Media Release – NZ Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations

Immediate release

Government U-turn: voluntary sector demands meaningful engagement

The government has come under fire from voluntary organisations for its U-turn on its stated policy for engaging with the voluntary sector.

A collaborative group of voluntary sector agencies have been working on proposals since 2000. The Community Sector Taskforce (CST) [1] was established in 2003 to develop a framework for dialogue with government, set priorities for the sector and build on existing capacity within the sector. Since then, the CST has been working, in consultation with government, to formulate an entity to represent voluntary sector concerns at government level.

On Monday, Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Rick Barker, announced the cabinet decision to not continue with the legal entity. The entity has now been deemed unworkable and further development suspended. Further government funding for Taskforce objectives is also under review.

Tina Reid, Executive Director at NZFVWO said:

“There is immense frustration in the community at having gone so far only to have the rug pulled from under us. The decision not to go forward with this process has come completely out of the blue.

“The interests and cooperation of voluntary organisations across the country have been dealt a severe blow. Ultimately the real loss is going to be felt not by the voluntary sector, but the communities who rely on services the sector provides.

“We call on the government to support the voluntary sector in developing leadership and building on existing resources.”

Contact: Tina Reid, Executive Director, NZFVWO

04 385 0981 (W) 025 684 6640 (M) ed@nzfvwo.org.nz

Notes:

[1] Community Sector Taskforce background:

http://www.community.net.nz/HotTopics/CSTaskforce/

ENDS.