-controlled organisation, and two types of trusts. The Marlborough District Council's preferred option is to create a standalone Water Services Organisation owned and controlled by the council. The council said it would find greater efficiencies to deliver better service at a lower cost, and have more borrowing capacity to maintain and improve the region's water infrastructure. But Marlborough residents aren't convinced. Of about 45 submissions made, 58 percent wanted to keep water services in-house, compared to 13 percent who preferred the standalone organisation. The remainder did not indicate a preference. Five people spoke on their submissions at a hearing in the council chamber on Monday, and they were all opposed to a standalone organisation. Brendan Kearney, who used to be chief executive of a council-controlled organisation in Canterbury, said there was no proof that a separate organisation would be more efficient, and setting up and funding a separate entity could cost ratepayers more. It would "inevitably duplicate some overhead costs", Kearney said. He said he saw no reason for water services to be removed from a council that had maintained its water systems relatively well. "[Water] assets are in good or very good condition. That's a credit to the current council and past councils as well. Council also has low debt relative to its peers. "This is compelling evidence, in my view, that the council has performed well and will continue to do so." To create a separate organisation, Kearney said the council would need to appoint directors, manage a new relationship with the organisation, and manage the organisation's own agenda. "A standalone company is no guarantee of good governance." Kearney said there also needed to be balance in who footed the water infrastructure bill between the ratepayers of today and of tomorrow. "It's unfair to gift hundreds of millions of dollars ... to the next generations completely debt free. That means the past generations paid too much. "On the other hand, it's unfair to get those assets, billions of dollars of assets, fully debt funded ... it's unfair on future generations. "Something in between those two extremes needs to happen." Submitter Lauchy Hynd said that creating a separate organisation to take on debt outside the council books was not sustainable. "What happens when we default?" Hynd said. "We're leveraging [water assets] by three to five times to borrow money against them. "This looks to me like Three Waters from the back door. "You can kick the can down the road and borrow recklessly, but I appeal to you to act boldly on behalf of the people." Submitters also voiced concerns about allowing an unelected and "unaccountable" organisation to take control of water services. "How do we maintain the ownership and the status of [water] assets in the hands of the people of Marlborough, when we're divesting them to an unelected group?" Hynd said. Submitter Bob Watson said he was worried about the potential to more easily privatise a separate organisation, pointing how the United Kingdom's water management became privatised. Ten regional water authorities were formed in 1974, which the UK government then sold to the private sector in 1989. "I think that the potential for private ownership ... basically our water utilities to be sold off to another entity, and for us to lose the democratic voice, would be terrible," Watson said. "I like the idea that [we're] here with people that have represented the community who can speak for us." The coalition Government had previously said that privatisation of water services was not on the table. The council would make its final decision on water services delivery on June 26, and submit its plan to the Government for approval by 3 September . LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Otago Daily Times
an hour ago
- Otago Daily Times
'Here's a solution': Support Canterbury's young people before they go on a benefit
Mocketts Motors owner Chris Gudsell (left), automotive engineering apprentice Marco Shepherd, Hurunui Mayor Marie Black, and Hurunui District Council MTFJ programme lead Chris Sutherland and MTFJ youth connector Anna Scott, look under the bonnet of Chris's orange-and-black 1971 Valiant Pacer 3 speed, which can be spotted at the workshop when it is not at a car show. Photo: Supplied by Hurunui District Council Two Canterbury mayors say the Government shouldn't tamper with their youth job programme. The Government is targeting getting young people off a jobseekers' benefit, which has led to the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) changing its funding criteria for the Mayors' Taskforce for Jobs (MTFJ) programme, a youth employment scheme. But Kaikōura Mayor Craig Mackle said the programme helps support school leavers into employment, so they don't end up on a benefit in the first place. ''Here's a solution, if you're worried about young people going on a benefit, put more resourcing into MTFJ,'' Mr Mackle said. The jobs programme helps young people aged 16-25 into work through driver licensing, career advice and guidance, interview