More Equal Societies Are Better for All

More Equal Societies Are Better For All Equality Network Summit 28th February 2014 Summary.

1. Attendees: 53 people , 20 organisations (NZCCSS, Closing the Gap, Auckland Against Poverty. Auckland Anglican Diocese, Auckland Anglican Social Justice Committee, Caritas, Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, CPAG, Council of Trade Unions Every Child Counts, JR McKenzie Trust,, Living Economics Educational Trust, Living Wage Campaign, Mental Health Foundation, NZCoSS, Poverty Action Waikato , Public Health Association , Service and Food Workers Union, UCAN, NZEI) 2. Introduction to the Event. Equality Network started November 2012 by group of organisations who decided to work together under the slogan “more Equal Societies are better for all” The details of the network are best seen on the website www.equalitynetwork.org.nz. It also provides information about each organisation and what they are doing. Organisations not on the website should contact [email protected]. The website also has information on what’s happening, and calls to action It also details successes as they arise. Today about taking stock, and finding away forward. We will have a stronger voice if we work together. 3. Keynote Address: Dr Judy McGregor, School of Social Sciences and Public Policy, AUT. Income equality and “public voice: - who speaks and who listens Importance of “public voice”. But not all have access, it is dominated by a small number of people and there is no guarantee that people hear. We need to break into this cabal ie we need more so-called expert voices. The importance of story is to get people to listen and we need to get stories out about our important issues and challenge orthodoxy.. 4, Where are we at with inequality – past present and future Max Rashbrooke. Editor, Inequality: A New Zealand Crisis/website: www.inequality.org.nz We are making good progress with this story almost unknown publically 10 years ago, 3% in 2010 to 15% 2013 identified inequality as a problem. There is allso a huge increase in awareness. Max is being asked to talk quite often . The Greens/ NZ First/ Labour Party talking about this issue very strongly and even Bill English is recognising there is a problem although only 6% of National voters think that inequality is an issue. it is clear that health, wages, education, child poverty and jobs are an issue. These areas are hugely impacted on by inequality but people don’t necessarily make the links between inequality and those areas. Our challenge is to assist them to make the link between inequality and those areas of concern. 5.Presentations on Major Issues A. The Low Paid. a. Those in Paid Work. Annie Newman, National Convenor Living Wage Movement Aotearoa New Zealand & SFWU Lead Organiser  A large number of workers are earning just above the minimum wage 13.40 – it isn’t enough to live on. 1  It has been calculated by the Family Centre Social Policy Research Unit that it should be $18.80 to produce a basic but decent standard of living.  The Living Wage Movement is on about this www.livingwage.org.nz  The LWM is driving for local and central governments to buy in  The LWM are also targeting corporate and wealthy employers who can pay, and willing ethical employers who want to pay  The LWM want a coalition of other social justice organisations And Dr Siobhann Trevellyan, Waitakere Union Health Care. Health & the Living Wage The clinic is owned and governed by unions. It provides low cost access to health for low-income communities. They are a LW employer and this has proved great for the organisation. They also advocate LW with their clients They are also working towards free medical for all.

b. Welfare Beneficiaries Sue Bradford Auckland Action Against Poverty (AAAP): Since the Labour Govt of the late eighties and the National Govt of the early 90’s no real attempt has been made to pay beneficiaries and income that will provide for a basic but decent standard of living. This government has a deliberate programme to get people off benefits or to ensure benefits are as low as possible. Beneficiaries are trying to get enough to live on and failing. They are forcing people who are very ill to be work tested. Benefits are being cut to people who can’t work. Young mums and babies are living in squalor with no heating, many with no accommodation, and that reality is particularly intense in larger cities. The Household Income Survey shows that 275,000 are officially jobless. But despite this, mothers with babies have to work, sick people have to work, people with mental health issues must be work tested and the pressure on that particular community is devastating. For those with mental health issues living one day at a time is success. The situation for beneficiaries is bad and a disgrace.

