rise - issue 27 - june 2014
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Welcome to the June 2014 issue of Rise. This issue is about Partnership.TRANSCRIPT
“What is the most important thing in the world? I tell you. It is people, it is people, it is people!”
“He aha te mea nui o te ao? Mäku e kï atu. He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!”
Partnership A teacher, a dancer and a future – Maureen Brown
Make it happen – action for the Far North
Homes for those in need – backing community housing
MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTISSUE 27 – JUNE 2014
ISSN 1178-4709 (Print)
ISSN 1178-4717 (Online)
Printed in New Zealand by Blue Star Print Group (NZ) Ltd using
FSC® mix paper from responsible resources, using mineral oil free,
soy-based vegetable inks.
The information provided in this Ministry of Social Development
publication is intended to profile initiatives, research and opinions related
to the social sector, and all reasonable measures have been taken to
ensure that the information set out in this publication is accurate.
However, readers are advised that:
» The Ministry does not implicitly or impliedly endorse the views
presented in this publication unless otherwise stated.
» The information provided does not replace or alter the laws of
New Zealand or any other official guidelines or requirements.
» The contents of this publication should not be construed as legal
advice. Before relying on any information in this publication,
users should independently verify its relevance for their purposes.
Welcome to the June 2014 issue of Rise.
“None of us can do this alone.” That is
what Te Aupouri Mäori Trust Board chief
executive Lee West says about tackling the
complex issues facing the Far North (story on
page 8).
There is no doubt that he is right.
From individuals to entire communities
to social service agencies to industry and
employers, we can do more to help people
succeed if we work in partnership.
In the Far North, government agencies,
Ministers, iwi leaders and communities
are creating positive change through
partnership, thanks to a new Treaty Accord
and a community call to action.
In social housing, the government has
recognised that it cannot work alone to
meet the needs of our most vulnerable
people. That’s why it is supporting and
strengthening the work of community social
housing organisations, such as Comcare
in Christchurch. There’s an article about that
on page 6.
Our cover story features a young woman
whose own determination, as well as the
Brendan BoyleChief Executive
This issue of Rise is about Partnership
incredible support of her caregiver and
others in her life, have set her up for a bright
future after a rough start.
In Levin, an iconic kiwi clothing company
has teamed with Work and Income to create
jobs for local people and to keep its products
proudly made in New Zealand.
Working in partnership often means
changing the way we do things and the way
we think, but it is the way forward across
the social sector if we are going to make
a bigger difference to the lives of people
who need us.
With that in mind, I hope you’ll find the
stories in this issue of Rise thought-provoking
and inspiring.
Kia kaha
Brendan Boyle
Chief Executive, Ministry of Social Development
Southern
Canterbury
Nelson/ Marlborough/ West Coast Wellington
East Coast
Northland
Auckland
Taranaki/ King Country/Whanganui
Waikato
Bay of Plenty
Central
Welcome
RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014 RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014ii
Contents
Cover storyI can and I willA passion for dance, a school teacher who cared, and a scholarship for outstanding young people in care helped 18-year-old Maureen Brown pursue her dreams.
Feature stories Fired up At-risk young people get a glimpse of life as a fire fighter and other possibilities that the future could hold.
Homes for those in needCommunity housing providers support some of our most vulnerable New Zealanders and that’s one reason why change is afoot to strengthen the work they do.
A future in the Far NorthA Treaty Accord and a community call to action are building commitment to the Far North.
The future starts here A committed employer is getting behind young Limited Service Volunteer graduates.
Off-beat allies An unlikely new partnership is making a big difference to troubled young people and their families in Christchurch.
Made by New Zealanders Outdoor clothing company Swazi has formed a partnership with Work and Income.
Spotlight on Bay of PlentyTwo men get young people into trades, and an adventurer connects youth with their communities.
Spotlight on the East Coast The pipfruit industry grows workers as well as apples, Aunty Sass gets her sass back, and a Gisborne couple provide far more than just accommodation.
Spotlight on Taranaki, King Country and WhanganuiKids and parents get to work at Castlecliff School and Nicola beats the odds to become a nurse.
Regular columnsRegional round-up
Tips, links and news – RealMe®, plus making it
easier to access Rise
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RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014 RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014 1
I can and I will
A passion for dance, a school teacher who opened her heart and home, and a scholarship for outstanding young people in care helped a young dancer pursue her dreams.
RISE: Issue 27 – June 20142
Eighteen-year-old dancer Maureen Brown has a personal mantra: I can and I will. Just watch me.
But in fact, when Maureen dances it’s not
about just watching. It’s more about being
unable to take your eyes off her. She may be
reluctant to speak in public, but as a dancer
and choreographer she’s vivid and eloquent.
After growing up in state care without
her own family, one of Maureen’s goals is to
run her own dance school to give children in
dysfunctional families a chance to show their
true selves.
Right now, Maureen is studying dance
at the Whitirea Performing Arts Centre in
Wellington. She’s been supported in part by
a Vodafone Vocational Scholarship through
the 2012 William Wallace Awards for
outstanding young people in care.
“We all have our demons to deal with,”
she says. “I have been in care since I was
nine months old. I have eight siblings still in
care. I worry about them and the challenges
they face.
“But I’ve been fortunate to have friends
and carers who love me and care about me.
Dance has helped me let go of my issues and
deal with life. Having direction and passion
enabled me to follow a dream.”
Last year, in front of the Prime Minister,
other Government Ministers and the 2013
William Wallace Award winners, Maureen
presented a movie about her journey as
a dancer and a young person growing up
in care.
Watching proudly in the audience was
Kelly Doran. Kelly has cared for Maureen
since she was 12 years old. The pair first
met at primary school where Maureen
was a student; Kelly had just joined the
teaching staff.
Primary school was a hard time for
Maureen. She was often angry. Difficult.
Distracted and hard to connect with.
“I was having problems at home. I didn’t
feel as if I was really there,” she says.
However, behind the challenges, Kelly
saw there was more to Maureen. At 12,
she was helping out as a student librarian.
She was a show stopper at kapahaka and a
leader in the lunch hour dance battles that
the kids organised for themselves.
“She had so much potential,” Kelly says.
“I remember saying to the principal one day,
‘She’s such a good kid. I just want to take
care of her.’
“But I was 42, single, never had kids, and
I’d only just returned from overseas. I thought,
what sort of a home would that be?”
Yet the connection remained after
Maureen moved on to high school. One
day a desperate email arrived. Struggling in
her current home, depressed and suicidal,
Maureen wasn’t opening up to anyone. Kelly
stepped in and suddenly fostering wasn’t
a dilemma anymore. She asked Maureen if
she’d consider coming to live with her and
Maureen said yes.
“We’ve had some hard issues to sort
out,” says Kelly. “But Maureen has always
made incredibly good choices. I’ve never had
to worry about her drinking or sneaking out
because once she found dance, that’s just
what she wanted to do. I’m incredibly proud
of her.”
Maureen’s first formal dance lesson wasn’t
until she was in Year 9. It was a late start, but
she was a natural. Hip-hop, contemporary,
jazz, ballet and tap – she took to them all.
RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014 3
She started to win competitions and people
started to notice her.
The dances that she choreographs often
have social justice themes – apartheid, human
rights. Others are more personal, dealing
with loss, healing, fear and resolution.
“But the best thing so far is teaching. I love
it. It’s so amazing to see your dances come
alive. It’s great to share the passion you have
for something. I’ve enjoyed mentoring and
being a friend for the students.”
At the 2013 William Wallace Awards,
Maureen shared some words of motivation
for the latest award winners.
“We have all been given an amazing
opportunity here. Don’t waste it. You have
to be dedicated. You’ve got to know what
you want. Stay focused. Surround yourself
with good people you can trust. Talk to
them. We are not the only people with
issues. It helps to talk.
“Get a mantra – it may sound silly but it
works. When you repeat it often enough,
something might just happen. It did for me.”
WILLIAM WALLACE AWARDS – 2014 NOMINATIONS
Do you know of an outstanding young person in care or who has recently turned 17 and come out of care?
Nominations are open now for the 2014 William Wallace Awards. The awards help the young person pursue their dreams of tertiary, vocational or leadership training. Award winners are honoured at a ceremony in Wellington later in the year.
WEB LINK
www.cyf.govt.nz/Williamwallace
“I’ve been fortunate tohave friends and carers
who love me and care about me.”
RISE: Issue 27 – June 20144
Fired upThere were just 90 frantic seconds
to don full fire fighting kit. Then it was
all high-pressure hoses, hydrants, knots,
ladders and building a pool out of
tarpaulin to treat burn victims.
It was all in a day’s work for the 13 young
people spending time with the Taranaki Fire
Service, the Police and Child, Youth and
Family. The group included teenagers who
had become involved with crime, were at risk
of doing so, or were struggling with truancy.
Under the experienced eyes of fire fighters
Rachael Lind and Dave Tomlinson, the group
spent the day looking at what it takes to
become a fire fighter.
It was an eye-opener for several of the
young people:
“Fire people do heaps! They are pretty
handy eh?”
“Fire fighters are actually quite cool!
They do lots of stuff.”
“I’m volunteering next year!”
The day was one of a series of outings
which has also included the Police College,
Waiouru Army Base and Sir George Seymour
College for flight attendants. The trips are a
team effort by the Police, Child, Youth and
Family and other organisations.
