Dialogue: We need a new system to restore economic justice

DAVID TOLICH* says an ethic of hospitality and graciousness is necessary to produce a society of greater financial equality.

Changes in the location and distribution of wealth and incomes in New Zealand have been drastic over the past 15 years. The real incomes - incomes adjusted for inflation - of 80 per cent of New Zealanders have fallen as wealth has been transferred to the top 20 per cent, and in particular the top 10 per cent, of Kiwis.

Over 60 per cent of New Zealand households were poorer in relative terms in 2000 compared with 1980. The beneficiaries of "the reforms" - the individuals and families who make up the "Rich List" - have seen their wealth double in the past 15 years, from $5.3 billion to $11.3 billion).

At the bottom end of society, unemployment has increased with many of the new jobs either casualised or part-time. Many pay low wages thanks to the Employment Contracts Act.

The Coalition Government has addressed aspects of the poverty and income gap. It has restored the pension cuts, increased the minimum wage and introduced income-related rents for state houses. The Employment Relations Act, despite the rhetoric, presents only an opportunity to address the income gap. Wage increases are not guaranteed.

The social wage is in need of further attention. The restoration of the 1991 benefit cuts will directly address both issues of poverty as well as community economic well-being.

The delinking of work and income as well as jobs and work are both integral in addressing issues of poverty. The meanness shown case-managed clients continues to deliver punitive yet easily avoidable suffering. A version of a universal basic income could be explored as part of the change in social policy direction.

The design of policy should be local, self-determined and informed and underpinned by an ethic of hospitality and graciousness. In all the days of "the reforms" the agents of the neo-classical directions, as well as their beneficiaries, appear to have ignored the Big Picture.

That life is relational and the Earth's bounty is for all is obvious. People are relational beings, not isolated commodities. We are all obligated to care for each other. Citizens are more than customers or clients, participants are more than spectators. Hospitality and graciousness ought to underpin our welcome.

As people living in these islands of Aotearoa-New Zealand we should remember our history. The public works projects that developed our physical, economic and social infrastructures are good examples to be recalled with pride as well as acknowledging the wisdom of collectively managing the risks that face us all.

There is an emerging vision that recalls our mutual responsibility for one another. The economy and the market are now seen as part of a bigger picture. The society is served by the economy.

It is exciting to notice that there is renewed vigour for planned regional development and the location of industries in provincial areas. We now should fertilise and grow the political will to invest in people and production, not speculation and asset-stripping.

Various research strategies undertaken by the previous Government saw the establishment of the Maori commissions. The Maori Employment and Training Commission reports on various assessments of national and regional growth.

This writer was part of a research team that looked at barriers and opportunities to employment. The research team engaged has produced a systematic analysis of regional situations and the potential that is out there and awaiting the master's hand, or at least some capital assistance to grow the dream.

That these reports are now lingering in Te Puni Kokiri, parked up, is a tragedy. The Maori Employment and Training Commission was terminated in February. It was due to finish its work in July.

Those interested in economic development and training for all New Zealanders should get hold of the reports and see the applications for their areas. The research methodology applied was not an imperial imposition of solution but rather one of aggregating the visions and strategies either already being applied or nascent and awaiting a more fruitful climate for economic development.

At the heart of the work of the commission and the research strategy was the view that the relationship between the ethic, people and the environment were both sacred yet life enhancing.

What is needed is to address the violation visited upon the people of these islands over the past decade and a half and to develop policies that maximise both the dreams and the potential of all.

These islands of Aotearoa wait both for the summer and the restoration of economic justice for all.

* David Tolich is an Auckland public policy consultant. His areas of work have included community economic development and cultural action for freedom.

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