B. The High Paid David Hall (Auckland Anglican Social Justice Committee) Paul Barber ( New Zealand Council Christian Social Services) David Shannon (Consultant)

There is no question that over the last thirty years the high paid have done very well largely at the expense of the low and middle paid and this has caused the high level of inequality that currently exist in New Zealand and it is getting worse. What can we do? There are four possible ways to reduce inequality: 1. Make total remuneration details publicly available for all staff over $100,000 or set as a ratio of the minimum/living wage in both the Public and Private sectors 2. Agree a maximum (Total)remuneration ratio related to the Living Wage/Minimum Wage It is incredibly hard to find effective mechanisms to reign in the accelerating pay levels at the top of organisations and those at the lower levels. This is despite a wide and consistent body of research that shows that high pay does not work as an incentive to better performance. There is a large number of organisations that limit top pay by these mechanisms with no bad effects in fact often beneficial effects 3. Remuneration Committee of all Public Companies to have at least one employee representative and one shareholder representative who is not a Director

4. Introduce a more Progressive Income Tax system. NZ has one of the lowest marginal income tax rates in the developed world, which, coupled with a relatively high GST rate, feeds net income inequality. C Special Issues a. The Situation for Children: Dr Liz Craig Otago University

2 What we know is that benefits are not providing enough to give families a safety net. Child poverty rates are increasing.

Each year 5000 children get bronchiolitis; because it is viral getting children to doctors early won’t make a difference. We need to focus on the condition of housing and other factors such as nutrition. If you compare kids in the richest areas to kids in the poorest areas, the children in the poorer areas are 3 -4 times more likely to fall sick and it higher among Maori and Pacific populations. For cancer and birth defects the statistics are the same There is serious inequality in health. If you have 20 years of poor diet it will equal poor health. The social impact poverty means losing 60 children a year. The statistics in the early 80s showed child poverty was 16% at worst. With benefits and other cuts, employment contracts act, market rates for state housing, child poverty increased rapidly during the 90s and we haven’t recovered. There is now a much higher base line and we never get back to the figures of the 80s. What the data is now telling us is that the trend is going up. So, how does high unemployment turn into a hospital admission? The social safety net is inadequate; if you end up relying on social safety net it's not enough. 59% of children who grow up on a benefit will live in material hardship. A benefit often means cold damp housing, inadequate or no fruit and vegetables, no dry footwear and no raincoats. This equals poor health outcomes. We were worried would see a surge, so we started to monitor poverty related conditions in children. What we discovered is that acute respiratory conditions had a positive social gradient. 40,000 admissions every year for everything from skin infections through to pneumonia. Children are dying. The correlation of analysis cannot prove causality. We cannot prove that poverty is causal.

b. The situation for Pasifika people: Rev. Robert Robati-Mani

Where does one begin when one is immersed and surrounded with the reality of the Rich and the poor, the comfortable and the homeless, the affordable and those ‘at risk’, the courageous and the suicidal, equality and inequality, the employed and the unemployed, a citizen and over stayer, traditions of our forebearers and the reality of Aoteaora NZ today, the loved and unloved....the reality and a dream.

After consultation the message is

1. The high reality of over crowding within any given single home amongst our people is astonishing. 2. The reality of who is employed and who is not and what kind of employment is serious issue. 3. The reality of the struggles to survive on a single financial income 4. As for many years our people have been and continue to be labour force that has contributed im- mensely in helping this country to where it is today. Thus is it time to ask the question – when will it be time that you help me? 5. Another reality is that 270,000 children in New Zealand are estimated to be living in poverty - 1 in 10 pakeha and 1 in 5 maori and pasefika households. 2 in 5 poor children come from families where at least one person is in full time work or self employed. The people in my community work 2 or 3 jobs a day but still not earning enough to support their families because the minimum wage of $13.75 or $14.25 by 1st April is still not enough for workers to live on let alone to participate in their community. Inequality in this country is evident and alive. What I believe will may help is to call central and local government to accountability to what was promised upon election to office. And we must hold them to account.

At our biennial General Assembly, Rotorua October 2012, a recommendation was passed that encourages its churches and related organisations to work towards payment of a living wage – all 415 churches, church schools and many related service agencies with the PCANZ 3 People and their work have a dignity that makes the labour market substantially different from the purchase of other goods. The price of a person’s labour shouldn’t be determined solely by the market.”