Senior Constable Peter Wright says the trips
aim to inspire and challenge the young people
to think about what they can do in life. “Nobody
is going to hand a good job to them on a plate.
“A few of them have dropped out of
education, and some of them are saying they
want to go back, because they now know
what they have to achieve.
“We have three young people with specific
goals – one wants to be a flight attendant
and two want to be police officers.”
At the Fire Service, Rachael and Dave used
the day to encourage the young people to stay
at school and get some workforce experience.
“We wanted to show at-risk young people
that anyone can be a fire fighter if they stay
away from bad choices and put their mind
to it,” says Rachael.
“Yes, you need to be fit and strong in the
Fire Service, but you also need lots of other
attributes such as problem solving, the ability
to work in a team, camaraderie and skills for
many different tasks.”
Child, Youth and Family youth justice
co-ordinator Mana Lawrence says she hopes
the young people find their passion in life.
“We want them to see the passion that
others have for their jobs, and experience
the hard work, discipline, commitment and
fun involved.
“We want to empower young people to
think about what they want to be, to set
their sights, and go for it. We also want
them to know that we support and believe
in them too.”
RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014 5
Homes for those in needThey’re more than just bricks and mortar, the units and houses that belong to the Comcare Trust. They give some of Christchurch’s most vulnerable people a chance to create something many take for granted – a home.
Gordon* is one such person. Prone
to serious mental illness, Gordon’s
health deteriorated badly after the 2011
earthquake. Living in a privately-rented
and badly damaged flat, he isolated himself
from people and services. It was cold,
unsafe and squalid. If anyone approached,
he hid. It wasn’t until a neighbour heard
a worrying sound that the police broke in
and found Gordon. He’d tried to commit
suicide, and was admitted to hospital.
When he’d recovered sufficiently, both
physically and mentally, a Comcare support
worker visited Gordon to help plan his
move back into the community, and to offer
Gordon a unit owned by the Comcare Trust.
The Comcare Trust is a large not-for-profit
provider of a wide range of mental health
and community support services. One of
those services is long-term social housing
for people who experience mental illness,
but are able to live relatively independently
with the right support.
“Gordon’s new flat is warm and sunny and
close to health and community support. We’ve
seen a huge improvement in his mental and
physical health. He’s also starting to take part
in community life,” says Annette Sutherland,
manager of Comcare Housing Services.
“Comcare is very focused on whatever
people need for quality of life in their homes
and the community – from personal support,
life skills, housing, connection with other
people, access to benefits and services, a job,
achieving life goals, health and fitness.
“We leave clinical care to the specialists,
but we help take care of everything else with
practical, one-on-one support.”
However, there’s a careful and deliberate
separation between Comcare’s housing
service and its other community support
services. “As a landlord, you are in a power
relationship. You can’t have care workers so
closely linked to the landlord that people feel
they can’t confide in them.”
Nonetheless, as a landlord, Comcare
Housing Services does a lot more than
inspect properties and collect rent.
“We help people find, set up and keep their
housing, and we offer low key support to help
them maintain their tenancies – as individuals
or in group flats.
“We’re working with people who struggle
to get into or maintain other tenancies.
They’re vulnerable to exploitation and have
histories of rapid deterioration in their mental
health,” says Annette. “We try to make sure
Community housing providers often do a lot more than provide a roof over people’s heads. They also support some of our most vulnerable people. That’s one reason why social housing reforms aim to strengthen the sector and create more options for people in need.
*Names changed to protect privacy; stories published with individual’s consent.RISE: Issue 27 – June 20146
easier for people to get more support in one
place, and it will mean that people in need
will gain more options for housing,” says
Debbie Power, who leads Work and Income
for the Ministry of Social Development.
The Ministry now manages people’s
applications for social housing, referring
them to approved social housing providers,
administering the income-related rent scheme,
helping people with options for housing, and
reviewing eligibility for social housing.
Since April, more than 32 community
housing providers have registered with the
Community Housing Regulatory Authority.
The goal is for 20 per cent of the country’s social
housing to be provided by non-government
organisations by 2017.
WEB LINKS
The Comcare Trust:
comcare.org.nz
Information for people seeking housing assistance:
www.housing.msd.govt.nz
Information on social housing and social housing reform:
www.msd.govt.nz/social-housing
they don’t lose their homes because of a blip
in their health.
“Jack*, for example, has been with us
for three years now. Before that, frequent
mental illness, his unwillingness to accept
help, growing debt and arguments with
neighbours meant he was often homeless.
“With security of tenure and
encouragement to accept help, he’s finally
engaged with a community support worker
who is helping him with budgeting and
relationship skills. And he has voluntarily
sought help for his addictions.
“He has autonomy and independence,
but he also has the security of ready access
to support when he needs it.”
Boosting social housingIn her position, Annette is all too aware of
the housing challenges facing the vulnerable
people in Christchurch. With so many homes
destroyed in the earthquake and the rebuild
still underway, rents are rising and affordable
accommodation is in short supply.
Comcare Housing Services works with
around 420 people each year, providing
emergency or long-term housing and
support. It controls about 85 properties
which it either owns or leases. Since the
earthquakes, housing referrals to Comcare
have risen by 70 per cent. It’s taking a lot
longer and it’s a lot harder to find places for
people to live.
That’s one reason why Annette was keen
to be part of working groups to develop the
Government’s social housing reforms, the
latest of which went live in April this year.
The reforms aim to improve housing
options for people in need by creating a
greater diversity of social providers beyond
Housing New Zealand.
Annette says she appreciates that
there’s been a significant shift to grow the
not-for-profit community housing sector.
“It’s early yet, but if it goes well over time
it will be good for the people we work with
and it will be good for us as a provider.”
At present, just five per cent of social
housing is provided by community housing
organisations. The state-owned Housing
New Zealand, with about 64,000 tenanted
properties, carries the lion’s share. This is
mainly because up until April this year, Housing
New Zealand was the only housing provider to
receive state-funded rent subsidies for tenants
on low incomes.
Under the reforms, approved community
housing providers are now able to receive the
rent subsidies on the same basis as Housing
New Zealand.
The reforms have also shifted social
housing needs assessment from Housing New
Zealand to the Ministry of Social Development,
integrating it with the Ministry’s income,
employment and social support services. In
fact, the Ministry already works with 8 out
of 10 Housing New Zealand tenants who are
receiving a benefit or superannuation.
“It creates a more level playing field for
community housing providers, it makes it
RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014 7
A future in the
Far NorthA Treaty Accord and a community
call to action are building commitment to make the Far North
a place where people thrive now and a long way into the future.
RISE: Issue 27 – June 20148
For 18-year-old Raewyn Williams, Te Hiku in the Far North is where she belongs.
A talented singer and songwriter,
she’s strongly focused on her community.
“We are blessed to live here,” she says.
“We don’t have the best reputation for some
things, but I was born here, I want to bring
up a family here, and I want to work for
my community.”
As she hunted for a job, however, Raewyn
found herself facing the dilemma that most
young people encounter in the Far North,
where employment rates are among the
lowest in the country.
“We want to work, but we don’t want to
go to Australia or Auckland.”
Te HikuTe Hiku is a large area of the very Far
North. It extends from Cape Reinga to the
north, Hokianga in the west. Its main urban
centre is the township of Kaitaia, population
4,887. Nearly half of the people in Te Hiku
live in isolated rural areas, some more than
two hours drive from Kaitaia.
The contrast is stark as you drive east to
west across the top of the north. The yachts,
cafes and well-appointed holiday homes
of the Bay of Islands disappear suddenly.
The buildings get older and more isolated.
The sense of affluence vanishes.
Compared to most of the country,
household incomes are low, numbers of sole
parent families are high, access to technology
is limited, unemployment is high, more
people are receiving some form of income
support, and educational achievement is low.
In addition, recent high-profile abuse
cases against children and young people
in care and in school have hit community
morale hard.
A new chapter – the Social Accord
It paints an austere future for the high
proportion of young people – especially
young Mäori – who live in the region.
But lately, a wave
of commitment from
the community, iwi and
government is starting to
change things for the people
of the Far North.
It marks a new chapter in a story
which began back in 1986 when the
iwi of the Far North came together to
lodge the Muriwhenua claim with the
Waitangi Tribunal.
In those early hearings, kaumatua and
kuia spoke of a day when grievances were
resolved and they could focus on re-building
strong lives for Te Hiku people.
The final settlement included the Te Hiku
Social and Wellbeing Accord, signed by four
iwi* of Te Hiku, the Prime Minister and two
Cabinet Ministers. The Social Accord places
iwi at the decision-making table alongside
the government agencies that invest in social
services, education, health and justice.
The Te Hiku Iwi Development Trust
was created to manage the iwi side of the
relationship. Chairman Hugh Karena says
the Social Accord means a whole change of
mindset for both Treaty partners.
“Iwi have never been part of this process
before,” Hugh says. “And government
agencies, which have signed their
commitment to achieving the goals set out
in the Accord, are having to work together
in a whole new way as well.
“For the first time, we’ve got local voices
supported by connected Crown resources.
We’re identifying and prioritising far-reaching
solutions for better education, health, housing,
welfare and wellbeing for Far North people.
Te Hiku iwi and the Crown are working
together for the long-term betterment of Te
Hiku people – to free whänau from deprivation,
which is the worst in New Zealand.”
