Category: Labour Party

It’s been another frustrating week for our family support and prevention services who are still coming to grips with funding cuts and a Minister who is laying the blame at their feet.

“Karen Chhour’s botched handling of provider contracts across the country has resulted in stress for many services and made life harder for vulnerable children and their whānau,” Labour’s children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime said.

“What we’re hearing from community providers across the country is quite different to the Minister’s claims. She’s given no evidence to substantiate her attack on community providers across the country.

“More than 330 services like Family Start and Women’s Support have suffered funding cuts and are now worried about whether they can still help tamariki and whānau through some of the toughest times of their lives.

“How can we be confident that children will not lose out when there’s been no conversation with providers or communities about these cuts – a decision made and enforced with little warning.

“Heartbreaking is the only way to describe it. It’s clear that the need is high for support services – we should be meeting that need not making it worse by culling contracts with no transition plan for children and their families.

“Months ago, I wrote to the Minister asking her for assurances that we wouldn’t lose these essential services. Her response made it clear that these cuts are about the money. It’s as simple as that.

“The Minister is putting a dollar value on the lives of our children and many will now be losing out on the only safe spaces they know.

“The Minister doesn’t seem to understand that Oranga Tamariki’s mandate includes supporting and protecting all children, young people and their families, to prevent harm and improve their well-being.

“The fact that the Children’s Commission and Independent Child Monitor are seeking information from the Government about these cuts shows just how serious this situation is.

“Instead of scapegoating providers and trying to spin the issue as their fault, Karen Chhour must recognise that the ones paying the ultimate cost of these cuts are vulnerable children and families,” said Willow-Jean Prime.

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The Government is leaving one of New Zealand’s fastest growing regions without the medical facility it desperately needs.

“The National Government has plans to downgrade the rebuild of Nelson Hospital, leaving the people of Nelson high and dry, and there isn’t even a business case for it,” Labour health infrastructure spokesperson Tracey McLellan said.

“Shane Reti promised the facility would be fit for purpose. The problem is his idea of what is fit for purpose is totally at odds with what doctors and nurses think, showing again how out-of-touch this Government is.

“Cheap and cheerful is not a phrase New Zealanders want to hear when it comes to health infrastructure, but it seems to be National’s approach. Regional and provincial hospitals should be built properly including being future-proofed to meet the needs of our growing population and increased demand on health services,” Tracey McLellan said.

“Cutting corners by pushing for a quick and cheap renovation instead of the full rebuild Nelson Hospital needs will leave our region worse off,” Labour Nelson MP Rachel Boyack said.

“Shane Reti couldn’t answer simple questions about bed numbers or timing, instead he has planned for yet another business case – in addition to the one that was already signed off to start this project under Labour.

“More delays and a smaller hospital are a slap in the face for Nelson. We can’t kick the can down the road – we have a rapidly growing population, and an aging population – we need to invest in the future of Nelson’s health.”

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After months of targeting disabled people, the Government has dealt its harshest blow yet by slashing Whaikaha, the Ministry of Disabled People.

“It’s beyond disgraceful how this Government is treating our disability communities,” acting disability spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni said.

“The Government plans to leave the Ministry with minimal staff and will remove financial control. Support services worth $2 billion are also being taken from Whaikaha.

“It’s also cruel that the Government has halted the Enabling Good Lives programme. A programme disabled people have been greatly worried and vocal about being tampered with.

“This programme gives choice and control to disabled people to lead better, meaningful, and dignified lives. To halt the rollout in its tracks, is nothing short of shameful.

“Ironically, it was a National-led Government that started the programme. Labour honoured this commitment and made record investment into it.

“Given the Government is unable to reveal the savings of their devastating move to restrict disability funding in March, any claims of savings here cannot be believed. The only thing we can be sure of is disability communities will be missing out.

“Disabled people, their carers, whānau, and disability organisations across the country deserve so much more.

“They are tired of losing out on support and cannot reconcile the callous treatment they are receiving under this Government. It all serves to take disabled people back decades,” Carmel Sepuloni said.