Thus we call our partner leaders state, council and many others to help move from the reality of a growing crisis of poverty amongst of citizens to a fairer society for all.

c. The situation for Maori People. Frances Edwards/Marama Davis – Nga Whare Waatea Marae This Marae knows about inequality. We run a variety of services from this Marae. We have relationships with organisations like the City Commissioner and we operate under their Kaupapa. And we have to look at our work with the City Mission to get them to understand the people we work with. We won’t ever turn families away from food banks without knowing that their children have food. The children first. We have joined Whanau Ora to provide wrap around services to people. We help people to rise about their circumstances, to have better outcomes. We work with corrections and restorative justice. We are the one service provider that picks up Maori offenders when they are released from prison. They come from prison – no money, no bank accounts, no accommodation. It is a challenge. We have begun a relationship with the Credit Union to solve some of these issues around bank accounts and, as a result, the Credit Union it getting back to its kaupapa.

Marama works in the schools with the kids that school is not working for. Dumb, naughty, disobedient. I was shocked at the mindset. Instead, we look and where we can assist them to achieve when the curriculum doesn’t suit them. We work with the students and Whanau Ora to see where they can fit. We work with teen mums. It’s all about inequality.

Whanau Ora services aren’t just for Maori. We are approached by Maori, Pacific and Asian clients and our workforce has to reflect that and does. We are now culturally diverse. As much as we are Maori we also make sure we take in to account the needs of those that come to us.

2. Review of progress. Reports from members of the Network with particular emphasis on what each group are doing to reduce inequality.

a. Every Child Counts: Deborah Morris- Travers Established in 2004 and driven by the core agencies of Barnardos, Plunket, UNICEF, Save the Children, and the Institute of Public Policy at AUT Our vision is: A nation that values children and ensures that every child is secure, healthy and happy. Our mission is: Advocating for the policies, practices and attitudes that enable children to thrive. The Steering Group has decided to maintain the collective advocacy work of the coalition beyond the 2014 election. The Every Child Counts core group comprises Barnardos, Plunket, UNICEF, Save the Children, and Ririki. We want to promoting public policies that: 1. Place children at the centre of policy and planning; 2. Ensure every child gets a good start in life; 3. End child poverty; 4. Reduce maltreatment, child abuse and neglect 5. Increase the status of children and the child-rearing role of families, whānau, hapū and iwi.

These issues must be part of the next election. We are actively promoting participation from children and young people to get the voices of those affected by inequality into the campaign

Messages from the Council of International Development and Oxfam, They have two suggestions. 1. Leave no one behind (too close to other tags attached to other programmes) 2. Caring New Zealand 100% doable

b. Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG): Mike O’Brien Firstly, the new statistics have moved the child poverty figure to 285,000 and this is unacceptable

4 Secondly, the benefit levels are a serious issue. If the minimum wage is $500 and it’s not enough to live on, and the Living Wage is $700 and it gives you a basic but decent life. We have to remember that the benefit is only $290, it is not enough to live. You cannot survive on a benefit. Thirdly there is an issue with the “working in family tax credits”. The Government are being untruthful. The rate hasn’t altered but eligibility and entitlement have changed. They have reduced abatements and other benefits and because the threshold levels have changed the outcome is that there is a reduction. We want to hold a series of public meetings on benefit levels. It’s a hearts and minds issue. Child poverty is a major issue and inequality is a major issue. Brian Easton did an interview with Katherine Ryan if we want to reduce inequality the most significant thing we can do is to reduce child poverty. Extending Working for Family Tax Credits to beneficiaries is crucial to reduce child poverty.

c. Closer Together: Paul Barber, New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS)

The NZCCSS is an umbrella organisation. We have working more closely together since 2011 to look at how we reduce income inequality. When we set out in 2011, we wanted to increase the level of awareness on inequality, add to the information and now in 2014 we intend looking at how we are going to mobilise. There are 15,000 to 20,000 volunteering in the organisations that we cover that we have the opportunity to mobilise to this movement and to add to the quality of information on this debate. We also want to get into the public debate on inequality as effectively as we can.

d. Closing the Gap - Gary Ware

We are overhauling our web site and producing a Strategic Plan, a Vision; That society at all levels will adopt policies that promote much more equality in NZ; a Motto; A fair go, a fair share and a helping hand for all; and an Aim; to persuade New Zealanders that everyone will have a better quality of life in a more equal society.