Make it HappenAs the Social Accord builds iwi and
government relationships and long-term plans,
a separate but complementary project has
also galvanised
the wider Te
Hiku community
towards social change.
Last year, Social
Development Minister Paula
Bennett stood in front of a
packed community meeting in
Kaitaia to launch Make it Happen
Te Hiku. She challenged people to start
with a blank page and set out their hopes
for their communities, the changes they
wanted, the support and services they needed.
In April she returned as community
representatives, from children to community
leaders, read out their aspirations and goals.
For Sheridan Waitai it was a stand-out
moment to cap months of unprecedented
community activity. Sheridan is from Te
Hiku. She’s also a lead strategic advisor for
the Ministry of Social Development and has
been co-ordinating Make it Happen Te Hiku
in Kaitaia.
“We had an incredible level of engagement.
Fifty people volunteered to train and run
discussions – people who never volunteer for
anything. More than 1250 people took part,
including 600 young people.”
Over two months, adults, young people
and children met on marae and in homes,
schoolrooms, church halls, workplaces and
community halls. One discussion even took
place on a school bus.
Their feedback has been used to create
a community action plan. The plan talks of
more jobs, safe and healthy children, quality
education, growing businesses, safe places
and activities for young people, less crime,
alcohol and drugs, more connection with
marae and cultural roots, and better services
for remote communities.
“People have realised they are not just
stakeholders, but game changers,” says
Sheridan.
“While the Social Accord is about long term,
sustainable change, Make it Happen Te Hiku
has captured hearts and minds and helped us
see what we can achieve for ourselves.”
*Ngai Takoto, Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa and Ngati Kuri.
Raewyn Williams
RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014 9
In March, Kaitaia staged its first ever
Te Hiku Careers Expo, supported by more
than 50 local and national employers, as well
as training and tertiary education providers.
Throughout the day, a rolling powhiri
welcomed more than 1,500 children and
young people and their families to Te Kura
Kaupapa Mäori o Pukemiro.
Young people and kids chatted to local
police and fire officers, tried on uniforms,
talked to contractors, medical and service staff,
clambered though trucks, learned CPR with
medics and chatted to army and navy staff.
For Eru, the events are part of a sea change
for Kaitaia. “Just seeing different sectors and
people connecting – employers, iwi leaders,
the people in this community – there’s a new
sense of social cohesion and energy.”
We can’t do this aloneLee West is the chief executive of
Te Aupouri Mäori Trust Board, based in
Kaitaia. The Trust provides social services,
a pre-school programme, numeracy and
literacy tuition, and adult education, training
and in-work support. It is soon to launch a
Social Work certificate and degree courses
in partnership with Manukau Institute
of Technology.
Lee says that the impetus generated
by the Social Accord and Make It Happen
Te Hiku is changing the way people and
sectors approach problems and each other.
“There’s a genuine sense that none of us
can do this alone. We’re getting a deeper
understanding of other organisations’
strengths and the need to work together.”
This year, Te Aupouri Mäori Trust Board
teamed up with Work and Income to create
Project Mahi.
Project Mahi first trains and then employs
young people through a purpose-made social
enterprise. The core principle is continuous
support for the young people in training and
in work, especially when life issues threaten to
push them off track.
Now working in horticulture, the first 10
graduates have become a top producing
team, setting all-time picking records. Lee says
they are also gaining confidence, learning
to how deal with issues and challenges,
make good decisions and take responsibility
for consequences.
“It’s not lack of skill that hijacks most
of these young people. It’s what happens in
their lives.”
Lee says he is amazed by the ease
and speed with which partnerships have
developed, uniting people, funding and
support. The Trust is also part of a collective
of five iwi social service providers, called
Te Kahu Oranga Whanau (CoLab), working
together for better results. “That’s a huge
change in thinking.”
At work in Te HikuAs for Raewyn Williams, early this year she
seized an opportunity offered to her and 10
other young women on the inaugural Te Hiku
Social Accord Cadetship Programme.
She is now working for the Kaitaia
Museum and i-Site, which committed
to employing her and another graduate
for at least a year following two months of
pre-employment training.
“Cara from People Potential, she drove up
from Whangarei every day to tutor us. Work
and Income found employers who would
give us all jobs.”
Ten of the group, some of whom are young
mothers, have started work for the local council,
hospital, iwi services, the Ministry of Justice,
a private contractor, and Dr Lance O’Sullivan
(2013’s New Zealander of the Year).
At the graduation, Dr O’Sullivan
highlighted the importance of guidance for
young people, along with self-belief and
commitment to hard work.
Tutor Cara Norman recalls a group that
started off shy and nervous.
“At their first meeting, they struggled
to speak in front of one another, let alone
anyone else. At graduation, they sang
Real change, right nowWhile the Social Accord focuses
on profound long-term change, the
importance of tangible community
momentum is also clear to Eru Lyndon, the
Ministry of Social Development’s regional
commissioner for Northland.
Alongside Ngai Takato chief executive
Rangitane Marsden, Eru co-chairs the Social
Accord Secretariat of iwi representatives
and senior government officials who meet
monthly in Kaitaia.
Charged with driving the Social Accord,
the Secretariat is planning far-reaching
action to change the lives of the people of
Te Hiku.
Behind the scenes in Wellington, a team
in the Ministry of Social Development is
supporting the Social Accord with a key
piece of research, the Te Hiku Wellbeing
Report. It’s an in-depth assessment of the
social and economic issues facing the iwi of
the Far North. (The same team also worked
on the shorter-term Make it Happen Te Hiku
community action plan launched in April.)
Although the Social Accord is focused
on far-reaching issues and relationships, the
Secretariat was keen to make it meaningful
to the community from the start.
“We wanted to make it dynamic from the
beginning,” says Eru, “to show people that
the Social Accord means real change now
and in the future.”
That led to a series of monthly events
which run before each Social Accord
meeting. The events bring iwi, employers,
local jobseekers, government officials and
private sector experts together to discuss
experiences and issues. They profile topical
subjects such as irrigation, or sectors such
as avocado growers, aquaculture and the
honey industry, aiming to boost production
and work opportunities.
The events have seen jobseekers gaining
work and new partnerships forming,
including an irrigation project to improve the
production of iwi-owned farms.
RISE: Issue 27 – June 201410
and spoke in front of their
peers, whänau, Te Hiku and
community leaders.”
Raewyn says the cadetship and
her new job have changed her life.
“It changed our whole outlook – just
the fact that they were giving us all a chance
so that we could work here.
“We don’t walk around town in hoodies
and trackies anymore. We’re dressed
properly. We speak properly. We get
together on lunch breaks. It’s so cool.
“I’m going up and up and it’s the best
feeling ever.”
WEB LINKS
Learn more about the Te Hiku Social Accord
www.tehiku.iwi.nz/social-accord.html
Learn more about Make it Happen Te Hiku and read the Community Action Plan
www.msd.govt.nz/makeithappen
RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014 11
“Make it Happen Te Hiku has captured
hearts and minds and helped us see
what we can achieve for ourselves.”
Make it Happen Te Hiku
co-ordinator Sheridan Waitai.
Ministry regional commissioner Eru Lyndon and Ngai Takato chief executive Rangitane Marsden.
ALSCO’s regional operations manager Robbie Turnbull with Renee and Losa.
Less than a year ago, 21-year-old Renee’s life consisted of avoiding study, drinking a lot and doing nothing much else.
“I got lazy, started missing classes and
got fat. I put on 15 kilograms. I had no job
experience. I couldn’t afford to flat anymore
so moved home and kept on doing nothing.
I was stuck. I turned 21 and I knew I needed
to get my life together.”
Two things helped Renee turn her life
around: a six-week Limited Service Volunteer
(LSV) programme for unemployed young
people and ALSCO NZ in Palmerston North
– an employer who believes in giving LSV
graduates a start in the workforce.
LSV is a six-week live-in training
programme for young people run by the
New Zealand Defence Force on behalf of
Work and Income. There’s a strong focus on
teamwork and discipline to achieve physical
and mental challenges, build confidence,
life skills and motivation to gain a job.
Renee says LSV helped her to find her
self-confidence, motivate herself and take a
positive outlook on life. She was determined
to get a job.
Two days after completing the LSV
programme Renee was referred for an
interview with the central production
hub of ALSCO NZ in Palmerston North
– a company that specialises in laundry
services for uniforms, linens, mats and
towelling, as well as hygiene products and
managed first aid systems.
A month later Renee was offered a
full-time position. She’s been working for
The future starts here
RISE: Issue 27 – June 201412
WEB LINK
Find out more about the Limited Service Volunteer programme for young people:
www.workandincome.govt.nz/lsv
seven months and she loves it. She’s lost
20 kilograms, made good friends and has
plans for the future.
“I like the physical, hands-on part of the
job. I can see myself here for a couple more
years and with the experience I get from here
I want to work toward my long-term goal to
work with youth.”
Employer award for ALSCO
Giving unemployed young people a start
in work after they’ve graduated as Limited
Service Volunteers is part of ALSCO’s
responsibility to the community, says Robbie
Turnbull, the regional operations manager.
It’s also a great way to find disciplined,
motivated young workers.
ALSCO’s commitment to employing
young LSV graduates won it the 2014
Employer of the Year Award from the
Territorial Forces Employer Support Council
in the Manawatu-Whanganui-Kapiti region.
It’s the first time such an award has been
given to an employer in relation to LSV
graduates. ALSCO was selected from 14
employers nominated by Work and Income.
