New Year, new government, same focus

Late last year, New Zealanders exercised their right of Participation – Nāu te Rourou, Nāku te Rourou to elect a new government. But participation does not end on election day. Throughout the next three years, Caritas will be advocating for the changes and policies we see as necessary to achieve social and environmental justice in Aotearoa New Zealand, and we invite all people of goodwill to join us in this.

To begin this process, in December 2023 we sent briefings to incoming ministers once the incoming Cabinet was announced, outlining our priorities for the Government to address. This article explains some of the positions in our briefing to Cabinet, what we hope to see from the Government, and how you can participate in helping achieve these goals. We also wrote briefings on seabed mining and modern slavery legislation directed at the appropriate Ministers; read more about our stance on these issues in our submissions and articles.

Climate change and environmental justice

One of our key recommendations toward environmental justice was to reform the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to promote gross emissions reduction. We explained this position last year in our submission on the second Emissions Reduction Plan.

The core issue is that the current ETS settings incentivise forestry planting rather than actual changes to reduce emissions, which is not environmentally or economically sustainable and has had harmful impacts on rural communities. We would like to see the Government implement the Climate Change Commission’s advice on reforming the NZ ETS.

As citizens, we have many opportunities to participate in this process. The Government regularly conducts reviews and consultations into the NZ ETS which are open to public submissions – such as the ones Caritas makes – and this is an opportunity for you to submit reflecting your values. It can be daunting to be involved, as the NZ ETS is a very technical and complex policy instrument, and many of us do not have the time to learn the intricacies of how it works.

However, complex policy analysis is not the only way to contribute to this process. A statement of principle such as “New Zealand has to reduce its carbon emissions in line with international commitments” is simple and effective. Submissions, letters to local and national politicians, and even just starting conversations with friends and co-workers are an opportunity to generally direct more focus toward the NZ ETS, encouraging politicians to take the problems and opportunities that arise from it more seriously. This is a valuable way to participate in democracy.

Poverty and inequality

A key recommendation we made on poverty and inequality was to increase investment in social housing construction, as well as encouraging more housing construction in general. As house prices threaten to rise again, with demand outstripping supply, housing can be a major driver of inequality.

We would like to see the Government step up its provision of social housing to reduce the number of people stuck on waiting lists, without access to their fundamental rights to shelter. We especially support this through community housing providers, in line with the principle of Subsidiarity – Mana Whakahaere.

Housing policy decisions are made at a national, regional, and local level, which means there are many opportunities for us to advocate for change. At a national level, we can raise awareness within our communities about the impacts of the housing crisis continuing to be felt so that it remains a political priority.

At a local level, your participation is even more impactful. Relatively small groups of powerful voices can have an outsized impact on the decisions of councillors, especially as most people do not engage much with local politics. Taking the time to write a letter or ask for a meeting with a local councillor to ask what they are doing to make housing available in your area could have a big impact on the decisions made at their next council meeting.

Refugees, migrants, and the most vulnerable

Our first recommendation to ensure the dignity of migrants is to improve the human rights protections in the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme, as we have previously advocated for. This scheme is generally presented by the Government and industry as a great deal for Pacific migrant workers, yet an investigation revealed shocking levels of exploitation and serious failures to protect these workers. We want to see the Government act on this review to safeguard these workers, especially if it is planning to expand the scope of the scheme and the volume of people involved.

This is an area where public participation is crucial. Narratives on the RSE scheme are dominated by those with commercial interests, who are also some of the only voices that consistently lobby the Government on the policy. Reading the review, sharing it with others, and raising the issues to your local MP are ways to make it clear to the Government that commercial lobbyists are not the only voice they need to listen to in this space and to challenge the narrative that the scheme is nothing but good for the Pacific.