There are 3 major strategies from which we are developing goals outcomes, priorities, plans for action and responsibilities 1. To influence change by promoting policies that further equality ie curbs on high pay through tax &/or caps, increasing low pay for workers and beneficiaries, better educational outcomes for all, better public awareness of the health of society, better democracy. 2. To grow and active membership ie more active supporters and area groups. 3.Build a public profile through website media social media etc

e. Mental Health Foundation – Lisa Ducat

If we solve the issue of inequality we will solve a lot of the mental health problems in our society. Flourishing people have a much better chance of good mental health. We intends to continue initiating activities and conversations creatively at a national level, on the benefits of flourishing i. We want to see flourishing included as a measure of progress, and from this be able to set targets to increase our collective mental wellbeing. When someone is flourishing they experience interest and engagement in life, a sense of meaning, purpose and positive emotions most of the time. Resilience, positive relationships, vitality, self- determination, self-esteem, and optimism are also features of flourishing.

Positive mental health can be improved by integrating social change with personal change. Improvements in the social determinants of mental health are not enough in themselves to increase positive mental health and nor is simply applying strategies for better experiencing the world at an individual level.

5 The MHF will continue to provide leadership in this area by influencing government policy where possible (particularly to reduce inequalities that have a significant effect on the social conditions that support flourishing).

Activities:include:

A Flourishing Otautahi - Rebuilding Christchurch for Mental Health & Wellbeing. We try to influence policy makers to consider wellbeing and mental health when setting policies. Reducing Inequalities was highlighted stating “Poverty and social exclusion are inextricably linked to ill health”.

Auckland Council & Local Boards Five ways to well being collaboration: We try to work with local bodies to provide the environment and activities on a community level that will highlight the 5 ways to wellbeing, leading to a more connected, active, reflective, giving and developing community.

Reduction of barriers faced in entering employment: Research shows that people with the lived experience on mental illness have lower participation rates in employment and are often over represented in vulnerable employment. We have an information resource for employers to increase understanding.. f. Poverty Action Waikato - Rose Black/Anna Cox

Poverty Action Waikato is a regionally focused research and advocacy project, located at Anglican Action in Te Ara Hou Village, Hamilton. This social change project aims to research the impacts of poverty, inequality and to raise public awareness of these impacts and ways of reducing poverty at local community, policy and structural levels of society.

Over the past three years, we have developed Poverty Action Waikato into a locally and nationally recognised regional research and advocacy body. Utilising networks and communicating through reports, media and public events, Poverty Action Waikato has added voice to the ways in which poverty is experienced and responded to in Hamilton city and many Waikato towns and rural communities.

We are still here. Looking at research projects to get some income to do our work on poverty. We are holding a banquet to engage people on the issue and other pre-election work in the Waikato to put poverty on the agenda for the election. Lack of funding creates challenges but we are very committed to this area of work. We are doing our community building around the Living Wage and have an upcoming meeting to kick start that. g. Living Economies Educational Trust - Helen Dew

The Living Economies Educational Trust looks at the structure of the money system. It is nine tenths of the iceberg that is the driving engine of the high paid. It is an area that is seldom considered. The work you do is concentrating on the patient but structural change is required. Society creates its exchange systems and they create the world we live in. We have the power to change that and until you change how the money works you change nothing. The money system is like a Ponzi scheme and it is not sustainable. So, we need new ways of looking at creating money that doesn’t create interest-bearing debt. Our money system based on interest bearing debt is at the heart of the growth narrative because if we don’t grown, if something becomes unstuck it will fail and those problems are starting to occur. What we are proposing is interest free exchange media. h. United Community Action Network (UCAN) - Debbie Leyland

UCAN is a grassroots community health organisation that came about to get Wellington District Health Board to reconsider their health cuts. We believes that quality health care should be available to all. Many

6 people are unable to get medication because they don’t have the money. Children are going hungry and food bank lines are growing. People are simply not getting health care when they need it. The unmet need is not evenly distributed. Maori, Pacific and low income communities are the worse affected; sometimes they can wait two months before seeing a doctor. What do we do? 1. To raise awareness and provide information, education regarding primary and other funding cuts in the health sector. 2. To provide an alternative primary health care budget to present to the CCDHB. 3. To gather information/stories from primary health care consumers and providers within their communities. 4. To lobby local and national councils/govt bodies regarding health care. 5. To work with local/national councils in launching UCAN’s eat healthy stay healthy campaign setting up and supporting community gardens and veggie co-ops. 6. Address poverty 7. Promote and circulate health petition. 8. Encourage local and national communities to stand up and take positive action against health and other cuts resulting in poverty within their community. i.e. lobby their DHB, write letters to the editor of their local paper. 9. To educate, inform and expose the effects of government’s health cuts and the effect of these cuts on the most vulnerable members of the community. 10. To research and collect data regarding the experience of poverty in NZ by developing a qual- itative survey to distribute among lower socio-economic communities.

i. New Zealand Education Institute Te Riu Roa (NZEI Te Riu Roa) – Rebecca Matthews

j. Living Wage Movement Aotearoa New Zealand—see above “ the low paid”.

