Source: New Zealand Government
Thank you for the introduction and the invitation to speak to you here today.
I am honoured to be here in my capacity as Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, and Minister for Children.
Thank you for creating a space where we can all listen and learn, and be inspired by the amazing work you are all doing. We all share a relentless drive for improvement, and an unapologetic focus on our children and whānau.
We want them to reach their full potential and be the best that they can be. This means they need a life free of violence, where homes are filled with love and care; where communities lift whānau up, rather than look away from things that can be too hard for some to watch.
A country where we put our children and their whānau at the centre of all we do, when making decisions in our pursuit of a New Zealand where violence is not normalised.
Social service providers and their employees working in communities all over this country hold important relationships with families and whānau.
You know the issues they grapple with, and can see the opportunities for enabling their safety and wellbeing.
Over many years, New Zealand governments have been working to address the complex issues of family violence and sexual violence – with variable success.
In 2018, the government created a Joint Venture of government agencies to work together, in recognition that agencies right across government have a role to play.
The Joint Venture was formed because of a recognition that two key things were missing from the system: leadership and accountability.
To improve leadership and accountability, the Joint Venture has now been formalised as Te Puna Aonui – the Executive Board for the Elimination of Family Violence.
Cabinet requires Te Puna Aonui to align government strategy, policy and investment. They are doing this through the implementation of Te Aorerekura – the National Strategy.
Te Aorerekura aims to ensure the provision of safe, integrated, and early help for people impacted by violence, alongside prevention and healing to improve the overall system.
It is a 25-year Strategy, which is now three years old, that focuses on the wellbeing of all people in our country and recognises that a range of factors and social conditions contribute to family violence and sexual violence.
The real effectiveness of our Te Aorerekura strategy is that it is supported by political parties across Parliament and its Action Plans guide the work of government agencies.
The first Action Plan concluded at the end of last year and officials are currently working on the next Action Plan, which will be published by the end of this year.
The Action Plan will set out the priorities for the next five years – with emphasis on key parts of the system that require collaboration across government, to achieve real change.
And sometimes ‘change’ is not comfortable. It can be hard.
I know that changes in government policy can be difficult for you as providers.
You all play an important part in the system, and I value that.
Community insight and frontline expertise is the backbone of this work, and we are committed to involving you every step of the way. Your guidance and knowledge have shaped our strategy from the beginning and will continue to do so.
And let’s remember why we are all here.
My childhood years were tough. I look back at things that went on when I was younger, and I think, that was no way to treat a child.
I tell people I grew up “dealing with” Child Youth and Family Services. No child should deal with or feel dealt to, by a system that was built to help support them.
As a Minister, every meeting I go to, policy change I oversee, or legislation I draft, I am never far away from the child that was failed by so many.
That is what gives me the drive to keep working to improve the way the system responds and supports those in need.
My overarching goal is to break the cycle of harm and violence.
This means acting to prevent the creation of one more victim or victimisation.
I know all too well the consequences of a system that fails to care for and protect children, when no one else will. I know all too well that trauma has lasting impacts and how important it is for us to break the cycle of violence.
What keeps me focused, what ensures that I do not stray from my purpose as a Minister, is an ability to reflect on my own experiences and those of others.
It is this focus that keeps me grounded when the noise around me grows. Because I know if the changes I am making, if the decisions I am pushing through, mean children are protected from a childhood like my own – then I am doing the right thing by them.
It is my responsibility to provide leadership, to set policy in partnership with my Ministerial colleagues, and ensure the government agencies I am responsible for work well with communities to improve outcomes.
I work closely with other Ministers to enable whole-of-government co-ordination and understanding.
I work closely with Te Pūko tahi tanga, my Ministerial Advisory Group for family violence and sexual violence prevention. And my recently reappointed Ministerial Advisory Group for Oranga Tamariki.
I appreciate their directness and wisdom.
These groups are giving me free and frank advice on their priorities for system change, which are helping to inform my approach and shape our plan.
Some of the major points in my discussions with community leaders and providers have been focused on the need for:
children and their families as the priority,
providers wanting resources to respond to local need and innovate,
workforces needing support to build capability and capacity, and a plan for the future,
government agencies having the potential to work better together at the local and national levels, and,
the need to address the lack of housing that is impacting both victims and users of violence.
Consistent feedback along those lines has influenced my priorities as Minister, and I have been clear that I want to focus on a few key areas and get them right during my time as part of this Government.
We need a system that gives children and families the safety net they require.
If there was one thing I would want to achieve as a Minister, it would be that children could start to trust the system. That children in care speak openly about their experience and how the system can better work for them. That children in care see their experience as something to shape and strengthen them.
To achieve that, we need to build a system that is worthy of their trust. A system that better meets their needs, and that supports and shapes them into the healthy adults we know they can be.
Let’s face it: when the child protection system gets involved in a child’s life, it is usually because those who were meant to protect and care for them, have failed them.
