Chronology for 1938-1971
Assimilating into universal welfare
Labour’s policies were underpinned by a principle of universality and a vision of the nation as a classless community. Rich, middle-class and poor were linked by the same national system of state support and social services; superannuation, however small, was to be available to every aged person who was not already on another benefit and was an important symbol of citizenship. The ‘system as a whole was removed from ‘the taint of charity’ and became a source of national pride’.[i] go to footnote
This was a period of great demographic change for iwi Māori with the mass migration of its rural population to the cities of New Zealand. The need for workers in essential industries and the post-war labour boom provided rangatahi and whānau Māori with ample employment, 'incomes that were almost equal to those of Pākehā, and access to family welfare benefits that boosted the incomes of large families by around 50 percent.'[ii] go to footnote However, the financial rewards were offset by one or both parents working long hours to cover the costs of city living and it exposed Māori to discrimination. The Department of Māori Affairs played a welfare role in the lives of whānau Māori during this period, with a policy of integrating Māori into the social fabric of ‘mainstream’ New Zealand society. Through housing allocation policies attempts were made to pepper pot Māori in Pākehā suburban streets.[iii] go to footnote Young Māori women who moved to the cities for essential industry work or single rangatahi simply moving to the city for work opportunities were directed into hostels.
Before the 1950s, child welfare agencies endeavoured to keep Māori children with their families or in their own tribal area.[iv] go to footnote In the 1950s, Māori became a disproportionate minority in all areas of child welfare work with a steady growth in Māori juvenile delinquency with recorded Māori offending at three or four times the rate of Pākehā, particularly in the 15–20 age.[v] go to footnote
Chronology events
Displaying 211 - 220 of 270 events.
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Te Whānau o Waipareira report released
Report released by the Waitangi Tribunal. The Waipareira Trust claimed it had been discriminated against by the Community Funding Agency, a unit of the Department of Social Welfare, in funding and policy because it was not an iwi organisation. The Tribuna…
Date: 1998 Period: 1990-current -
Towards a Code of Social and Family Responsibility
The proposed code outlined National/New Zealand First conservative values perspectives. Intended to garner consensus on family responsibilities, although targeted at beneficiaries.[i] Ultimately abandoned.
Date: 1998 Period: 1990-current -
Work and Income NZ established
Income Support Service and Employment Services merged to become Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ).[i]
Date: 1998 Period: 1990-current -
Department of Child, Youth and Family Services established
Children, Young Persons and their Families Agency was established through the merger of the New Zealand Children and Young Persons Service and the New Zealand Community Funding Agency. Later in the year, it became the stand-alone Department of Child, Youth…
Date: 1999 Period: 1990-current -
Fifth Labour Government
The fifth Labour Government policy of Closing the Gaps/Reducing Inequalities.[i] had goals of decreasing poverty, improving social inclusion, planning and individual development rather than punitive approaches. Job Seeker agreements between case managers …
Date: 1999 Period: 1990-current -
Māori socio-economic update
MSD noted a progressively worse overrepresentation of Māori children and young people in the system. ‘In 2001, Māori made up 45 percent of the total client group. Fifty-five percent of children in care and 48 percent of those in youth justice were Māori.' …
Date: 2000 Period: 1990-current -
Lake Alice apology
Government apology and compensation to approximately 180 former patients of the Lake Alice Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (1972–1978) after a private inquiry into mistreatment in the Unit.[i]
Date: 2001 Period: 1990-current -
Ministry of Social Development established
Amalgamation of the Ministry of Social Policy and the Department of Work and Income.[i]
Date: 2001 Period: 1990-current -
Nga Pae o Te Maramatanga established
Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga (NPM) is New Zealand's Māori Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE) funded by the Tertiary Education Commission and hosted by The University of Auckland. The centre's research is driven by its vision of creating the foundations for f…
Date: 2002 Period: 1990-current -
Towards a Māori Statistics Framework released
Statistics NZ released the discussion document Towards a Māori Statistics Framework. Led by Māori Policy Manager and Statistician Whetumarama Wereta and informed by Statistics NZ’s Māori Reference Group, the paper called for Māori statistics in the offici…
Date: 2002 Period: 1990-current
Footnotes
- [i] go to main content Tim Garlick, Social Developments: An organizational history of the Ministry of Social Development and its predecessors, 1860-2011, Steele Roberts Aotearoa, Wellington, 2012, p.70.
- [ii] go to main content Melissa Matutina Williams, Panguru and the City, Bridget Williams Books, Wellington, 2010, p. 195.
- [iii] go to main content Urbanisation – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand
- [iv] go to main content Bronwyn Dalley, Family Matters, Wellington, 1998, p. 6.
- [v] go to main content Dalley, 1998, p. 192.