HIKOI OF HOPE: Backgrounder No.4: Poverty
Patrick Dunford
BACKGROUNDER No. 4
POVERTY
Published by The Hikoi of Hope in association with Caritas Aotearoa New
Zealand.
The Hikoi of Hope calls for income and benefit levels that move people
out of poverty. Every day social service agencies are dealing face-to-
face with families and individuals who are poor and whose basic needs for
jobs, housing, education and health care are not being adequately met.
These agencies are seeing an intolerable level of pain and distress in
our communities. At the same time, those New Zealanders who are well-off
are getting richer.
Poverty is increasing
New Zealand has no set poverty line. Unlike Australia, Britain, the
United States and many other developed countries, all of which have
varying degrees of official recognition of poverty. A poverty line
enables a country to determine the number of its citizens who do not have
sufficient income for essential items such as food, housing, heating,
clothing and doctor's visits.
The 1991 social policy changes that reduced benefits and increased
rentals affected low-income households severely. The poorest 20% of
households lost around 24% of their income.
Research data tells us a very large number of New Zealanders now live in
poverty and the situation is getting worse. Figures supporting this come
from research on income levels, housing, health, employment and
education.
For example:
Indicating the impact of the social policy changes, one study showed the
proportion of all households in New Zealand living in poverty grew from
12.9% in 1990 to 16.3% in 1993.
Soon after Easton's study in 1993 [see Sources, below], The New Zealand
Poverty Measurement Project estimated 18.5% of New Zealand households
were living below the poverty line. This included 33% of all children
living in this country.
Of all people living below the poverty line in New Zealand, two thirds
are Pakeha. However the incidence of poverty overall is greater among
Maori and Pacific Island New Zealanders (even though these populations
are smaller, a higher proportion of their households are poor.
The growth in foodbanks
The 1990s has seen a rapid growth in the number of foodbanks in New
Zealand.
In the Auckland metropolitan area alone the number of foodbanks rose from
16 to 130 between 1989 and 1994.
In the same period the client list for Salvation Army foodbanks grew from
a little over a thousand clients to nearly fifteen thousand.
The Department of Social Welfare estimated that 40,000 food parcels were
provided each month by 365 foodbanks in New Zealand in 1994.
We know the figures are higher now. The Salvation Army, one of the main
providers of this essential assistance has seen a 22% increase in the use
of foodbanks in the first quarter of this year compared to the same time
last year.
Why are people poor?
Some people think that only careless spending and poor budgeting lead to
poverty. Social service providers know that this is often not the case.
A survey of foodbank clients who used church budgeting services found
that 75.5% of people who used a budgeting agency did so, not because of
poor money management, but because their incomes were too low.
The poverty lines used in the New Zealand Poverty Measurement Project are
not generous. They are minimal. They allow for example, only $16 a day
for food costs for a family of 2 adults and 3 children.
On the other hand, the Department of Social Welfare does not estimate or
publish budgeted household costs when setting benefit levels. In this
sense benefit levels are arbitrary and there is no guarantee that they
provide enough income for people to live adequately.
It's not only beneficiaries who are struggling. Nationally, around 10% of
Salvation Army foodbank clients are in jobs and in some areas the
proportion of clients in jobs is more than 20%.
The gap between rich and poor
The gap between rich and poor is growing faster in New Zealand than most
developed countries.
Between 1984 and 1996, the very rich have become richer, while the bulk
of the population became poorer in relative terms. The bottom 80% of
households had a reduced share of the "national cake" while the top 5%
got 25% more.
The government's tax reduction and social policy programme of 1996
resulted in two rounds of tax cuts that cost $$3 billion. Research has
shown that the programme has not significantly benefited low and lower-
middle income families. Instead the households who do best out of the
programme are high-income dual earner families (whether they have
children or not).
While considerable tax breaks have been given to middle and upper income
groups, further reductions to benefit levels were announced in this
year's Budget.
The Budget introduced further cuts to some benefit and a new sanctions
system that could see some beneficiaries losing a significant proportion
of their benefits.
Enough is enough
The Anglican Church, at its General Synod/Te Hinota Whanui (May 1998)
considered the erosion of benefit levels has gone too far. The social and
economic reforms have not benefited all New Zealanders. Too many people
are now living in considerable hardship. The Anglican Church is asking
New Zealanders to acknowledge the growing levels of inequality in our
country and the human and economic cost of poverty.
The Way Ahead
The Church is not promoting unnecessary handouts or welfare measures that
are not affordable. Nor does it want to see people trapped in poverty and
hardship with almost no opportunity to improve their circumstances. Each
household must have sufficient income to meet their fundamental needs for
food, housing, clothing and medical expenses to have any real chance of
becoming independent.