This is one of the reasons I am focused on strengthening the local and regional responses – improving the way that multiple agencies work together, understanding roles and responsibilities in the system, and letting agencies lead in the spaces that they best occupy.
This work has started. Officials have been looking at the range of models across the country to identify opportunities for us to strengthen how government agencies and communities are responding.
The current family violence and sexual violence response system is very fragmented and often confusing. I want to ensure that communities and NGOs are able to do what they do best, and that government agencies are able to support them.
I am also focussed on developing strong supporting systems and infrastructure. Things like information-sharing between agencies are absolutely essential, and the government must get better at safe data capture, joint planning, and understanding the unique needs of individuals.
Half the challenge to providing a good service is understanding what is happening, and where. So I am looking forward to the release of the first Te Puna Aonui Baseline Report of the Outcomes and Measurement Framework later this year.
This will be the first report of its kind and will use a range of measurement tools and surveys to give insight into the progress being made to implement the National Strategy – Te Aorerekura.
We need to make sure that the ways we are changing the system is impacting it positively, and that we have quality data to guide the way forward.
This reporting is part of my challenge to my own agencies, and to the entire social sector in this country, to be more evidence-based, so we have accurate data to work from as we consider future investments.
We all know that violence is far too common, and system change is needed – the hard part is making sure that resources are going to the right places, and that the help being given is leading to better outcomes.
I already know that everyone in this room does the best work they can, with the resources they have.
What I need to be sure of, is that you are all as effectively supported as you can be, and that the organisations and agencies you work with, are being funded to do the right work, in the right places, for the right people.
The Social Investment Agency will be conducting an analysis of the impact of spending on family violence and sexual violence so we can ensure the work is effective.
I know many of you have been impacted by changes Oranga Tamariki is making to the way it purchases services for children.
I have asked Oranga Tamariki, and will continue to ask, that it always uses its funding to meet the needs of children in its care, and those that come to its attention.
That is its job.
I acknowledge that change is hard, but it is needed. To not do so, is accepting that what we were doing, was working. It wasn’t.
Governments need to learn from past mistakes.
We need to have a system where we are able to challenge ourselves, and have the maturity, to accept when things are not working. So we are able to pivot, and adapt.
I must take some time to speak about the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care report, which was tabled recently in Parliament.
I’m sure like many of you, I continue to revisit and be impacted by the experiences we heard from that Inquiry. I know that many of us in the room have been, or know people, who were affected by abuse in state or faith-based care.
The effects of trauma can be lifelong – many of those abused as children are still impacted as adults, which can lead to generational trauma, broken families, and need for support decades on.
I commend the courage of those who have come forward about their abuse, despite being silenced or not believed as children. I have met with some of the survivors, and I know it has taken great courage to share their experience.
No one deserves to be in a situation where they are disrespected, abused and denied basic care. It is my sincere hope that the victim-survivors who shared their experiences, feel that a burden has been lifted – and that they will be reassured by the improvements in the system we make in the future, based on the recommendations within this report.
Minister Erica Stanford is in charge of the Crown Response, and the Prime Minister will deliver a formal apology on November 12.
I want to be clear that this is just the beginning – an official apology is important, and necessary, but concrete changes in the form of implementing the recommendations in the report are what is needed, and I expect that will be a focus of successive governments in the years to come.
My deepest hope for the work coming out of this Inquiry is that in future everyone working in government and communities must have the skills and knowledge to recognise, respond, and refer people for help if there are any signs of violence or abuse.
In Conclusion …
Te Aorerekura has cross-party support, and I am pleased that as a government we are continuing the work to implement it.
The work is complex and will take time to get right.
Community insight and frontline expertise is the backbone of this work, and that’s where we need to all work together.
Many of you in the room were, and continue to be, instrumental in Te Aorerekura and how it is implemented. It is the conversations, meetings, and feedback from those of you working within communities that guide our actions and direction.
Officials have led targeted engagement in support of the next Te Aorerekura Action Plan, which included the SSPA, along with many communities of interest, in particular the disabled, the elderly, children and young people, iwi, Pacifika and Rainbow and ethnic communities’ providers.
Children and young people are uniquely vulnerable members of our society – their physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual development is shaped by their experiences in their early years.
They represent our future, and the rippling effect of how they are treated and raised growing up will be felt for generations to come.
We all need our children thriving and becoming empathetic, educated, productive, and healthy adults.
And we must have social service providers who have the courage to keep going. Here today there are some of the bravest people I have ever met. The courage of you all, to take on the work you do, in some of the most complex situations is remarkable.
The conference theme this year is ‘Whakamanawa’. A beautiful title to give this conference – meaning to encourage, instil confidence, reassure, support.
Please keep talking, sharing your ideas, and walking alongside each other as we move towards a better future.
And as you find yourself having the big conversations, and tackling hard topics, ask yourselves the question that gives me strength and focus – “What does a child need from us?”
I think you will find that the answer is simple – they need you.
Thank you.
