Active citizenship and partnership
Employer donate some time/resource to communities
If your parents do it, you do it. Or you don’t have time
Bring back reasonable compensation for people making community contributions – employers can no longer do it
Active citizenship - people can’t afford it – local health board/district authority compensated for when you took time off
Make up of NZ – small/medium 85%ish, large 15% can compensate for getting involved – smaller areas rely on volunteer efforts
Boring – thankless task, local govt last bastion of a little bit of autonomy, central taking it away/homogenised
Implementation -> need listening. Patch protective NGOs so hard to work together -> listening -> funding
Social sector trial 2014:
- communities take ownership of mental health
- NGOs
- Across NZ
- Ideal collaboration, consultation
- Different regions, different outcomes
1 long weekend every month, or 35 hour week
4 day working week -> could donate half a day to the community & time for mental health
1 thing they’re passionate about to fuel involvement in civics
Partner the students up with non-profit organisation/issue they are passionate about – give them time to work with them
Maybe involve secondary students in helping/observing volunteer groups and organisations
- Not so “news” level
- Aware who’s in the area
Doco series – voted; politicians of Beehive level and local express ideas more openly
Fund documentaries re waste, climate change, plastics to encourage changes of consumer behaviour eg https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/horrifying-photo-shows-plastic-waste-16489979
7 Days style – comedy and levity, politician brings depth, make it fun
More civics education in schools – nothing about local govt during social studies even though its closer
Build community spirit by:
- Create policy settings for “communital” living to encourage self-sufficiency and barter, reducing inequality
- Being open to different styles of living outside cities
There’s nothing for people struggling in terms of land. Need to create places for people to share spaces, work the garden.
Responsiveness
DIA – govt department exchange to NGOs scaled up
Acknowledge local expertise and love
Listen to greypower and senior citizens more about what they really need
Be bold -> stuck in a rich get richer model – be bolder on the world stage
Allow reasonable time for people to participate in consultation process & keep the dos simple and provide feedback
Top priority not to offend minister – not to help people, which is further down the line
Improve accessibility of govt websites
Annual bus trip for key senior staff (and others) around the country – example: New Plymouth office travelling around other areas of Taranaki, know your own regions -> making appointment for elderly person hours away with no transport
Govt is about public perception -> do better and go to the places where people are
One size fits all is debilitating to small rural communities
Diversity – Patea, Hāwera, Opunake all different needs. X one size fits all. They hate being told they’re similar. Even South Taranaki, 8 or 9 completely different communities
Govt depts are inward looking
Kate Raworth – Donut Economics
Too heavily [reliant] on exports and therefore imports – govt needs to recognise climate change and communicate to communities you need to care
Online petitions and things people understand.
If it was a survey keep it short and snappy
One health national example for all DHBs -> some were already doing it -> one size fits all approach didn’t work. 6 million to be a part of national one.
Govt -> old forms of communications -> online petition > writing a letter
- No time/can’t be bothered when they know nothing will happen
When you try to be proactive it hasn’t gone anywhere.
Retrospective consultation has been happening which is not okay, it should be done proactively especially if legislative changes are coming. Being able to feel like your influencing decisions before they’re made is important.
Transparency and accountability
Transparency of political lobbying – who’s donating to parties
Greater accountability by civil servants
Govt is too led by big business
Media is far too influential – creates adversarial headlines which affect govt
Big business is driving too much policy. Everyday person doesn’t know how to engage with this/fight against [system?]
Trans Tasman resources – iron sand mining example -> money gone mad, unsustainable court battle costing the taxpayer
Review and change Trust law -> Studylink etc [visibility of assets]
Huge things get shut down for internal reason. Was it policy? Or capacity? Be transparent.
Input to government gets filtered.