A country able to provide significant income breaks for higher earners
could have afforded to lift the incomes of the poorest households. The
Hikoi of Hope calls on the Government and the nation to listen to the
voices and experiences of the poor and to acknowledge that there must be
better policy approaches which enable justice and dignity for all New
Zealanders.
Sources:
The National Government Budgets of the First Year in Office: A Social
Assessment, Waldegrave C and Frater P (1991), a report to Sunday Forum by
the Family Centre and BERL; Poverty in New Zealand: 1981 - 1993, Easton,
B (1995), New Zealand Sociology 10 (2), November; Measuring Poverty in
New Zealand, Stephens R, Waldegrave C and Frater P (1995), Social Policy
Journal, Te Puna Whakaaro (5) December; Participation in Poverty
Research: Drawing on the Knowledge of Low Income Householders to
Establish an Appropriate Measure for Monitoring Social Policy Impacts,
Waldegrave C, Stuart S and Stephens R (1996), Social Policy Journal, Te
Puna Whakaaro (7) December; Foodbank Demand and Supplementary Assistance
Programmes: A Research and Policy Case Study, Mackay R (1995), Social
Policy Journal of New Zealand - Te Puna Whakaaro (5) December; Housing
the Hungry: the third report, Gunby J (1996); Salvation Army (1998) Press
Release, 25 July; Budgeting for a Deficit, NZCCSS (1995); New Zealand
Christian Council of Social Services, 1998; Sharing the National Cake in
Post Reform New Zealand: Income Inequality Trends in Terms of Income
Sources, Chatterjee S, 1998; Poor Policy, A Report for the NZCCSS on the
1991 Benefit Cuts and the 1996 Tax Cuts, Dalziel P (1996).
Disclaimer: The above does not necessarily represent my personal views on
this subject.
--
Patrick Dunford, Christchurch, NZ
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Village/3405/
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HIKOI OF HOPE: WALKING FOR A CHANGE - SEPTEMBER 1998
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Village/3405/hikoi/
Official site http://www.hikoi.anglican.org.nz/
mrnj
the rag-taggest lot you have seen. You would cross the street to avoid
them if it was dark.
The bus was in the rear, packed to the window level with unused banners
and placards attacking some things apparently known as the New Right, Fat
Cats and Jumbo Spice (obviously far more signs were painted than there
were hikoiers to carry).
I love protests, having taken part in many myself, so I exercised my
democratic right to make the time-honoured retort so often done by
bystanders at all the protests I have been on:
"Get ya-self a job!!!!!!!"
Someone asked me who they were. I told her they were from the Alliance,
and after her money. She told them to get a job too.
Patrick Dunford
HIKOI OF HOPE
Te Hikoi mo te Tumanako mo to Rawakore
Rev. Tony Church ***(see footnote)
The Hikoi of Hope began for me at a tangi last week. In my capacity as
an Anglican priest I was officiating at evening karakia. Janie was a
psychiatric patient who had visited our urban marae, Te Whare Roimata,
and here we were gathered to farewell her in death.
It was a tangi which stood out in stark contrast with other funerals I
had remembered taking. These had also been ex-psychiatric patients who
had been left in total isolation at the time of their deaths. At these
burials there was usually only the funeral director, the grave diggers
and me.
But Janie was not alone. She lay in state surrounded by whanau and
friends, many of whom were patients at various institutions. All were
empowered to stand tall during their whai korero on a newly founded
turangawaewae. I was deeply moved at the spirit that engulfed us all.
During the Hikoi, we will be walking with, not for, those who were
standing tall that night at the tangi. And the tens of thousands more
like them who have been pushed out of the mainstream and into the
margins of our society.
During a recent gathering to plan the Hikoi, one of my key workers,
Tom, a 71 year old rest home worker with a history of psychiatric
illness, called out to me several times during the meeting, 'Count me
in, Tony'. When we later returned to our horticultural site at
Governor's Bay, he decided to walk back to the city over the Port
Hills with a view to getting himself fit for the 'walk for a change',
which is one of our Hikoi slogans. We are all challenged to walk with
Tom and others who have been disenfranchised by the policies of
successive governments over the past 15 years.
What exactly is a Hikoi and why are we calling one? At the General
Synod in May, the Anglican Church decided it wanted to demonstrate in
a tangible way its concerns about the way people's lives had been
gravely affected by government social policies. Many participants
shared their personal stories and those of associated community
groups. These reflected the deep anger and sense of powerlessness that
so many feel at what is happening around them. These personal stories
undergirded the call for the Hikoi of Hope.
