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FAMILY, YOUTH AND SOCIAL
INTRODUCTION: THE WELFARE STATE
The Welfare State must be a safety net to protect the most vulnerable in our society. Government has a duty to properly determine those needs and respond to them. However, social welfare must never become a trap for recipients that keeps them dependent on the State. We have some groups in our society who are facing third generation unemployment by lifestyle choice. New Zealand First is firmly committed to the concept of mutual obligations. Where a person is unable to obtain paid employment, the state will pay that person on the understanding that that person makes a contribution back to the community and so New Zealand First will resurrect the community wage policy.
New Zealand First is also gravely concerned with the growing trend of those on unemployment benefits being moved onto the sickness benefit as a means of keeping unemployment levels low and disguising the true incidence of unemployment.
A huge social price has been paid for the economic policies of successive Labour and National governments. While this current government boasts of its economic success, 70% of New Zealanders receive less than the average wage. We have seen successive governments focus more on racial difference than on need. Compounding these difficulties has been ad hoc mass immigration, which has changed the structure of our population.
We are faced with an ageing population and find the place of the family under threat through the liberal policies of social engineering promoted by the current Labour government. The importance of the early years of development is recognised by New Zealand First and we promote policies aimed at the optimum development of children. We will develop and fund programmes that provide families with support and guidance to ensure a safe and healthy environment for our children.
While this government attempts to conceal the true impact of its failed economic policies, over 1 million New Zealanders continue to rely on a Community Services Card. Over 400,000 receive income support. 162,000 of our young and most
talented are operating on student loans (but only 52,000 can access student allowances, and many of those who can, are students from overseas with 'hidden' incomes).
Consistent with the New Zealand First principle of less government, we would support these policy fronts being addressed by one singular minister. However, for the purposes of policy development they do require individual attention.
FAMILY POLICY
New Zealand First will:
- implement policies which will increase participation rates and quality provision of early childhood education;
- develop a comprehensive package of parent support and guidance programmes;
- initiate Family Start Programmes across the country aimed at those children at greatest risk of less than optimal development;
- make available Home Instructional Programme for Pre-schoolers and Youngsters (HIPPY) programmes to all families with low levels of educational capital;
- develop Parents as First Teacher (PAFT) programmes across the country;
- make truancy an indicator of 'neglect' and focus on early intervention with families of truants;
- introduce policies that are fair and supportive of grand-parents raising their grand-children;
- ensure ongoing support for and development of 0800 advice line services;
- continue to focus upon family health, and particularly early intervention, by expanding such programmes as "Family Start" and home based support;
- amend the Families Commission enabling legislation to ensure that the definition of a 'family' is more strictly defined and requires either a direct blood-line connection or a legal connection; and,
- consider the expansion of the role of the Families Commission into issues more pertinent to families, rather than just policy development.
YOUTH AFFAIRS POLICY
INTRODUCTION
Young people today face a far more complex and challenging social environment than past generations.
Gaining full-time paid employment is extremely difficult, as a result of the economic policies of successive governments. Youth are pressured through the media by a multitude of stereotypes which they sometimes feel the need to copy. There are a lot of factors that drain the motivation of our young people to participate in the community. They also have easier access to harmful substances such as drugs and alcohol than other generations. A far greater range of choices are available.
Most youth are equipped with the attitudes and aptitudes to deal with the pressures that life brings. However, for some the challenges are too bewildering to cope with. Levels of youth suicide are too high and there is too much harm caused by risk-taking and substance abuse.
New Zealand First recognises the diversity of our youth and their different cultures. Most of all, New Zealand First recognizes the need for youth to have 'a voice' to be able to express youth concerns, and to have input into local and national decision making.