Work and Income’s Regional
Commissioner Penny Rounthwaite says
employers like ALSCO help to change young
people’s lives. “They’re realistic and they
know that sometimes it doesn’t work out,
but they are still committed to giving youth a
chance,” she says. “LSV is a big investment
in young people, but committed employers
help turn that investment into reality.”
Robbie Turnbull says employing LSV
graduates is part of the company’s
approach to social responsibility in the
communities in which it operates. “These
young people are genuinely grateful for
the start we offer them and that tends
to result in people that give back to our
company and to their community.
“It’s also beneficial for us. LSV graduates
have learned about time management,
resilience, leadership and
integrity. They have great
discipline and a good attitude
to work and teamwork – that
rubs off well on the other staff,”
says Robbie.
The partnership between
Work and Income and ALSCO’s
central production hub in
Palmerston North has grown over
the past two years. The company
uses Work and Income’s work
brokerage and free recruitment
service as their first port of call to
fill vacancies.
“Our work broker Filipo Saua is on
the ground with people who are ready
to work. He understands our industry,
knows the types of people we are
looking for and always has someone for
the vacancies list,” Robbie says.
Another LSV graduate that ALSCO
has employed through Work and Income
is Losa. She has been with the company
for nearly two years. “Work and Income
called me in for a seminar after being on
the benefit for four months and I thought
LSV looked pretty cooI – but I didn’t know
what I was getting myself into!”
For the first three days of LSV all Losa
wanted to do was go home. “It was a culture
shock. I was used to doing things in my own
time with no one shouting at me. It was the
hardest thing I have ever done.”
What Losa took from the LSV programme
was personal pride in pushing herself to
the limit, leadership and time management
skills and the satisfaction that comes from
achieving tasks under pressure.
“All of these things helped me to get
this job. Starting at 0600 every morning and
being respectful to my bosses are things that I
learned at LSV. ALSCO has given me a start in
the workforce and I hope to use my tourism
qualification to go on and do something in
that industry when the time is right.”
LSV programme outcomes:
Self-confidence
Positive outlook
Team work
Great discipline
Time management
Resilience
Leadership
Integrity
Good attitude
RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014 13
On the face of it, they are worlds apart – the well-established Christchurch Methodist Mission and the edgier, streetwise Youth Cultural Development (or YCD). But this unlikely partnership is making a big difference to troubled young people and their families.
“Ten years ago people would have said
‘What! YCD and the Christchurch Methodist
Mission are working together?” say the
leaders of both, laughing because they’ve
just spoken in unison.
It’s a nice snapshot of a partnership
where strength comes from differences,
underpinned by a common motivation to do
better for at-risk teenagers and families.
The Methodist Mission has served families
in need for nearly 80 years, working to
counter disadvantage in the community.
“We support people from the cradle to the
grave, with a range of home and group
services,” says Sue van Deurs, manager of
the Mission’s social services division.
YCD, on the other hand, emerged in the
1990s along with rising youth crime and
violent offences in Christchurch’s inner city.
YCD’s youth and social workers use innovative
ways to engage at-risk young people – from
under-age sex workers to youth at risk of
getting involved in crime to those who are
already facing the consequences of it.
“We’ve had to change in response to
the ever-changing needs of young people.
Over the years our focus has moved through
stages of sport, dance, music, turntablism,
DJ-ing and graffiti art,” says Anni Watkin,
YCD’s general manager.
Focused on meeting the physical, mental,
cultural and spiritual needs of young people,
YCD realised that they also needed to engage
whänau and families in order to achieve
real change.
“Our youth workers were doing whänau
work by default,” Anni recalls. “We could
see that this work was going to become
overwhelming.”
The connection with the Methodist
Mission was made in 2013, at a meeting set
up by Lynette Ebborn, a Child, Youth and
Family funding and contracting manager.
“To be honest, at the beginning we all felt
some slight resistance – we were all a little
concerned about how this sits ethnically,”
says Anni.
Lynette says that once the two
organisations began talking about their
work and beliefs, they realised that
their philosophies were not so far apart.
Both had common values and a drive to
support families in need for the benefit of
their young people.
For the Methodist Mission, a partnership
with YCD offered them broader scope in
their work with families. “A lot of our work
is with children at risk, children in care and
their families,” says Sue. “We really wanted
to get in earlier and do the preventative
work. So really, this was a perfect fit for us.”
The two organisations worked out where
they were involved (or could be involved)
with the same families, and how they could
connect their work.
Trust, respect and openness between
the two organisations is the key to their
partnership. “We are each still doing our own
work, but we are doing it together,” says
Anni. “We don’t feel threatened by it – it is
a great example of working collaboratively.”
Methodist Mission team leader
Roz Lefay says staff value each others’
areas of expertise. They share information,
make plans together and consult each
other frequently.
The partnership is particularly effective
with families who do not see the need to
make changes of their own to support their
young person, or are not keen to get involved
with social services.
Roz and fellow Methodist Mission social
worker Jeni Ingram speak highly of YCD
workers’ ability to engage and build trusting
relationships with the most marginalised
families, which helps families feel safe to
begin working with the Methodist Mission.
YCD social worker Hannah Whittaker says
that once she has built a strong relationship
with a young person’s family, she talks to
them about how the Methodist Mission can
help them learn skills to help their young
person stay on track.
“The ladies at the Methodist Mission do
quality work with families,” says Hannah.
“And it is such a relief; change is so much
more likely to occur for young people when
there is a whole family approach.”
The leaders of both organisations
highlight the importance of a responsive
funder to enable a successful, collaborative
partnership. “Child, Youth and Family
responded to an identified gap, worked
collaboratively with us and allowed flexibility
within our current contracts,” says Sue.
“It enabled both of us to better address the
needs of children and families, without the
need for additional funding.”
Both organisations are committed to
strengthening their partnership. “It’s the
way to work into the future,” says Anni.
Off-beat allies
WEB LINKS
YCD (Youth Cultural Development)
www.ycd.co.nz
Christchurch Methodist Mission
www.mmsi.org.nz
RISE: Issue 27 – June 201414
RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014 15
Made by New ZealandersIconic outdoor clothing company Swazi is an eye-catching presence on Levin’s main street. It’s also one of the few homegrown clothing manufacturers left in town.
Swazi’s website states that the company
is committed to keeping production in
New Zealand so that “staff can maintain
the self-esteem, self-respect, pride and
satisfaction that goes with making a
world-class product in their own community”.
This year, with a looming shortage of
skilled machinists and plans to grow the
company, Swazi teamed up with Work
and Income, creating a sewing school to
train unemployed local people to work in
its Levin factory.
“I never thought I’d be a machinist,”
says Karen Griffen, as she carefully sews
a label onto the fleece pants she’s just
pieced together. “I preferred woodwork
and metal work at school. I only did sewing
because I had to!”
Like Karen, Del Mita and Jojo Hepi had
little experience with a sewing machine
before they started at sewing school
earlier this year. All three women are now
full-time machinists, confidently doing
their bit to make the 47,000 Swazi
garments made in New Zealand each year.
Work and Income supported Swazi’s
sewing school with its Straight to Work
Karen Griffen
16 RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014
programme. The programme subsidises
employers for the cost of training would-be
workers in skills that will lead to a job.
“It means businesses can afford to invest
in new employees and bring them up to
speed before they employ them,” says
Donna Metcalfe, a Work and Income work
broker in Levin.
Donna and colleague Kevin Salmons
worked with Swazi to get the programme
up and running.
“There are limited opportunities for
employment in Levin,” says Kevin. “There
aren’t many opportunities to learn a skilled
trade, so it’s getting harder and harder to
find good people. That’s why it’s so important
to have great relationships with industry
and business – such as the relationship
with Swazi.”
For Swazi’s general manager, Sharee
Harper, Straight to Work was a way to find
the right people to replace retiring machinists
and to build a workforce for the future.
“I could have advertised, but I knew
MSD had a database with people who were
the right demographic and who would be
motivated to work.”
With Kevin and Donna’s help, Sharee
and her trainer Tracey Millard initially ran
a seminar at the town’s Community Link
centre, attracting nearly 30 interested job
seekers. Twelve were shortlisted for Sharee
and Tracey’s sewing school, six started, and
three – Karen, Jojo and Del – completed the
course and walked into full-time work.
Already planning for another round of
trainees, Sharee says she knew within two
weeks that Karen, Jojo and Del were the
right ones. “They had the right attitude and
they wanted to work.”
“Too right,” says Del from her overlocker.
“I really wanted that job. I like my boundaries
being pushed. I get bored fast so I need
to be active, motivated and challenged.
I’m getting that with this job!”
Their lack of sewing experience was a
plus. “People with experience often have
habits we need to break,” says Sharee.
WEB LINK
Learn more about how Work and Income can help employers develop their workforce:
www.workandincome.govt.nz/workforce
Over 12 weeks the group learned the
basics of being a commercial machinist.
They’re still learning on the job, studying for
their National Certificate in sewing.
“Everyone has been really great,” says
Jojo, operating a cross over machine which
ensures seams are waterproof. “All the
women here were really supportive right
from the start.”
Jojo, Del and Karen have their own
responsibilities, but Sharee says they are likely
to change. “At Swazi we look at a person’s
whole skill set and where else they could go
in the company. Jojo has an eye for detail so
that’s good for seam sealing, but I know she
also has admin skills so we may use her there.
