The foodbank had just two cans of tuna, three cans of beetroot, a can of corn, some spreads, baked beans and canned tomatoes earlier this week, director Stephanie McIntyre said. An appeal on Thursday had attracted donations, but those had quickly gone out the door.

The foodbank, which normally would have opened ahead of the long weekend, was forced to close on Thursday  -  though help was still available for those in dire need, with the agency having funds to buy food.

“The number of people asking for food has grown so rapidly that the quantity of food coming into the foodbank is going out the door straight away,” she said.

The foodbank gave out 903 food parcels in the first three months of this year, compared with 627 in the same period last year  -  a 44 per cent increase. ”What’s criminal is the increase in foodbank reliance we haven’t seen since the nineties.”

The increased demand was caused by rising living costs, less available part-time and casual work, less affordable housing, and Work and Income being more sparing with special needs grants for items such as food grants or high power bills, she said. ”There’s been a real tightening up of criteria.”

Wellington City Mission’s Father Des Britten said the centre was closed over the Easter break. There had been a recent increase in demand for food parcels but it was not “overwhelming”. For Easter, the mission added Easter eggs to food parcels, donated during a charity motorcycle run.

Source:
Tom Hunt Dom Post

Image: ISARC

To my surprise I found it was a contentious topic. We all agreed that times are tougher, food is more expensive and many people are unemployed. But there the consensus ended. There was a genuine questioning of why such an increased number of people are now attending food banks. Are they poor organizers? Do they need help with budgeting? Can’t they join a community garden group? The answer may be ‘yes’ to all of these questions but there is so much more to it.

In the past 25 years high earners have increased their incomes by more than 25%. At the same time people on lower incomes have seen their incomes actually decrease [ NZ Council of Christian Social Services.] New Zealand is “world leader”in growth in income inequality. We have gone from being one of the most equal countries to one of the most unequal in the OECD within two decades. This has been accompanied by worsening health and social outcomes: higher imprisonment rates, more teen pregnancies, rising obesity levels and poorer mental health.

I may have a statistical knowledge of all the above but actually how I view the world depends on where I stand. If I stand with the wealthy or even the mildly comfortable I contemplate the world from the heights of privilege. If however I stand with those who are poor, marginalised or oppressed then I shall contemplate the world from the experience of suffering and injustice. Then I have a better chance of glimpsing the world as God does—-a loving God who liberates us all and calls us to live as equal sisters and brothers, all God’s children.

I pray for a more understanding mind and heart.

Reading this article I am flooded with a sense of inevitability. While many sectors of New Zealand society are still feeling the pinch of the recession recent Ministry of Social Development initiatives show government continues to tighten the squeeze on those on the margins. How can this be illustrated more clearly than an empty food bank?

So why don’t the general population care enough to do something about it? One reason might be because middle to low-income earners are also feeling the pinch. Or could there be another reason? In our consumption-based existence I’m starting to think that everyday issues are not seen as attractive enough to lure the charity based contributions of ordinary New Zealanders.

The communities’ response to the tragic events of the Christchurch earthquake made me proud to be a New Zealander. From large-scale charity fundraisers to grass-roots community events everyone from finger-painting school kids to quintessentially popular sporting hero’s came forward to play there part in a revenue gathering drive of solidarity and nationalism.

But where is this idea of unity when it comes to supporting those on the margins in everyday life? Of course events in Christchurch captured our hearts and I am in no way suggesting that the support they received was unwarranted.

What did strike me though was the way all levels of society were able and willing to mobilise collective assistance for those in needs after this event. Maybe its my naive hope-coated idealism but I would love to believe in a time where everyday issues like people struggling to eat could be given this kind of promotion and support from society as a collective. I will be praying and also working towards a time when this sentiment could be more than an idealistic dream.

Speedy re-establishment of inner city businesses will be a significant recovery factor according to Richard Ballantyne, Executive Director of Ballantynes department store, a Christchurch institution and one of its biggest employers.

While Ballys can weather the storm, he is less optimistic about small businesses, some of who may be forced to leave the city to generate income.   However it happens, less business means more unemployed.