3. Developing Key Messages on Inequality. Gavin White UMR Research - What do the survey on inequality results show? The conclusions: (For the full report: http://umr.co.nz/sites/umr/files/final_inequality_mar-14_0.pdf )

 Inequality is both a perception and a reality. In other words, ie people feel things are becoming more unequal, and also that they genuinely are.  As to whether the “rich” moving ahead, or the “poor” falling behind is unclear  This research is about top 11% / bottom 15%. How big would the differences be if we were able to compare the top 1% with the bottom 1%?  The actual differences between “rich” and “poor” (according to the survey definitions) are likely to be broader-ranging than those covered by the survey questions.  When the “poor” postpone visits to the doctor, the survey numbers can’t tell us if that’s for everyone in the household, nor the circumstances in which they are prepared to postpone.  Is the debate about ‘reducing inequality’ as opposed to ‘increasing equality’? People are concerned about the growing gaps, but they don’t really want a society where everyone is ‘equal’ (at least in terms of financial circumstances). They want a society where people have equal opportunities to succeed, where the rich don’t get too far ahead of everyone else and where the poor don’t get too far behind, but they also want a society where individual efforts are fully rewarded.  Messages are likely to be more effective when they’re about ‘me’ and ‘people like me’.  Similarly, the idea of the ‘deserving poor’ remains powerful. A key description of ‘deserving’ is

7 ‘someone who has done everything right, but suffered a great deal’ (e.g. someone who has looked hard for work, made contributions to community etc., even if they are not actually working at the moment).  Growing inequality may help to explain falling participation in elections.

While there was nothing in the data that shows that those who are poor think they deserve to be poor it was in the focus groups. Some people still believe the rich are there because of the work they have done. Both the rich and poor believe this.

There was research that shows that there is a causative relationship between income inequality and social ills. There are always efforts to discredit this relationship but there is research to prove it and we shouldn’t forget this.

4. Messaging/Tactics and Action: Conor Twyford, Public Service Association

Groups developing ideas for way forward. The brief for these groups is: How do we move on from here? What are the key messages? How do we get these messages across? Bearing in mind: it is election year. We need to work in a way that supports the activities of all our participating organisations. We need to work together co-operatively and under the mantra that more equal societies are better for all i.e. we must reduce inequality. Key Messages on Inequality: (Appendix III) Let’s get the messaging right. use pathos. is the elephant in room. Consider thevery powerful images of children. consider numbers .be brave but not soppy.. We have to give people a reason to vote, and a message that moves them to vote Tactics and action: (Appendix III) Need something that is going to make the parties shift e.g. ranking the parties, getting pledges, signing them up to charters. Unions – a combined 350,000 members, it’s mobilising members, the families of those members to vote. You have to make them care. If we have all these campaigns bubbling up in our organisations we need to reach across the organisations and co-ordinate. The missing element is a co-ordinated effort between all these groups. Let’s not waste effort. We need to consider postcards, pledges, embarrassing lists and what else can we do? And what is working already? Share that information. KEY MESSAGES and ACTIONS: There were lots of ideas and these are being developed into a form which can be used as a resource for particularly member organisations but also anybody to use in the up-coming elections.

5. Closing remarks: Paul Barber NZCCSS Closer together Chair of Equality Network Let’s speak up, we have been asked to – let’s make it louder. Most of the kids in poverty are in DPB households. It’s important that benefits are lifted, that will make a material difference to the outcomes for those children. It also important that we speak up about reigning in high incomes that are sucking income and wealth from where it could be better utilised. It won’t be easy, but we have to try. If we reduce income inequality and improve outcomes, mental health will improve. I also celebrate the Living Wage Movement and the potential growth there. Also to Helen for making us think about money and micro financing. Gavin White’s presentation showed that we can take encouragement because there is increased thinking around inequality.

There is opportunity for change; we need to keep working together to keep communicating opportunities for change