Job Summit and Those Who Wern’t There
By | Mar 2, 2009
Over recent days you would have seen media coverage regarding the token Community and Voluntary Sector representation at today’s Job Summit in Auckland.
This morning Prime Minister John Key claimed in a Radio New Zealand
interview that the Summit involved government, business and community
organisations. Out of the nearly 200 participants, there are three
representatives from Community and Voluntary Sector organisations.
Many Community and Voluntary Sector organisations are bitterly
disappointed that the value and role of community-development and
community support is not being recognised by the National-led Government
around how our country can navigate our way through the economic
recession.
From the Summit will flow an action plan that will feed into this
year’s Budget round. Community and Voluntary Sector organisations are
not even at the table to be part of that discussion and action plan.
On Wednesday this week (25 February), about 70 representatives from
across the community and voluntary sector, philanthropy, and government
agencies met in a Sector-initiated forum. They met to collect
information about the impacts of economic recession on the community
sector and discuss strategies for managing the significant changes that
are expected ahead.
The information collected is _not_ included in the discussions at the
Job Summit today because of the lack of Sector representation.
Organisations in the 20 strong ComVoices working group are calling on
all Community and Voluntary sector organisations to make their concern
and disappointment heard loud and clear.
It is vital that social services are not just tacked on to the end of
the process.
Please distribute this email and contact your local MPs from all sides
of the House, but particularly the Prime Minister, the Minister of
Finance Bill English, Minister for Social Development Paula Bennett and
Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector Tariana Turia. Let them
know the Sector expects more from them.
We have provided a pro forma email/ letter that you can adapt to your
own organisation, and the MP contacts list to help start the process (in
word and pdf versions to take account of accessibility software).
Please also make your voice heard through the Government website set up
for the Summit http://beehive.govt.nz/feature/summit.
It is really important that Sector organisations make their collective
voice heard at this time.
Users
“Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets.” Num. 11:29
Join in and add to the JUSTwiki today. Stories, reflection, news, comment. Be heard. Be just.
Hikoi of Hope: Walking On – Introduction
Submit a comment