New Zealand First will:
- mount a war on youth recidivist offending, and aggressively target 'entry level' crime by those seeking to enter the crime industry;
- aggressively target "P" and other dangerous drugs through co-ordinated education and police programmes aimed at reducing both access to and the appeal of these types of drugs;
- oppose all efforts to legalise cannabis and any other form of illicit drugs;
- raise the drinking age;
- introduce improved Ministry of Health guidelines for dealing with youth health issues, including public campaign strategies aimed at youth. For example, on sexual health and the option of abstention, the risks of HIV/AIDS and other serious sexually transmitted disease, and teenage pregnancies whilst also encouraging parental/guardian participation in the process;
- ensure Youth Suicide Prevention Services Programme resources are made available from additional health funding;
- provide additional resourcing for youth mental health services;
- promote apprenticeships as a concrete means of addressing youth unemployment, with particular focus in industries such as building, construction and other industries where there is a skills shortage;
- ensure that young people who are enrolled for the community wage are engaged in one of the following activities (a) seasonal employment (b) industry training (c) extended conservation or youth service corps or (d) for those at risk, military-type discipline training;
- review youth wages and employment conditions;
- encourage local councils to establish a consultative mechanism with youth;
- develop a civics programme aimed at enhancing national pride among our youth;
- lower the age of criminal responsibility and accountability to 12 years of age. Young offenders 12 years of age and over will be dealt with by the District and High Courts as opposed to the Youth Court;
- retain Family Group Conferences for those who choose to offend under the age of 12 years but even then, any offender under the age of 12 years will be entitled to be dealt with under this provision only three times and should they choose to offend again, will be dealt with by the adult criminal courts;
- provide the Youth Court with guidelines as to when anonymity of proceedings should be removed to reinforce the offender's accountability to the community;
- increase resources and funding to revitalise and run the National Anti Bullying Campaign in schools;
- promote values education in schools;
- develop a languages policy so that all young people develop full competence in English plus one other language;
- introduce a universal student allowance;
- increase the proportion of tertiary tuition subsidies for specific courses to increase the number of appropriately qualified graduates (e.g. science and technology);
- introduce further scholarships (especially at post-graduate level) to ensure that we keep our best students and provide for research and development expertise;
- introduce a system that encourages graduates to provide a professional service for areas of New Zealand that suffer from a shortage of such services by way of fees abatement; and,
- set interest rates on student loans at Consumer Price Index plus 2%.
SOCIAL POLICY
New Zealand First will:
- ensure that the employment of New Zealanders remains our first planning priority. Unemployment is a human and economic waste and is a blight on our country's productivity. While New Zealand has experienced relatively low unemployment in recent years, still too many long-term unemployed, youth, Maori and Pacific people fail to find employment. This must be redressed;
- focus on the pursuit of policies that promote social cohesion;
- direct government resources to where they are of the greatest benefit while ensuring they are based on need, not race. Recognise education (in all its various forms) as the key to upward mobility without which our citizens are condemned to a narrow range of options and certain failure to reach their potential;
- resurrect the policy of a community wage, paid to those who are unable to reasonably find paid employment but who will be expected to make a contribution back to the community which is paying them;
- ensure greater scrutiny of the benefit system for those moving from the unemployment system onto the sickness benefit. This will include random cross-checking of doctors' recommendations and greater monitoring of Work and Income staff who may recommend such a shift;
- encourage greater independence and facilitate the transition to work for beneficiaries by regularly reviewing abatement of benefit levels;
- put an end to the aimless restructuring of government departments and services, remove all unnecessary rules and regulations within the bureaucracy based on misguided political correctness, and ensure that the public service focuses its efforts on people as the term implies, not just rules and regulations;
- continue to fight to protect our social fabric and traditional family values which underpin our society. This includes opposing the liberalisation of laws relating to issues such as prostitution, cannabis and other drug use, and other issues that undermine traditional family values. Any changes to these laws must only occur following a comprehensive public debate and a referendum on the relevant issue. These issues should no longer be decided by a so called 'conscience vote' of politicians, but by the people whom they impact on;
- cease to use immigration as an excuse for our failure to train, skill, and employ our own people or to put New Zealand families first. The notion of a so-called 'skills shortage' is in reality an admission that we have failed to adequately train and upskill our population. We must address this issue, not take the short term option of mass immigration;
- combine all parent-caregiver support programmes under the umbrella of a single agency;
- establish a "senior citizens card" that will broaden the benefits available to seniors currently under the community services card (including health and pharmaceutical benefits) and will extend to such things as subsidised travel, reduced local government rates, and discounted services;
- ensure the needs of retired New Zealanders are met through a sustainable superannuation scheme. In giving people certainty (and thus security) such a scheme also gives New Zealand an expanded savings base; and,
- ensure that fairness, justice, timeliness and consistency are universal principles of state welfare payments.
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