Economic justice and social policy in Aotearoa New Zealand

Editorial

Human rights and housing unaffordability: Applying policy practice engagement to a wicked problem

INTRODUCTION: In working with marginalised communities, social workers are confronted with the consequences of housing unaffordability. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted by Aotearoa New Zealand, identifies housing deprivation as a human right of relevance to social work. This study explores the application of the Policy Practice Engagement (PPE) framework (Gal Weiss-Gal, 2015) as a tool by which social workers can contribute to policy-making processes to address the human right to affordable housing.METHOD: The project used a descriptive/exploratory design. Data were collected by semi- structured interviews of eight subject matter experts in housing affordability: two public sector economists; one private sector economist/developer; two public sector urban planners; one public policy advisor; one non-governmental policy analyst; and one private sector housing strategist. Data were analysed thematically, followed by an inter-rater process.FINDINGS: Participants identified human rights as relevant to the wicked problem (Grint, 2005) of housing affordability. Participants also identified political, economic and environmental factors impacting affordable housing. They considered that these factors are found in local body planning regulations, leading to land supply constraints. Some participants considered that housing unaffordability is the price paid to live in liveable cities.CONCLUSIONS: The PPE framework offers a conceptual structure through which social workers can address housing unaffordability. By understanding the factors causing unaffordability, social workers are enabled to examine why and how they should contribute to policy processes.

Asians in Aotearoa New Zealand: A population of interest for social work

Aotearoa New Zealand is a country where cultural differences are widespread and longstanding. The Treaty of Waitangi laid the foundation for an inclusive society where citizens’ full participation is granted. Nevertheless, a number of Asians seem to have limited access to the benefits of an inclusive society, with great concerns over social isolation and marginalisation. This requires social workers attend to Asians’ life challenges, justified by key principles of human rights and social justice; yet a paucity of training exists in social work education, limiting their ability to work with this population. More training is necessary in the social work curriculum through which social workers enhance cultural competence, with relevant knowledge and skills, in relation to working with Asians in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Pride and shame in child and family protection: Emotions and the search for humane practice

Book review

Shining a light on food insecurity in Aotearoa New Zealand: Modification of a food security scale for use with individuals who have extreme food security needs

INTRODUCTION: Food insecurity in Aotearoa New Zealand is a growing concern but quantitative evidence focused on those in most need of support is scarce in the Aotearoa New Zealand context. This limits policy and practice decisions.METHODS: We modified Parnell and Gray’s (2014) Aotearoa New Zealand based food security scale to better capture the severity of food insecurity for individuals living in poverty and used a questionnaire to collect data from a sample of individuals seeking food assistance from foodbanks in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland). We used confirmatory factor analysis to assess the psychometric validity of the modified scale. We also tested group differences in food insecurity by gender and ethnicity using analysis of variance and investigated correlations between age, household size and food insecurity.FINDINGS: We found a six-item version of Parnell and Gray’s (2014) scale to be psychometrically robust for use with the study population. The sample participants reported concerning and chronic levels of food insecurity. We did not find any group differences.CONCLUSIONS: At the severe end of the food insecurity continuum, gender and ethnic subgroups appear to suffer at similar levels; however, this does not suggest that different approaches are not required to best meet the needs of different demographic subgroups. Further research is needed to ascertain how similar levels of food insecurity may produce differential effects on wellbeing outcomes for different groups. We recommend more widespread and regular use of the modified scale to assess the experience and impact of food insecurity for individuals living in poverty because it provides a more fine-grained understanding of the severity of food insecurity challenges experienced by individuals seeking food assistance. Fit for purpose measures enable accurate assessments that can better inform policymaking and practice decisions to reduce inequality and promote economic justice.

