MEDIA RELEASE: Welfare Justice (Alternative Welfare Working Group)

15 September 2010

Northland hui discusses welfare changes

70 people have attended a meeting in Whangarei today to discuss proposed changes to the welfare system.

Organised by Welfare Justice (the Alternative Welfare Working Group), the hui at Ngararatunua marae was called to ensure participation by members of the community most likely to be affected by welfare changes.

Victoria University law lecturer Mamari Stephens, a member of Welfare Justice, said that it was an engaged and energised gathering which included Maori, Pakeha, beneficiaries, students and people who work in community groups with beneficiaries. "People were full of ideas, with good positive thinking about creating a system that gets away from a deficit mentality and into a positive way of seeing beneficiaries."

She said that many participants saw a need for the welfare system to facilitate engagement between people and their communities.

Welfare Justice Chair Mike O'Brien, associate professor of social work and social policy at Massey University, said participants also stressed the need for investment in education and jobs in order to make a difference to generations of people in the North affected by unemployment.

Welfare Justice (the Alternative Welfare Working Group) is conducting a month-long series of public meetings, asking the community to share experiences and views about welfare. The group is inviting submissions both to itself and to the government appointed Welfare Working Group.

Meetings have been held in Wellington, Porirua, Upper Hutt and Auckland. Further meetings are planned over the next month in Manurewa, Hamilton, Rotorua, Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill.

Ends.

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