For some employers there is an earthquake support subsidy of $500 a week for fulltime employees and $300 a week for part timers.  This is more than the unemployment benefit but only payable for six weeks.  The usual benefits will be available after that, says Sue Rissman, Canterbury’s regional commissioner for social development.

Like the rhetoric that surrounds welfare, this statement has elements of truth.  It’s true that the unemployment benefit is available but only if you have less than $4,300 in cash resources.  So that nest egg you’ve been saving for a respite getaway break from Christchurch will have to be plundered before signing on.  Once you’ve achieved that, you must be available for any seasonal work in the area.  I suppose the clean up could qualify as seasonal.

Judging by the level of support from Kaitaia to Bluff, we wouldn’t tolerate this kind of hard-nosed approach to welfare for quake stricken Cantabrians.  After all, we know that these hard times are not their fault.

The Christchurch Methodist Mission, providing a cradle to grave service for 3000 clients, points out that benefit payments as a proportion of the average wage have continued to fall since the 1970s.  In part, this is because we swallowed whole the idea that there is a welfare dependency crisis.  The reality is that we are being moralistic, concerned as our forebears in the 1930’s were, about the distinction between the deserving and the undeserving poor.  A distinction lost on the poor themselves as they struggle to pay the rent, feed and clothe themselves.

Recovery, as any addict, long term unemployed or solo parent on a benefit can tell you, is about much more than pulling your socks up or being work ready.  Interconnected layers of economic, social and familial factors all need to be in alignment, and stay that way for lasting progress to be made by even the most determined.  This is how it needs to be for Christchurch and for anyone facing hard times.  God help us if we ignore that.

Indian opening batsman Gautam Gambhir sold to Kolkata Knight Riders for a record $US2.4m, Indian all-rounder Yusuf Pathan sold to Kolkata for $US2.1m while Kochi paid $US1.5m for Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene Fellow Black Caps Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum also earned IPL contracts but not as big as Taylor’s.

The New Zealand skipper was purchased by the Royal Challengers for $US550,000 ($NZ724,000) while McCullum was a surprise to only go for $US475,000 ($NZ625,160) to Kochi.

- Herald online 8 January

How Superstars’ Pay Stifles Everyone Else
New York Times December 25, 2010
Find out what your worth

No one can miss the irony and cruel paradox of these huge salaries paid to local and foreign players in one of the poorest countries in the world. NZ cricket and the international ICC tolerate these tournaments because the players will go anyway, and argue that this is like superannuation for players who have a limited shelf life. But these payments are like blood diamonds, and are money that could be reinvested in Indian infrastructure that will provide jobs and increase the pitifully small income per capita in India. It would only take one major cricket nation like England or Australia to ban their players past and present to hit this pirate cricket tournament on the head. NZ lost its best bowler Shane Bond for 2 years for playing for a rebel league, not the IPL which has ICC backing.

What can anyone do? Tell Cricket NZ the IPL is a scandal, tell the 5/6 NZ players we don’t approve of their participation. Lobby the ICC through our delegate. And above all, don’t watch it !

Here is a tale of children wanted and nurtured by loving parents backed up by a health system which is energised by their plight.

It saddens me, though, to think about the many children of beneficiaries of New Zealand’s welfare system who will not celebrate Christmas this year with anything more than the barest necessities of life.

The Alternative Welfare Working Group’s report from earlier this month told many stories of people who struggle with the small amount of money the benefit gives them in the face of a sceptical government whose social welfare minister seems driven to punish them for being who they are.

The report points to a punitive culture emerging in Work and Income offices throughout the country. ‘…staff must be focused on treating people with utmost respect and dignity and ensuring applicants receive their full entitlements accurately’ (Welfare Justice For All p 159).

New Zealand has one of the worst records among OECD countries for child victims of domestic violence. This violence is often a symptom of a lack of human dignity accorded to beneficiaries and those at the bottom of the heap.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could multiply the support given to the Edwards family to encompass all those children whose parents do not get the same help from the system. Then all we have to do is address this country’s cultural need to punish each other. Bah humbug!

Being named the world’s most peaceful nation is a special opportunity for me to pause and reflect. And to savour, celebrate and give thanks for this special peace that covers our beautiful land.