“Karen is good at plain sewing but she’s
very mechanically minded so that could lead
to something else here. Del is a creative soul
– she’s overlocking now but she could move
more into design.”
Del’s new skills have boosted her creativity
at home too. “I like taking old clothes and
scraps and seeing what I can make out of
them. I’ve made dresses for my daughters
and tops for my sons.”
Another advantage is the confidence that
comes from working.
“I went to get a quote for a new tyre,”
says Karen. “The garage assumed it was a
Work and Income quote, but nah – I said
‘I work for my money’.”
Jojo likes not being judged. “Beneficiaries
are judged all the time. People think if you’re
on a benefit, you’re lazy. Working gets rid of
the negative stereotype for us.”
Del loves being a positive role model.
“When the kids get asked, ‘What does your
mum do?’ they can say ‘She works at Swazi’
and not ‘She doesn’t work’.”
Del Mita
Jojo Hepi
17RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014
Spotlight on Bay of Plenty
“Because we know so many people across the trades,
we can match the jobseeker's personality to the employer
as well as the trade.”
RISE: Issue 27 – June 201418
Key facts
Bay of Plenty
TradeUpIf you're looking for Geoff Christophers
or Rick Nicholson, you won't find them behind a desk. These two work from their cars, trail blazing a new way of working with jobseekers.
They’re a mobile team called TradeUp,
with a mission to help young jobseekers
get a start in the trades. “If we're not
working with the young people or talking
to employers, it means we're not out there
making it happen,” says Geoff.
The two former modern apprenticeship
co-ordinators established TradeUp to help
young people into trades jobs after they
had left school early. The formula worked,
so they tailored their approach to suit Work
and Income youth jobseekers. The TradeUp
and Work and Income pilot started in January
with a group of Western Bay of Plenty
young people.
Once referred by Work and Income,
the young people had in-depth interviews
with Geoff and Rick to talk about career
options, goals, plans and, where necessary,
a reality check.
“Most of the kids who come to us are
employable,” Geoff says. “Sure, they may
have had some stuff happen, but we look at
ways to get around those barriers.”
“They are just young guys growing up,”
says Rick. “In some cases they’ve been caught
doing something dumb, but they’re not bad
kids. A lot of tradesmen we work with weren't
too dissimilar when they were young.”
TradeUp is not a training programme.
It involves a lot of pastoral care and
pre-employment support. The focus is on
working one-on-one with each young
person, getting ready for work and matching
them with an employer for on-the-job
training or an apprenticeship. Often the
family becomes involved and that helps a lot.
“Because we know so many people
across the trades, and we get to know
the jobseeker so well, we can match the
jobseeker's personality to the employer as
well as the trade,” says Geoff.
Peter Decke of Coatings Plus recruited
two workers through TradeUp.
“I said to Geoff, ‘Just send me your best
fella.’ He sent Luke. I was so impressed that
I said, 'Give me another one and we'll be
right.' That's how we got Sam.”
Luke Townsend and Sam Phillips are
learning on the job and are about to start
an apprenticeship through the Building and
Construction Industry Training Organisation.
Sam likes heading off to a job every
morning. He looks forward to becoming a
fully qualified tradesman with the financial
rewards that will bring. Luke thinks he might
like to run his own company one day.
Post-placement support is a strong
component of TradeUp. Four months into
their employment, Geoff and Rick continue
to keep in touch with Peter, Luke and Sam.
“It seems to be the pastoral care at the
front end that gets them there,” says Rick.
“Employers become part of it.”
Geoff and Rick say they both get a kick
out of helping a young person to the point
where they've secured a job and are in
industry training. “When a mother thanks us
for getting her son off the couch and into a
job, or a young person tells us it's the first
time someone has taken a genuine interest
in them, that's when we know we got it
right,” Geoff says.
Between January and April 2014,
20 people were placed into the programme,
with 14 moving into jobs.
Bay of Plenty
covers Tauranga, Opotiki, Whakatane, Rotorua, Taupo and most of south Waikato.
Key industries
include kiwifruit, tourism, forestry and farming. Work and Income works with employers to recruit and train the right staff. Contact a work broker on 0800 778 008.
Te Puke
produces most of New Zealand’s kiwifruit. In the 1920s, a local horticulturist developed the Hayward variety, which is now eaten all over the world.
Rotorua
is a major tourist destination, known for geothermal activity and M-aori culture.
Between March 2013 and March 2014
the number of working age people on a benefit in the Bay of Plenty region fell by nearly 2,000 – or 5.24 per cent.
Spotlight on Bay of Plenty
RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014 19
Youth connection
As a young person Blair Gilbert lived life to the full, sometimes outside the norm. Now the adventurous leader of the Ministry of Youth Development’s central north team is helping young people realise their strengths and life’s opportunities.
Blair Gilbert’s Mum had to look
twice when she saw a photo of her
dreadlocked, bare footed, hippy son
sitting on a Dunedin street corner selling
the leather bangles he’d made.
“I thought it was a cool photo,” says
the now-short-haired and somewhat
older Blair. “But I guess Mum didn’t
expect it, considering that when I left
home I was heading to university to do a
Bachelor in Veterinary Science.”
Back then, Blair did in fact study for a
while. But then he dropped out, bought
a house bus, grew his hair and stopped
wearing shoes.
After a year or so the gloss wore
off. He got hungry. With hunger came
the realisation that people weren’t just
going to give him everything. “I thought
I was really hard done by,” he laughs
at himself. “I actually had to do stuff,
like work, so I could eat, and I realised
I was hungry to learn.”
Blair re-enrolled at university, this
time at Otago, and knuckled down.
Still living in his house bus, he completed
a double major degree in education and
psychology, and has since completed
a masters and postgraduate studies
in management. During his time at
Otago, he worked with Wide Horizons,
an outdoor education programme for
youth, run by Innes McColl. Blair was
a researcher bought in to evaluate the
programme in order for funding to
continue.
“Innes was an inspirational, practical
person,” says Blair. “He believed that
if we instil in our young people care
and respect of the environment, other
people and themselves, then we’ve
changed the world.”
Blair gained further insight into
the value of the outdoors as a tool to
work with people when he took an
opportunity to be involved with Outward
Bound at Anakiwa.
While Blair was at Outward Bound,
his partner Julie returned to Rotorua
to introduce their new baby son to the
family. “She ‘accidentally’ got a great
job within her profession, and I came
home to be a house husband,” he grins.
“I thought it would be real cruisy,
but I had no time to cook or clean because
I was so busy looking after the baby!”
After six months, Blair started work
with Karldon House, working with
people moving from psychiatric care
into the community, and with Rotorua’s
Te Waiariki Purea Trust, a youth
development organisation.
Again, he found the outdoor
environment to be a powerful and useful
space for people to make an ongoing
long-term change. With a leaning
towards adventure therapy, Blair went
to Waiariki Institute of Technology to
lecture in social work. There he was
part of a team that wrote a degree
in social science; specifically writing
the adventure therapy major within
the degree programme. “It was a
world-first,” he says proudly.
His research and involvement in
adventure therapy took him around the
world. He was the national leader of
the NZ delegation on the Japanese Ship
for World Youth, and through his work
with mountain adventurer and youth
development leader Graeme Dingle,
Blair led the Youth on Ice programme
to Antarctica in 2006 – “an amazing,
life changing time.”
In 2006, Blair joined the Ministry of
Youth Development (MYD) as regional
team manager for the central north
region. “I saw it as an opportunity
to influence youth development
nationwide, and I was excited about
leading people who were inspired by
young people and committed to ensuring
they develop well.”
It may seem that Blair swapped the
outdoors for a desk, but that is not the
reality. He’s a long distance runner and
a keen mountain climber. In 2007 he
was one of a team of three people who
successfully climbed the North Island’s
four highest peaks in one day.
Blair is particularly interested (and
qualified) in mountain safety and ski
instructing and is a member of the
specialised Ministry of Social Development
trained, Emergency Welfare Reserves.
In his spare time, Blair is a volunteer fire
fighter with Lake Okareka Rural Fire
Force. With a rising demand for their
services, the fire force and other volunteer
emergency services need all the help they
Spotlight on Bay of Plenty
RISE: Issue 27 – June 201420
Spotlight on Bay of Plenty
can get. Blair saw an opportunity to get
young people involved with emergency
services as well as more connected with
their communities.
“It struck me that we could prepare
our young people to be on hand
in emergencies like floods, storms,
earthquakes or civil emergency, while
also achieving our MYD strategic goal of
increasing youth citizenship.”
Blair and a working group of volunteers
developed the Youth in Emergency
Services (YES) pilot project which ran for
the first time last year in partnership with
Rotorua emergency services.
Over four weeks, 15 young people
attended Thursday evening sessions
and Saturday morning inspirational
introductions to different emergency
services. The programme culminated in a
weekend camp where the young people
responded to a series of emergency
scenarios – fighting fires, rescuing people
from cliffs, extracting and treating
injured victims. They are then supported
to become volunteers in a service of
their choice.
“Our young people became engaged
with the good people in our community
who volunteer their time in support of
others,” Blair says. “They also learnt new
skills, spent time with positive role models
and learnt that ‘New Zealand needs
them’ while discovering opportunities to
be volunteers themselves.”
The project attracted national interest.