skills, preparing CVs, work experience and transport. The Kaikōura MTFJ programme's funding is set to be slashed from $260,000 to $100,000 for the next 12 months from July 1. Hurunui Mayor Marie Black said the Hurunui MTFJ programme is also facing a funding cut but didn't want to give a figure. Kaikōura Mayor Craig Mackle (left) and the Mayors' Taskforce for Jobs programme supported Courtney Burke to step up to be a diesel mechanic with her employer Sam Lewthwaite last year. Photo: David Hill / North Canterbury News Mrs Black said young people needed fulfilment, so getting them into employment was essential. The mayors were responding to a comment from Social Development Minister Louise Upston in a statement following last month's Budget. ''Recent forecasts show that people under the age of 25 on jobseeker support will spend an average of 18 or more years on a benefit over their lifetimes,'' Ms Upston said. Young people are eligible for a jobseeker benefit from age 18. The Government plans to introduce parental means testing for 18 and 19-year-olds in a bid to push more unemployed young people into work. MSD group general manager insights Fleur McLaren said modelling in 2023 suggested jobseeker clients under age 25 were likely to spend an average 18.2 future years on a benefit, compared to an estimated 12.2 future years in 2017. Kaikōura youth attended a taster mechanic course at Ara in Christchurch earlier this year. Photo: Supplied by Kaikōura Mayors' Taskforce for Jobs She said it was due to several factors, including a challenging economic outlook, complex issues such as mental health, and the difficulty getting off the benefit. MSD is basing its MTFJ funding for the next 12 months, from July 1, on the number of 18 to 24 year olds on a jobseekers' benefit. Hurunui District Council chief executive Hamish Dobbie said it will take time for the economy to fully recover. ''With every recession, it takes a while to recover, but there's always a couple green shoots coming through and we can see that in the primary sector.'' Te Hā o Mātauranga (Learning in Kaikōura) holds the MTFJ contract for the Kaikōura District Council. ''One of my concerns is that our Government seems to be leaving it to families to stop their young people entering the benefit system, rather than helping young people to gain employability skills and find work,'' Te Hā operations lead Vicki Gulleford said. She said young people started leaving school from the age of 16 but there are few options. There is no tertiary education in Kaikōura and polytechs do not offer student accommodation to under-18s. Ms Gulleford said there needed to be support from families, employers and the wider community to help Kaikōura youth find a pathway. ''We have heard from different youth over the years that they will go away, that Kaikōura doesn't hold a future employment pathway for them. ''But their hearts will always hold Kaikōura as home, and hopefully we see them find a way back here in the future.'' By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter ■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Scoop
an hour ago
- Scoop
Climate Legal Action Necessary Response To Govt Inaction
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi welcomes the legal action taken against the Minister of Climate Change by a coalition of legal experts as an important step in ensuring that Aotearoa meets its climate action obligations. 'We strongly support legal action to ensure that the Government is held to account for its legal obligations under the Climate Change Response Act,' said NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff. 'The union movement is deeply concerned by the Emissions Reduction Plan 2026-2030, which contains no significant policies to reduce emissions and will fail to get New Zealand meaningfully closer to our 2050 net-zero commitment. 'The actions – or lack of them – by this Government on climate change are the actions of climate deniers, not responsible leaders. 'Workers and communities need real political leadership that combats global emissions and invests in creating a just transition for industries and workers. We need leadership that develops and upholds long term consensus, not more U-turns. 'Instead, we have a government that cancelled 35 climate policies without consulting the public first, as required by law. Robust public engagement is essential. 'Climate policy is yet another area where this Government is prioritising corporate interests over democratic accountability and the interests of working people. 'Evidence is clear that a near-total focus on tree planting through vast pine forests is not a sufficient response – we must reduce emissions at source. 'Alongside the weak emissions budget, in Budget 2025 we saw a total abdication of responsibility on climate change and ensuring a Just Transition for working people in an increasingly volatile world. 'The NZCTU supports bold climate action to reduce emissions, adapt to the changing climate, and transition to a zero emissions economy that provides full employment for workers,' said Wagstaff.