Social work and economic justice in Aotearoa New Zealand

The social work profession is dedicated to the promotion of social and economic justice, but often has a limited appreciation of what economic justice actually looks like either in theory or practice. Economic justice, a form of distributive justice, assesses how fairly economic resources are distributed in a society. Currently, in Aotearoa New Zealand, both income and wealth inequality have reached historically high levels. Inequality research has demonstrated a causal link between inequality and a host of social and health issues that, while they impact society as a whole, affect the nation’s most marginalised populations to an increasingly greater degree. Social work literature in Aotearoa New Zealand has limited research in this area. This introductory article will begin with an overview of concepts related to economic justice, such as distributive justice, income inequality, and wealth inequality. Following this is an overview of the 2020 Economic Justice Online Forum and an exploration of the implications for social work.

Dissenting social work: Critical theory, resistance and pandemic

Book review

Community resilience demonstrated through a Te Ao Māori (Ngāti Manawa) lens: The Rāhui

INTRODUCTION: This research project is associated with a small rural community utilising the Te Ao Māori (Ngāti Manawa) understanding of Rāhui, as a means of decreasing the possibility of negative impacts for their mostly Māori population, during the Covid-19 pandemic that was experienced in March 2020 in Aotearoa New Zealand. Rāhui is a conservation measure shrouded in tapu designed to limit, restrict or prevent access to the natural environment. For example, Te Wao Tapu nui a Tāne protecting in the process the mauri of our rivers, lakes, streams following a mishap or misfortune such as a drowning. Equally as important, Rāhui was used as a proactive means of conservation.METHOD: Using mixed methods, this study highlights both positive and challenging experiences in the statistical and thematic analysis that may inform future public health planning for the inevitable and ongoing effects of pandemic responses in Aotearoa New Zealand which are potentially transportable beyond Aotearoa New Zealand.IMPLICATIONS: This research identified how Nga ̄ti Manawa of Murupara, utilised Rāhui as a mechanism of resilience in order to keep local residents thriving and healthy during and after the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown by setting up checkpoints on the borders of their rohe, and restricting the vehicle and human traffic into Murupara. Support for the Rāhui was significant from five hapū leaders and from the community survey illuminating a sense of safety that the checkpoints offered to a vulnerable and mostly Māori rural community.

Disrupting Family Group Conference practice in Aotearoa New Zealand: A learning project

Participation in, or facilitation of, Family Group Conferences (FGCs) and hui-ā-whānau (family meetings) are key social work practice activities in Aotearoa New Zealand. Social work students are expected to graduate with the cultural competence necessary to work ethically with whānau Māori according to the bicultural practice principles of Te Tiriti ō Waitangi. This competence includes skills in the facilitation of joint decision making, shared responsibility and the use of Māori engagement principles, all of which are fundamental to the traditional and professional practice of hui (meetings).We argue that, for social work students to enter the profession with the ability to work effectively in a statutory setting, and with whānau Māori, learning must go beyond the processes of the FGC as set out in the Oranga Tamariki Act (1989)—originally the Children, Young Personsand Their Families Act, 1989—and embrace the historical and cultural intent of this practice. It must encourage students to be mindful of their cultural selves in the process and to reflect on the tensions arising from how the FGC sits within a statutory, managerial, and neoliberal policy framework. This article applies concepts of Māori and Western pedagogy to a learning strategy developed by the authors over a period of four years. The Reality FGC Project began as a way of assisting students to develop skills and apply theory to practice, and unexpectedly became an opportunity to reflexively and iteratively consider the role of social work education in re-thinking FGC practice in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Assessing the Labour Government’s new procurement approach through a Māori economic justice perspective

INTRODUCTION: Social procurement—the intentional generation of social value through an organisation’s procurement and commissioning processes—is being adopted globally and in Aotearoa New Zealand as progressive social policy. Some of the issues that lie behind calls for economic justice, such as economic opportunity, rights for vulnerable workers, and unemployment, may be addressed through social procurement. While Māori may also benefit from this, there are other factors that should be considered from a Te Tiriti perspective.METHOD: In this research brief, we outline the context behind the government’s current initiatives, drawing on policy and research literature as part of a scoping study aimed at developing a Te Tiriti approach to social procurement.CONCLUSION: We conclude by noting the opportunities for economic justice for Māori, but also some of the caveats drawn from international and Aotearoa New Zealand literature.