Policy Priority: Bringing 100,000 kids out of poverty

Perhaps the most ambitious Green policy is to do something about the 270,000 children growing up in poverty.  This the sharp end of John Key's underclass he promised to address when he was campaigning in 2008.  An empty promise, as it turns out - he has now admitted that the underclass is still growing.

The Greens, OTOH, recognise that having 25% of our children in poverty is a major issue, one that will have consequences for years, if not generations.  Growing up in poverty leads to negative outcomes in education, crime, health and it's time we had a plan to address it.

The Greens have such a plan, which has 4 main planks:

1. Allowing families on benefits to receive Working For Families.  That's an extra $60/week for the poorest 140,000 families.

2.  Improved study support for sole parents and beneficiaries.  National effectively removed the training incentive allowance for university study (despite the Minister herself using it to get an education), and the Greens would reinstate it.

3. Raising the minimum wage to $15/hour.  This will assist the most vulnerable workers.

4. Ensure rental properties are warm and dry.  Cold, damp housing makes you sick, so the Greens want to set minimum standards for rental properties.

So, how will this policy affect Maori ?

The reality is that Maori are over-represented in poverty statistics.  Reports have suggest that just over half of all children living poverty are Maori or Pasifika. Likewise, Maori and Pasifika are overrepresented in unemployment statistics.  And when you are poor, you are more likely to rent than own your own home.

As a consequence, this policy spells good news for Maori because it provides real solutions to issues facing Maori.  It means Maori tamariki will have more of a chance to break out of the poverty cycle.

Now that's a real brighter future.

Education Policy

Education Policy

The Greens want:

A free education system that fosters participation, sustainability, equality and peace.

This vision is good for everyone, Maori included. So, which specific policy points will deliver better education outcomes for Maori ?

Section 5 is Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Maori in Education. It contains specific policy points such as:

1. Work with Maori based organisations and representative groups to develop a programme of enhancing rangatiratanga in Maori education at all levels, and provide adequate resources to support this.

This is indicative of how the Greens view Maori-oriented initiatives. We do not seek to prescribe to Maori, rather, we seek to work with Maori to create paradigms where Maori have an active role in determining what should be done, and also a role in delivering the outcomes.

There are other points of interest:

• More funding for Maori language, immersion and bilingual programmes.
• Work towards Te Reo and Tikanga Maori being available to all learners.

These goals are very useful because it is important to support all of our three official languages. In addition, immersion and bilingual programmes are excellent ways to develop usuage of Te Reo - something that can only be done in Aotearoa.

Maori Issues Policy

Maori Issues Policy

Although many Green policies include sections that deal with Maori-specific aspects of policy implementation, we also have a Maori Issues policy. In it we envisage

...a nation where Te Tiriti o Waitangi is accepted and elebrated as a founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand and the status of Māori as tangata whenua is recognised and respected.

The principles section acknowledges Te Tiriti as a the founding document of Aoteroa New Zealand, and describes many ways in which mana whenua can be involved in governance at all levels.

The policy is broken into the following sections

· Respecting Rangatiratanga

· Supporting and Affirming Kaitiakitanga

· Ensuring Access to Economic Prosperity

· Supporting Whanaungatanga

· Wahine Maori

· Health as Taonga


Weighing in at 9 pages of specific points, this policy provides further proof that the Greens really are committed to working with Maori to delivery improved outcomes for Maori – and that means for our country as a whole.

The Green Charter

The Green Charter lays out the four principles through which the Green Party seeks to operate. You can read the charter by clicking the link, so here I'll attempt a succinct summary:

• Ecological Wisdom (ecological sustainability is paramount)
  
• Social Responsibility (social justice both locally and globally)
  
• Appropriate Decision-making (decisions made by those who are directly affected)
  
• Non-Violence (resolve conflict without recourse to violence)
  

From a Maori perspective, perhaps the most interesting section of the charter is the preamble:

The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand accepts Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand; recognises Maori as Tangata Whenua in Aotearoa New Zealand;...

Hence it is fundamental to the Green charter that Te Tiriti is recognised for what it is - the founding document of our nation. At this goes a long way to explain why the Greens have perhaps the best voting record of all when it comes to issues of justice for Maori.

The Green MPs vote the right way on legislating affecting Maori for the right reasons.