In November 2009, we were also ranked the world’s least corrupt nation¹. Both these plaudits come at the expense of Scandinavian countries, which for many years have been models of social harmony, but have recently been affected by the financial crisis and its consequences for all.

We have since learnt how this global crisis was caused by the greed of a few with disproportionate power and access, enabled by the flaws in our existing structures. While many Kiwis have felt some of the effects, we’re blessed to have been spared the worst.

At a homily given in Christchurch in November 1986, Pope John Paul II said that “Peace in the world can never be won so long as injustice controls the relationships among people and social and economic imbalances are allowed to continue”. As I reflect, I feel that acknowledging the relative justice and fairness of our society – and seeking to protect and build on our achievements – are precious keys to our peace.

I acknowledge we have wounds, yet to be healed. I pray that as we work toward healing, we continue to show the respect for each other’s dignity, that has earned us our peace, and enabled our mahi in bringing peace elsewhere in our world. I am reminded of the image given to us by the NZ Bishops, of Te Kahu-o-te-ora²; the sacred cloak of integrity and wholeness that embraces all aspects of human life. Strengthen and perfect our peace, Lord – our kahu – and as it preserves and protects us, may it flow out, bringing others into its embrace.

The article partly attributes our ranking to our government. I pray for wisdom for our leaders, that they may continue to keep us a fair, just and united country that seeks social justice and the common good.

¹ http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5AH0HA20091118

² http://catholic.org.nz/statements/9704_consistent.php

The Institute for Economics and Peace list was created after the start of the global recession, finding the financial meltdown was dragging the world toward political instability and conflict.It laid out its key findings ahead of the publication of its annual Global Peace Index, a report prepared with the Economist Intelligence Unit.The report, which surveyed 144 countries, says New Zealand’s rise to first is partly explained by the election of a National-Act coalition last year.

“The centre-right National Party has a strong popular mandate and a robust parliamentary majority by New Zealand’s standards, putting the new Prime Minister, John Key, in a good position to push through his agenda.”It also says New Zealand received the best  possible scores for the likelihood of violent demonstrations, the homicide rate and the level of respect for human rights

The rise to first position is also related to the fall of Iceland from the top spot last year, which reflected the increase in violence following the banking collapse that engulfed its economy in September.Professor Kevin Clements from the University of Otago, who was on the panel of experts for the index, told the Herald: “The index is a pretty good reflection of countries people want to live in, because on bicultural issues and a variety of factors we are scoring well. “If you look at the top 20, they are all small nations based on strong welfare principles, all with good and relatively uncorrupt governance.”

Professor Clements, who is director of the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, said the National Government faced a challenge in preserving New Zealand’s top ranking.”The question is whether the current Government will be as committed as the last … a role for New Zealand as a conflict-resolving nation. I will be interested to see if we rank as high, but I can’t imagine we’ll slip far.” He said the greatest threat to New Zealand’s peacefulness would be a more severe economic downturn or an increased sense of grievance toward Treaty of Waitangi issues.

The whole article

The Global Peace Index criteria with well-functioning government and sound business environment at the top gives some insight into the hallmarks of ‘peacefulness’. Respectful of human rights and tolerance and good relations with the neighbours are third and fourth. The criteria also include high levels of freedom of information and the acceptance of others.

From an international perspective, New Zealand does have relatively stable and well-functioning government and its business environment is largely sound. The country has good relations with its neighbours which are also Pacific islands (so the borders are all water) and tolerance of difference may well relate to New Zealand’s relative emptiness – its citizens are not forced usually to live cheek-by-jowl with their neighbours.

But in terms of social justice, a closer look at the country’s chance of maintaining its ‘peacefulness’ is required. This means taking into account the reversed promise to return land to Tuhoi, or the wrangle over the foreshore and seabed. There is no account of the inequity in the government’s latest budget which many commentators say will boost the gap between rich and poor. Disproportionate representation by Maori in the health and justice systems continues to boost inequality and life expectancy is still lower for Maori.

All of this is manifest in high levels of domestic violence which could well blow New Zealand’s peacefulness out of the water.