Civil Defence and Youth Affairs Minister
Nikki Kay extended the programme
to Kaikohe, Mangakino/Turangi, Taupo,
Gisborne, Alexandra and Kaikoura, with
a second project in Rotorua.
YES was also runner up in the
Educational and Child/Development
category at the TrustPower Spirit of
Rotorua Awards in October 2013.
“Do you know what the coolest thing
is? The coolest thing is that every day at
the Ministry of Youth Development I’m
part of a team that supports the future
of New Zealand. I’m privileged to be part
of that.”
RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014 21
Spotlight on East Coast
It took time and determination, and the backing of Work and Income, the Defence Force, trainers and employers.
RISE: Issue 27 – June 201422
East Coast
Grown from SEEDKey factsEast Coast region
has a youthful and higher than average M-aori population. In Gisborne, 34 per cent of the population are under 20 years of age. The region’s M-aori population of 28 per cent is double the national average.
A sunny climate
provides excellent conditions for horticulture, viticulture, forestry and agriculture and tourism. Cruise ships bring thousands of tourists between November and May with 53 scheduled visits to Napier and 13 visits to Gisborne.
Changes
to the welfare system since July 2013 have seen:
• 79% increase in work placements for single parents
• 150% increase in work placements for supported living clients
• 100% increase in work placements for 10-year-plus clients.
Learn more
about how Work and Income can help employers develop their workforce: www.workandincome.govt.nz/business/
The bright young technician in charge of the hi-tech equipment at the Mr Apple packhouse in Hawke's Bay obviously loves his job. He has a flair and a natural enthusiasm for work with technology.
But Devon Whitelegge did not land his job
without effort. It took time and determination,
and the backing of Work and Income,
the Defence Force, trainers and employers.
As a kid, Devon found it hard to thrive at
school. “I left at the end of the third form.
I had no qualifications. I did lots of courses
and temporary jobs after leaving school, but
I couldn’t get a proper job.”
Looking back on those frustrating years,
Devon says the game changers were people
and organisations who believed in him and
backed him to succeed.
The first break came when Work and
Income programme co-ordinator Ingrid
Matthews encouraged Devon to go on a
six-week Limited Service Volunteer (LSV)
programme.
LSV is a six-week residential motivational
course for 18 to 24 year old jobseekers.
Set in a military environment, young people
tackle physical and mental challenges,
learning teamwork and discipline, and focus
on direction in their lives. Devon returned
with a new sense of purpose and a plan to
find a long-term job.
When he applied for seasonal work with
Mr Apple, his motivation stood out and
he was invited to join a programme which
develops promising workers for long-term
careers in the horticulture industry.
The SEED programme (Seasonal Employee/
Employer Development) offers one-on-one
mentoring along with on-the-job training.
As well as qualifications, it also focuses on
life skills such as budgeting, driver licensing
and health and fitness.
“My first job at Mr Apple was doing bin
repairs, then prep work in the packhouse to
get ready for the season.
“Last year I was in the orchards, grafting
and planting new trees so there was a lot
of variety.”
Devon showed a keen interest in
technology and started to spend some
days learning the ropes. His flair was
soon noticed.
Production manager Robert Sykes says
Devon has been one of the stars to emerge
from the SEED programme. “He’s young,
exuberant and keen to learn and has really
demonstrated this. He's doing great.”
Devon was offered a full-time role from
13 October 2013 and is now responsible for
cutting-edge technology, such as a scanner
that x-rays apples, taking 36 photos of every
apple on the conveyor belt to grade fruit
quality. It processes 4,000 apples a minute.
“Mr Apple and Ingrid at Work
and Income believed in me and have
given me this amazing opportunity with
SEED,” says Devon. “I wouldn’t have this
job without it.”
SEED was first trialled in 2011 by Work
and Income with the pip-fruit corporation
Crasborn Group, to fill a gap in skilled labour.
Building on that success, Apollo signed up
to SEED in 2012 and Mr Apple followed
in 2013. This year, SEED has expanded
to 50 full-time placements across the
three companies.
Spotlight on East Coast
RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014 23
Spotlight on East Coast
Aunty Sass
Nine years ago, Ihipera (Sass) Mahuika was out for a walk in the suburb of Kaiti, Gisborne, when a reversing car pinned her against a parked truck.
A popular musician by night,
a high-school lab technician by day and
at all times a much-loved local character
and aunty, Sass was told she was
unlikely to walk again.
Multiple operations, long-term
rehabilitation and life in a wheelchair
became her new reality.
“My only source of comfort was
food. It was about all I looked forward
to. I put on weight, and eventually
ended up weighing 225 kilograms.”
As her weight climbed, Sass
plunged into a long depression, until
a conversation with her pregnant
daughter shocked her into action.
“My daughter asked me whether
or not I wanted to see my mokopuna
grow up.”
Another moment of truth struck
when Sass sought help from Tui
Keenan, a fitness instructor at Freedom
Health and Fitness in Gisborne.
“Tui looked past the chair, past my
disability and believed in me. She smiled
and said, ‘Of course I can help’.”
Sass started attending the gym
and took on a new diet. Physically
and mentally, she went from strength
to strength.
Another person who believed in Sass
was Work and Income employment
co-ordinator Jane Tureia. Jane works
with Work and Income clients who face
challenges to getting back into work.
She had been working alongside Sass
for more than two years. Jane saw Sass’s
strengths – her warmth and connection
with people, her big personality, her
background in school and education.
Sass’s weight dropped to 112
kilograms, and she often found herself
encouraging others. Naturally musical
with a good sense of rhythm, she’d also
gotten a taste for Zumba.
Between the three of them, Sass,
Jane and Tui hit upon a plan; Sass set
about becoming a Zumba instructor
and a health mentor. She attended an
accreditation course in Auckland and
then cancelled her benefit and took up
full-time work.
Among the clients at her first
Zumba class were eight Work and
Income staff members, inspired to
make fitness changes for themselves.
Sass and Tui were invited to share
their story at the 2013 Zumba
Conference in Orlando, Florida – joining
8,000 other instructors and doing
media interviews.
Back in Gisborne, it’s all about getting
back into the community Zumba classes
after another hip operation. Sass is also
applying for education and student
support roles.
WEB LINK
Watch Aunty Sass on Seven Sharp.
tvnz.co.nz/seven-sharp/ losing-112kgs-zumba-video-5477615
Sass Mahuika and Jane Tureia
RISE: Issue 27 – June 201424
Changing lives
In Gisborne, a business couple with a social conscience are helping to change lives and open doors for disadvantaged people.
Among other things, Dennis Wen
and his wife Bing Sun run a community
hostel, Memorial Ltd. It houses around
120 people who are either jobless or
on a low income. It offers emergency
housing, short-term and long-term
accommodation, and can support people
with disabilities or mental health issues.
Whenever he can, Dennis tries to
find paid work for his tenants, either
in the hostel or in his horticulture and
viticulture labouring business – Kaimahi
Contracting.
Dennis says most people very much
want to work, but often they just need
to be given a break. He’ll help his tenants
and employees overcome some of
the things that are holding them back
– supporting them with budgeting and
life skills, family difficulties or liaising with
IRD or Work and Income.
Sole parent Kylie Wilson had been on
the Domestic Purposes Benefit for more
than 24 years when she started working
for Memorial Ltd.
“Kylie was very keen to work,”
says Dennis. “She started off doing
housekeeping duties. From there I started
teaching her the computer so she could
start doing some of our administration
work. She learnt very quickly and now
she’s the office manager.”
Kylie says she loves working for
Memorial Ltd. She is responsible for
customer services, including signing up
new tenancies, general housekeeping,
and accommodation inspections.
She says her own life experience is a
great advantage. “I know where they are
coming from – I’ve been there myself.
Many of the difficulties people have,
I’ve been through,” she says.
Kaimahi Contracting employs up to
70 staff at the peak of the horticulture
and viticulture season.
Around 80 per cent of Kaimahi’s
employees are recruited from Work and
Income. They boost the labour force of
big corporates such as Leaderbrand,
Harper Gold and Indevin. Dennis says the
success of his employees is also due to
the commitment of these corporates.
John Waerehu (known as BJ)
started full-time work with Kaimahi
Contracting in 2013 after being
on a Sickness Benefit for three years.
Straight away Dennis was impressed with
his attitude.
“He used his initiative. When he first
started he cleaned the van out without
being asked and I knew he’d work out
well. He was a local and knew mates who
were looking for work and I hired them
as well.”
BJ, aged 48, has since taken on a
leadership role with Kaimahi Contracting
and helped strengthen Dennis’s contacts
with the local community.
BJ says it is very much part of Dennis’s
philosophy to watch out for workers’
welfare. “Dennis and his wife really look
after us.”
BJ says working with Kaimahi
Contracting has changed his life. “They
have treated me like family,” he says.
Spotlight on East Coast
BJ Waerehu, Kylie Wilson and Dennis Wen
RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014 25
Spotlight on Taranaki, King Country and Whanganui
“Kids love seeing their parents work – it’s so empowering.”
Te Awhina Chase at the Homework Club
RISE: Issue 27 – June 201426
Taranaki, King Country and Whanganui
Spotlight on Taranaki, King Country and Whanganui
School work for kids and parents
Key factsTaranaki, King Countryand Whanganui
covers a large area from Otorohanga in the north, Ruapehu in the east and Rangitikei in the south.
Around 194,000 people
live in the region, with just over half living in the cities of Whanganui and New Plymouth. M-aori are represented by 18 hap-u and iwi.