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The Government’s half-hearted report card on their boot camps experiment just highlights again why they are a waste of time and money.

“Karen Chhour’s update that she’s ‘mostly satisfied’ with her pilot will be of no relief to the many advocates, experts and survivors who’ve continued expressing their concerns about the camps,” children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime said.

“With one participant already having left the pilot, it’s worrying to see the National-led Government scrambling to pass legislation to prevent future participants from leaving these camps.

“Karen Chhour has done little to quell worries for these young people’s safety and has recently failed to front up to the hard questions, instead opting to blame those who ask them.

“We’ve had Prime Minister Christopher Luxon previously criticise Oranga Tamariki staff, saying military leaders would be better mentors for our young people.

“We then heard from the Police Minister that the NZDF would have ‘heavy involvement’, that there’d be 30 NZDF staff actively involved. We’ve later found out the NZDF would have no frontline involvement and now we learn all the staff are existing Oranga Tamariki workers.

“This, coupled with the fact that staff have only had two weeks of prior training to be military leaders, makes this experiment all the more concerning.

“With both Christopher Luxon and Karen Chhour failing to guarantee the safety of those in boot camps, it’s a clear sign that we shouldn’t be walking back down this path,” said Willow-Jean Prime.

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A damning report on Auckland’s future is an ugly cloud over Simeon Brown’s head as he announces yet another cost for our largest city.

“The newly released State of the City report shows the Government’s decisions have slowed progress in Auckland, but when the city calls out for leadership Simeon Brown has put his hand out for more cash from whānau in Tāmaki Makaurau,” Labour Auckland issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert said

“While in opposition, Simeon Brown said ‘We want to make sure that we’re not adding further cost to people using the roads at a time of cost-of-living crisis’ yet here he is doing the very thing he was so against.

“In Government, Labour did the groundwork on this policy and sought bipartisan support, which National declined when we wouldn’t remove the fuel tax.

“We know that Aucklanders need better options for transport, but all we have seen from a $1.2 billion hole in the city’s infrastructure fund after the fuel tax has been removed, and 6.8% rates rise to cover the costs of water.

“The National Government seems intent on increasing cost of living pressures on Aucklanders with higher vehicle registration fees, public transport fees, a future hike to fuel tax, tolls roads and congestion charging.

“International research tells us that congestion charging only works if there are viable and affordable alternatives. Labour had ensured there would be alternatives to make sure we saw the behaviour change that Auckland needs, but Minister Brown has not invested in things that get people out of cars. The congestion charges are nothing but a revenue generating exercise for the Government.

“A third of New Zealand calls Auckland home and the city should be thriving, but instead we’re footing the bill for this Government’s poor decisions. The State of the City report found issues like inequality and infrastructure are in need of long-term investment, which is not likely under National.

“Tāmaki Makaurau is our most expensive city, but we have seen no plan to solve crime, or make it easier for whānau who are trying to make ends meet. Despite his meagre appearance today asking for cash, Simeon Brown is missing in action on Auckland’s issues,” Shanan Halbert said.

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The Government appears to have made its decision on the direction of firearms changes, promising the public would be able to have their say but then hand-picking a list of groups to talk to instead.

“The ACT Party campaigned on getting rid of the firearms registry, now the Minister is blocking the public from giving their views on proposed changes to it,” Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said.

“If their changes go through, it’s likely Police will no longer hold the firearms registry, including the gun ownership information that comes with it. Given Police are normally the ones responding to firearms callouts, it is incredibly valuable for them to know if a gun’s been stolen or not.  

“Despite recently telling The Guardian her upcoming consultation would hear from the ‘New Zealand public’ and ‘everyone’ – documents released under the official information act show Minister Nicole McKee has instead hand-picked a group of people to send a feedback form to.

“That’s not public consultation. It is certainly not hearing from ‘everyone.’ The majority of the groups the minister consulted with are from the firearm owners community.

“She’s not only using her hand-picked consultation list for the firearms registry, she’s also snuck through regulation changes that remove requirements for clubs and ranges to keep records of any guns or ammunition they sell.

