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[email protected] Ph: 04 473-2627/ 021-388-337 Public Questions Network News December 2011 May 2011 Kia ora, Advent and Christmas greetings friends Contents: Methodist Conference Inequality Elections and Public Questions media release Environment - fracking Green Paper and Welfare Reform Item for Parish newsletters Methodist Conference President John Roberts gave a very strong lead on social and environmental justice in his induction address. He re-ignited the ‘preferential option for the poor’ as a gospel based focus on justice, and highlighted that the growing inequality in Aotearoa-New Zealand is an affront to growing a fair society. Council of Conference Mission Priority, which was agreed to at Conference is: ‘let the Children Live, ending child poverty, child abuse and youth suicide in New Zealand.’ During the Public Questions session at Conference we asked for discussion on two questions: 1. What would you like to say to political leaders about poverty and inequality? 2. What do you suggest that churches can do about poverty and inequality? We produced a resource for parish discussions from the Conference discussion. This is on the Public Questions website< www.methodist.org.nz/public_questions_network > Elections and Public Questions Media Release Elections have delivered us a National led government in coalition with the Māori Party, United Future and Act. This gives the Government 64 seats – a little more than the majority of 61 needed for the Government to pass legislation. Some portfolios are the same, such as Bill English as Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister. Paula Bennett as Minister of Social Development is promoted to the front bench.