Key industries
include agriculture, dairy/meat processing, forestry, manufacturing and energy production. Work and Income works with employers to recruit and train the right staff. Contact a work broker on 0800 778 008.
In the year to March 2014
the number of working age people on a benefit in the region fell by 4.1 per cent. Most of those people had been unemployed for more than a year.
Castlecliff School takes good care of its kids and its parents. Just ask Te Awhina Chase, a sole parent who has gained work as a teacher aide running the school's Homework Club.
She is one of several previously unemployed
parents who have gained jobs at the school
as teacher aides or in administration, thanks
to a long-standing partnership between the
school and Work and Income.
Te Awhina started in a voluntary role
at the school last year. By September,
she was a paid teacher aide with her wages
subsidised by Work and Income’s Job
Streams Flexi-wage programme.
This year, Te Awhina has been a key
member of the school’s new initiative to
raise student achievement – the Homework
Club. Straight after the school day ends,
children scamper to Homework Club where
they share kai including fresh fruit and milk.
This is followed by play time, then a structured
homework session of up to an hour before
heading home at 5pm. There is no cost
to attend, although a koha – usually food
– is gratefully received.
“With something in their tummies and
some exercise, they’re ready to think again,”
says school principal Katherine Ellery.
“The Homework Club is also teaching
parents and families to structure their day.
Kids are no longer sitting in front of the telly
for three hours. Parents cannot believe that
their kids are coming home and carrying on
with their homework.”
Te Awhina is passionate about
helping the children learn. “They are all
different personalities with some needing
one-to-one help. It’s cool when they first get
their spelling words to learn each Monday;
by Friday, they know them all!” she says.
Katherine says she’s proud of Te Awhina’s
development. “She has just blossomed and
is a different girl to the one who started here
last year. She confidently goes around each
of the teachers and asks what they want their
students to focus on after Homework Club.”
Work and Income employment
co-ordinator Mike Weekly says the
partnership is particularly successful because
of the school’s ongoing commitment
to providing opportunities for parents.
Also, the hours suit sole parents. “Not only
are the hours sufficient for our clients to
become financially independent, these mums
do not have to find or pay for childcare for
their own children.”
Being a low-decile school, Katherine
says Castlecliff can use all the help it can
get. The Flexi-wage subsidies have not only
helped the school to fund paid work for sole
parents, but allowed the school to staff extra
projects that improve learning for the kids
and the school community.
Another positive is police feedback
that there are less children on the streets
after school.
There are other advantages too, says
Katherine. “Te Awhina’s two sons attend
Castlecliff and love having Mum at school.
Kids love seeing their parents work
– it’s so empowering.”
Mike Weekly says it shows how well
a partnership like this can work for everyone
involved.
“We are looking to have more schools
come on board offering the same sort of
chance to other people.”
RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014 27
Spotlight on Taranaki, King Country and Whanganui
Nicola Wellstood – Registered Nurse
Late last year, Nicola Wellstood’s
mum received a text from her
49-year-old daughter. It read
simply: Nicola Wellstood RN.
“When I found out I had graduated,
I cried,” Nicola says. “My hands were
shaking so much I had to get one of
my daughters to text Mum for me.”
Now Nicola is working as a graduate
nurse with Riverside Care Home
and Hospital in New Plymouth,
and has cancelled her benefit with
Work and Income.
Nicola’s road to success has been a
tough 14-year journey. Her marriage
ended when the youngest of her
three girls was only one year old.
In 2004, Nicola started to study
towards a nursing qualification, but
complicated health problems led to a
heart-breaking decision to pull out.
“I spent 18 months on crutches.
I didn’t want to sit on my butt so I took
over from Mum running the Salvation
Army shop in Stratford,” says Nicola.
Her recovery involved losing nearly
50kg in weight, a hip operation and
a gastric by-pass. During this time she
took up her nursing studies again.
“I am lucky because I have had good
family support and good friends.”
During the last six months of her
training, Nicola helped care for her
father who died before she graduated.
“Before he died, he told me he was
proud of me,” Nicola says wistfully.
When Nicola’s youngest daughter
turned 14, Nicola moved from a
Sole Parent Support benefit to
a Job Seeker Support payment with
full-time work obligations. Ingrid Self,
a Work and Income work-focused case
manager in Stratford, has supported
Nicola’s transformation and goals over
several years.
Ingrid says she is blown away by
what Nicola has achieved. “She has
overcome such horrible and impossible
hurdles and she is now happy and
working hard. She’s an inspiration.”
Nicola says her daughters – now
19, 17 and 14 – have grown up to
be resilient young women, focused
on succeeding in work and used
to managing on very little money.
“My oldest, Kimberly, starts uni in July –
she wants to be a psychologist working
in prisons,” Nicola says proudly.
When she graduated, Nicola’s
daughters gave her a bouquet of
flowers. The card read: “We’re proud
of you, Mum.”
When asked what she enjoys the
most about her work, Nicola says
that she just loves caring for people.
“I was meant to care for elderly people.
I left school in the fifth form but even
while at school, nursing was always in
the back of my head.”
This year, Nicola will be doing
post-graduate studies through
Auckland University. “It’s paid for by
the Taranaki District Health Board
and I will be spending time at the
hospital learning and doing essays
and presentations. The more I learn,
the more I can provide.”
RISE: Issue 27 – June 201428
“I had to think very hard about taking the baby as well, but I have no regrets. I love him more and more each day.”
Spotlight on Taranaki, King Country and Whanganui
Raising grandkids
Martha George raised two daughters and didn’t know a lot about boys until seven years ago when her eldest grandson (now 12) came into her care.
Four years later, Martha’s daughter
gave birth to another baby boy. With his
mother unable to care for the children
at all, after much soul-searching, Martha
agreed to be the baby’s full-time carer too.
“It would have broken my heart if the
children were fostered out,” says Martha.
“I had to think very hard about taking
the baby as well, but I have no regrets.
I love him more and more each day.”
It’s a time of life when Martha
would have expected to be leading a
more relaxed lifestyle, but her days are
action-packed caring for a toddler and
a boy about to enter his teenage years.
On Sundays it’s baking, ensuring school
uniforms are ready, sports gear is in
order and then there’s all the pick-up’s
and drop-off’s in the week, along with
washing and cooking.
Martha receives NZ Superannuation
and Unsupported Child Benefits for the
children. She’s organised and budgets
to the last cent, but things are tight.
Last summer, her grandson helped out by
shopping around for the cheapest school
stationery to free up more of the budget
for the iPad he desperately wants.
This year, new funding has been
introduced for carers in Martha’s
situation as part of the Children’s Action
Plan. It helps with start of school year
costs. “It took a lot of stress away.
I usually have to lay-by so it was a good
start to the year,” says Martha.
There’s also a new Extraordinary Care
Fund for children who show promise or face
difficulties that affect their development.
Martha is quick to acknowledge other
help she has received. Her grandson’s
school makes sure he can take part
in activities such as camps and trips.
He shows talent in both sport and music
and the school has supported that.
Martha also praises the New Plymouth
Big Brothers Big Sisters programme
mentors who helped her access services
and support. She says they’ve also
helped her oldest boy to understand
his mother’s situation, grow as a person
and have experiences he otherwise
might not have.
Friends are also important, including
one who has four grandchildren in
her care. When Martha gets stressed
out, she reaches out to her friend.
“Talking things over helps,” she says.
“Other peoples’ problems make you
realise yours are not as big.”
Martha hopes that one day her
daughter will be well enough to lead
a positive life and have a fuller
relationship with her sons. Meanwhile,
she says she’ll continue to encourage her
grandsons to reach their potential and
provide for them.
“Where there’s a way, I will try.”
WEB LINK
New help for people caring for someone else’s child
People can face extra financial pressure when caring for someone else’s child. A School Year Start-up Payment, an Establishment Grant and a special fund have been introduced to help with this, as part of the Children’s Action Plan.
www.workandincome.govt.nz/carers
RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014 29
round-upRegional
Southern Foster care campaign: The Warehouse and local mayors are backing foster care recruitment in
Oamaru and Balclutha to raise awareness about foster care, with events, competitions and prizes.
Careers in agriculture: Work and Income and Venture Southland have developed a regional strategy
as part of the Southland Futures: Primary Industry Careers for Young People project. The project aims to
meet industry demand, reduce the reliance on overseas workers and overcome young people’s barriers
to entering primary industry employment.
Assistant herd managers: Work and Income is working with a dairy and wool industry training provider
to upskill jobseekers that have experience in the beef and dairy industry. This initiative will be trialled in the
Southern region, particularly Southland and South Canterbury, and if successful will be rolled out to other regions.
Canterbury Children’s forums: Child, Youth and Family hosted a series of forums for children and young people to
talk about being in care, their social workers, their needs and hopes for the future.
Children’s Day event: This year’s celebrations saw social workers and other MSD staff talking to families
about everything from foster care to Work and Income services. Everyone enjoyed the free, fun activities
such as bouncy castles, rides and a Teddy Bear's Picnic.
Linwood Youth Festival Experience: Work and Income staff attended the LYFE community event
celebrating youth pride, diversity and achievement. Young people from across Christchurch learned about
Basebook where people can match to jobs on Facebook, and Youthshop, an initiative run from Christchurch’s
Youth Hub to help young people into training, study or employment.