A Hikoi is a uniquely New Zealand concept. It is a pilgrimage, a time
honoured journey of expectation, a form of providing a united voice
and a physical presence against injustice. Each Hikoi has its own
focus. Many will remember the Hikoi led by Dame Whina Cooper in 1975
which called on the government of the day to return the land stolen
from Maori. This one is an expression of deep concern within the
Church at the pain resulting from the intolerable levels of poverty in
New Zealand. The Church has for years made submissions, statements,
resolutions and sent delegations to Parliament, but has felt these
concerns have increasingly fallen on deaf ears.
The mandate to build a society free of poverty dates back to the
vision of the prophet Isaiah. He told of all God's people having the
right to build houses and inhabit them, to plant vineyards and eat
their fruit, to benefit from the work of their hands and to grow old
with dignity.
We remember too the vision of Jesus when He set a mandate for Himself
and His Church, drawing from the same Isaiah:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to bring
good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the
captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go
free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.
In response to that vision we make our own Hikoi with Christ. This
Hikoi is a form of pilgrimage expressing a hope for new policies which
will address structural issues contributing to hardship, ill health,
lack of employment opportunities and social exclusion. It is a way of
letting physical presence do the talking. It is not simply a protest
march against an issue. It is a 'walk for a change' in political
priorities so that people do not remain trapped in poverty. As Bishop
Whakahuihui Vercoe says:
"The Hikoi is a statement of where we are as Church and the concerns
of our people. The concept is that of Te Heke, the great migration. We
seek to rediscover what God calls us to be. It begins with Genesis,
the whole Hikoi of God's creation. The story of Abraham is a Hikoi.
The movement of Jacob and Joseph is part of Te Heke. The Exodus is a
Hikoi. It is allowing ourselves to be led by the Spirit to a new
understanding of human relationships and of ourselves. We seek the
rediscovery of human values and God's values within our lives. The
challenge is to join our brother and sister churches and to
communicate that to the rest of the community and the world."
The Hikoi of Hope draws its strength from a commitment to God's
justice and to those who are being impoverished and excluded by cruel
and harsh policies, many of which are driven by a global and not a
local agenda. It is organised and led by the Anglican Church yet it is
open to all who support its progress through the country, men and
women, boys and girls, willing to look at what they can do themselves
in their situation before making demands on policy makers. Invitations
have gone out to individuals, whanau, hapu, community groups, iwi and
other organisations that are closely involved with working with people
in need in the community. They are being asked to put together an
account of how they have been affected by Government policies that
have been introduced over the past 15 years. There will be public
meetings and hui along the route of the Hikoi where these stories will
be aired.
What then are its primary goals? The Hikoi is united in its demands
for policies which will:
* create real jobs
* provide a living income for low income workers, beneficiaries and
their families, an income which will take them out of poverty.
* provide access to appropriate education
* provide health care that is affordable, trustworthy and acceptable
for all
* provide affordable housing
[Visit http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Village/3405/hikoi/ to
explore these issues in more detail]
The Hikoi began on 1 September and is proceeding right through the
month, with people walking from four extremities of the country - Cape
Reinga in the north, Te Araroa on the East Coast, Karamea on the West
Coast of the South Island, and Stewart Island - and converges on
Parliament in Wellington on Thursday, 1 October 1998. En route
marchers will meet with local communities to discuss the five demands
and the issues surrounding them. The Hikoi will have activities and
events in towns along the route to highlight why people are walking.
Peoples' stories of how social policies have impacted on their lives
will be collected. These the walkers will take to appropriate MPs, who
will then be invited to further meetings and discussions throughout
1999, after the Hikoi is over.
Typical of the structure of the Hikoi can be seen in what is happening
in and around Canterbury. Having left Stewart Island on 1 September,
the Hikoi will reach the Waitaki River by 9.30 am on 15 September.
>From there it will leave for Waimate, where walkers will stay
overnight. On 17 September, the Hikoi will walk through Timaru and
Temuka and head for Ashburton. On Saturday 19 September, the Hikoi
will leave from Hornby at 8:30 am for Cathedral Square in Christchurch
where it is due to arrive at 11 am. In the afternoon it leaves for
Kaiapoi and heads further north.
This is a Hikoi of Hope - a sign to every New Zealander who lives in
poverty that we know their plight, find it intolerable and are walking
to change it. We dare to use the word "hope" because it belongs to the
vocabulary of every Christian and we are no longer willing to leave it
to economists and politicians to define hope for us.
***
Tony Church, priest, climber, organic gardener, works with the
unemployed and, as chaplain to the Christchurch Courts, spends up to 6
hours most week days locked in the cells with prisoners on remand or
awaiting trial and sentencing.
--
Patrick Dunford, Christ Church, NZ