9. LYNNE PILLAY (Labour—Waitakere) Link to this
to the Minister for Social Development and Employment
Why is the Government introducing a new funding model for community groups delivering essential social services?
Hon RUTH DYSON (Minister for Social Development and Employment) Link to this
Our Government is completing the move away from the old market-based system put in place by the National Government in the 1990s. We have listened to the community and voluntary sector, and have worked in partnership to develop a new sustainable model. As Jeff Sanders of Relationship Services said, this is “the result of the Pathways to Partnership discussions with the Government … about how community organisations can be better resourced to meet the growing and complex needs in the community.” The new model will provide funding to deliver results for children, young people, families, and communities. It will focus on outcomes, not on the number of clients worked with.
The focus is not on the organisation but on the service provided. One is assuming that it is an essential, contracted service. Essential services are those services that are best provided by community organisations, and that the Government would have to provide directly if the community did not. This will not be restricted to large or nationally based organisations. We know that many effective organisations are based at the community level—in marae, in churches—and are built up from the grassroots.
I have seen a model built on the philosophy that “the Government is really just a purchaser of services and the need to sustain a longer-term relationship is not an explicit part of its actions.” That is the market-based model advocated by the National Party—an approach based on competitive bidding wars. That model would not lead to certainty for the community sector, and would not focus on achieving good outcomes for vulnerable New Zealanders.