Nelson, Marlborough and West Coast Pruning season: The recruitment drive is in full gear for the busiest time of year for Marlborough
winegrowers. Work and Income is holding a series of seminars for jobseekers where they can find out
about the work, pay and the skills an employer looks for. Contractors join the seminars to give jobseekers
a real world view of the jobs. Employers wanting to link with Work and Income work brokers to find
suitable people should call 0800 778 008.
Foster Care Awareness week: Child, Youth and Family Blenheim together with partners Fostering
Kids, Open Home Foundation and Care Solutions hosted a pool party for children and young people in
care. They also recognised the amazing work that caregivers do every day by treating them to a coffee and
cake evening.
RISE: Issue 27 – June 201430
Central Wairarapa Youth Action Plan: The Wairarapa Youth Action Plan aims to reduce youth crime,
truancy and risky behaviour among young people. It was launched at Masterton Intermediate School
in April 2014. The Youth Action Plan is part of a trial led by the Ministry of Social Development and
is already in other areas around the country, some of which have seen youth crime drop by more
than 40 per cent.
Kapiti Expressway: The road construction industry promises huge potential for jobseekers in the
Kapiti area, with the building of the Kapiti Expressway. The $630 million project consists of a four lane
expressway, 18 bridges, 45 hectares of landscaping and wetlands, and is estimated to take four years
and 500 staff to complete.
Wellington Everyday Theatre: South Wellington Intermediate School recently hosted the Everyday Theatre
programme, an interactive theatre workshop funded by Child, Youth and Family. Aimed at young
people, it addresses issues of abuse, neglect and family violence, promoting positive family wellbeing.
Employment growth sectors: The regional labour market team is working on a project to better
understand the employment growth sectors in the region. The manufacturing sector in particular
has undergone real change recently. Work brokers talked to many industrial employers in the Hutt
Valley. The results will help Work and Income provide employers with a range of recruitment options
and opportunities to address any skill or labour shortages. The project is supported by the Lower Hutt
Chamber of Commerce.
Taranaki, King Country and WhanganuiMountain opportunities: A partnership between Work and Income and Ruapehu Alpine Lifts will see
20 jobseekers complete a six-month cadetship and a National Certificate Sports and Recreation Level
2. The programme is designed to increase people’s knowledge while they gain experience working
in a recreation or sport-based organisation. It is expected that approximately eight clients will then
be chosen for apprenticeships for on-going permanent employment.
Restorative City: The Whanganui Restorative City conference was held at the end of March 2014.
A wide range of agencies and individuals in the city are committed to doing better for young people
by spreading the principles of restorative justice across wider areas such as schools and the community,
with organisations working together. International speakers shared experiences from Canada and the UK.
East CoastCareers expo: In May Work and Income, StudyLink and Child, Youth and Family took part in the
Hawke’s Bay Today Careers expo offering insights into careers including case manager and social
work positions. Information was also provided on student loans and allowances.
Positive ageing: Hawke’s Bay Senior Services were at the Positive Ageing expo in May 2014 talking
to people about NZ Super, SuperGold Card and the extra help available through the Disability
Allowance and Accommodation Supplement.
Community hub: Child, Youth and Family have been given the green light for a former Wairoa foster
home to be developed as a community hub where non-government organisations, agencies and social
service professionals in Wairoa can work with people from one comfortable, convenient place.
RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014 31
Bay of Plenty Youth in Emergency Services: YES programmes were run in Mangakino, Turangi and Rotorua by
the Ministry of Youth Development and Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management to
engage young people in their communities. Groups of young people took part in weekly sessions, as
well as a weekend camp where they put their learning into practice through emergency scenarios.
Lest we forget: Te Maioha o Parekarangi Youth Justice Residence held its annual ANZAC Day
dawn service on 24 April 2014. The service was scheduled for the day before ANZAC Day to allow
special guests – veterans of the armed forces – to also take part. It was the first time many of the
young people at the residence had ever attended a dawn service.
Waikato Wellbeing Waikato: Work and Income and Senior Services staff answered questions about study,
work, housing and child welfare at the Wellbeing Show in Hamilton in April 2014.
Fieldays: Work and Income work brokers will be out in force talking to employers about recruitment
at the National Fieldays in Mystery Creek in June 2014.
Scaffolding skills shortage: Work and Income recently ran a successful five-week pilot Skills for Industry
programme for the scaffolding industry. This programme will now be offered on an ongoing basis.
Working with community partners: In May Child, Youth and Family’s Hauraki site held its 10th
Partnered Response hui. The hui was an opportunity for providers, agencies and organisations to learn
more about each other’s services and review community relationships.
Auckland Teen parent hui: The annual teen parent hui was held over two days at the Waipuna Lodge in Auckland.
Teen parent service providers from around the country joined with Ministry staff in a programme that
included an address by Social Development Minister Paula Bennett, pecha kucha presentations and
workshops to help social service providers work together to measure and improve the results they are
achieving for young parents and their kids.
Seeking more foster carers: Auckland Child, Youth and Family are looking to recruit more foster
carers. Foster carers come from all walks of life. If you are interested in learning more, please call
0508 FAMILY (0508 326 459) or visit our website www.cyf.govt.nz
Northland New care strategy: Child, Youth and Family is developing a new care strategy for children and
young people in Te Tai Tokerau. The team is looking at innovative ways of recruiting, training and
supporting caregivers. Care services in the region will also be enhanced by the opening of a new
Teaching Family Home for boys aged 13 to 17, scheduled for later this year.
Reducing youth offending: Te Tai Tokerau’s Youth Justice team is working closely with agencies
in the mid North as part of the Kaikohe Social Sector Trials. Child, Youth and Family is leading
the strategy to reduce youth offending as part of the Youth Action Plan which contains a range of
initiatives aimed at young people and their families.
RISE: Issue 27 – June 201432
Tips, links and newsRealMe® – making life easier for people
RealMe® lets you access more than 50
online services with a single username and
password. It is designed to protect your
privacy and security, while saving you from
using a lot of different logins for different
services. Setting up a RealMe login can all be
done online and takes only a few minutes.
Just click on the Get Started Now button at
www.realme.govt.nz
Plus, an upgrade to a verified RealMe
account takes you a step further. A verified
RealMe account can be used to securely
prove your identity online – it’s a protected
online ID, that you can use over and over.
All you have to do is apply online, get your
photo taken at a participating PostShop,
follow the online instructions and five days
later you're ready to go. You’ll have your
own secure government-backed online ID to
use as an official proof of identity.
The RealMe service is officially backed
by the government and was created by
the Department of Internal Affairs and
New Zealand Post.
The Ministry of Social Development and its
service lines use the RealMe login for many of
their online services. (For these services, your
RealMe login does not need to be upgraded
to a verified RealMe account.)
WEB LINK
Set up your RealMe login or verified RealMe account at
www.realme.govt.nz
Subscribe to RiseSubscribe to the printed magazine or Rise online (along with other Ministry publications and newsletters) via www.msd.govt.nz/subscriptions
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Rise onlinewww.msd.govt.nz/rise
Download past issues of Rise from the Ministry of Social Development website.
Rise for the iPadRise is available as a digital iBook on your Apple iPad. As well as flicking through the magazine on-screen, you can access extra video and photo galleries, and interactive web links. Plus it will update itself whenever a new issue is available.
Find it on the Apple iTunes App Store by searching for Rise magazine.
Contact Rise Do you have suggestions, feedback or story ideas for Rise?
Please email us at [email protected] OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
I S S U E 2 2 – M A R CH 2013
Courage to innovate – Levin tests new ways to support young people
Tackling family violence – Jude Simpson’s mission
Speaking out – a voice for disabled children
Life-changing choices – teenagers working to succeed
Courage
“What is the most important thing in the world? I tell you. It is people, it is people, it is people!”
“He aha te mea nui o te ao? Mäku e kı̈ atu. He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!”
Ministry of social DevelopMent
I s s u e 2 3 – J u ly 2013
A different future – backing people to succeed in work
Tanya Black – challenging expectations
Lifehack – creative answers for youth mental health
Tai Tokerau – doing better for Northland’s at-risk kids
Think differently
“What is the most important thing in the world? I tell you. It is people, it is people, it is people!”
“He aha te mea nui o te ao? Mäku e kı̈ atu. He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!”
MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
I S S U E 25 – D ECEM B ER 2013
It’s Not OK – tackling family violence in the heartland
Home for life – the foster family with a dream home
Onjeurlina Leiataua – our youngest Black Fern
Achievement
“What is the most important thing in the world? I tell you. It is people, it is people, it is people!”
“He aha te mea nui o te ao? Mäku e kı̈ atu. He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!”
From lost to leaders – former refugees make their mark
MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
I S S U E 24 – S EP T EM B ER 2013
Between us all – Te Ku- iti unites for young people
Aotearoa Reggae Allstars – singing against child abuse
Never give up – soccer’s Ben Sigmund and Limited Service Volunteers
Whakakotahi
“What is the most important thing in the world? I tell you. It is people, it is people, it is people!”
“He aha te mea nui o te ao? Mäku e kı̈ atu. He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!”
Rise in print, online or iPad – it’s your choice
RISE: Issue 27 – June 2014 33
If you’re a client of Work and Income, get a My Account and go online to:
Be online at Work and Incomewww.workandincome.govt.nz
Work and Income uses RealMe as a secure way of accessing our online services. Find out more about RealMe on the inside back cover.
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