“The Government has not announced these changes, and answers to recent written parliamentary questions show yet again the Minister has chosen who she wants feedback from.

“When groups like the Police Association do not make the Government’s list, you really do have to wonder who is running the show.

“I stand with the Police Association and directly appeal to Christopher Luxon to put a handbrake on these dangerous changes that will make our communities less safe. 

“Given we are talking about guns, I am deeply concerned about the government breaking its promises to consult the public and choosing who gets to have a say on loosening the law. This is not being open, transparent, or serious about firearms safety in New Zealand,” Ginny Andersen said.

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The Government is cutting support for those who need somewhere to live, but not building anymore homes so they have somewhere to go.

“It’s there for all to see – National is motivated by saving money rather than ensuring people have a roof over their heads,” Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said.

“They’re making it harder to access housing and easier to be kicked out – we’re talking about people with nowhere else to go and now anxiously waiting to find out if they still have a home. It’s a cruel kick in the guts for New Zealanders who are already doing it so tough.

“National has tried this trick before and crowed about their reduced numbers.

“Instead of clamping down on those in the most need, I suggest actually paying for more public houses like they said they would. 

“They’ve cut $1.5 billion from their housing budget, the Kainga Ora pipeline of new housing dries up next year after what Labour committed, and quite literally they are leaving Kiwi families out in the cold.

“We also can’t forget the last National Government ended up with 1500 fewer public homes than what it started with, and bled $576 million in dividends out of the housing system.

“We’re still left with no answers, no solutions and soon these people will be left with nowhere to go,” Kieran McAnulty said.

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Community mental health groups are on the precipice of folding due to Government cuts to frontline funding.

“Minister of Mental Health Matt Doocey assured grassroots and medium size community groups there would be funding opportunities via the new Mental Health Innovation Fund announced in the Budget,” Ingrid Leary said. 

“Not only was that funding halved to $5 million per year, but the Minister has also made the criteria so restrictive that very few organisations will be able to apply.

“Health NZ tender documents show applicants are required to have a minimum of 80 staff and $250,000 co-funding.

“It’s outrageous to suggest community mental health groups have hundreds of thousands of dollars sloshing around in their bank accounts.

“It shows that this Minister is completely out of touch, favouring large organisations that can absorb costs, or he is once again pre-empting the outcome as he did with the Gumboot Friday procurement, and picking winners.

“I am also concerned that social return on investment (SROI) requirements baked into the application process will add unnecessary costs, that many groups simply can’t afford.

“SROIs can be used to back up outcome claims but they should never replace monitoring by government agencies because they are commissioned by the groups who stand to benefit from them.

“Seldom is the underlying data verified by the companies doing the SROI, and in previous procurement the Minister sought no official advice, nor used the value-for-money claims appropriately.

“The requirement to demonstrate scalable digital innovation in the application process shows the Minister either doesn’t value the incredibly important in-person work done by community groups, or he already has prepicked winners for this funding.

“Either way, it shows that despite the grandstanding on mental health, Matt Doocey can’t be trusted,” Ingrid Leary said.

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Rates are about to go up even further now with the Government pushing local councils under a borrowing bus.

“The Minister’s language is crystal clear, the Government’s intention is to push costs and all responsibility back onto councils. They’re washing their hands of this issue and setting councils up to take all blame on the inevitable increase in rates,” Labour local government spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said.

“Increasing debt limits mean councils will go further into debt, passing costs on to ratepayers without the help of the Government.

“Today the Government has turned a blind eye to the issue of credit ratings. We know agencies stated that without balance sheet separation it would be difficult to maintain the required credit rating. It appears the Government are working on their own analysis, that conveniently disregards the feedback of their own credit agencies.

“I think the most telling thing is the admission that they think it won’t cost as much, ignoring the $185 billion price tag that came from figures provided by the councils themselves.

“Just take a look at the language Simeon Brown is using. By putting all responsibility on to councils he is setting things up so that when rates inevitably rise, he and the Government can say it’s the council’s fault.

“This is a political solution to save face, but one that slams rate rises into the face of ratepayers. ,” Kieran McAnulty said.

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