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 231 - 240 of 270 events.
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Māori-led approaches to family violence
In April 2008, at a national summit hosted by Tainui and opened by King Tuheitia and held at Hopuhopu marae, Māori leaders in attendance proposed new strengths-based and Māori-led approaches to Māori family violence, resulting in the E Tu Whānau initiative…
Date: 2008 Period: 1990-current -
‘Future Focus’ welfare reforms
The fifth National Government-led coalition embarked on an ambitious programme of welfare reform – the largest such programme since major cuts to welfare benefit rates in the early 1990s. The first phase was the Future Focus initiative. From late September…
Date: 2010 Period: 1990-current -
Tamariki in state care
The number of Māori children in care rose from 54.7% in June 2013 to 61.2% of children in care in 2017. The Pākehā proportion of children in care over the same period reduced from 33.2% to 26%.[i] Between 2015 and 2018, the total number of newborn babies (…
Date: 2010 Period: 1990-current -
Taskforce on Whānau-centred Initiatives
MSD provided administrative support to the Whānau Ora taskforce set up in 2009 to address concerns about health and social service providers being too slow and focused on individuals rather than whānau wellbeing and capabilities. The Taskforce reported to …
Date: 2010 Period: 1990-current -
Welfare Working Group (WWG) established
Introduced by the National Government, the WWG, in its final report, summarised its recommendations as: ‘a plan for a large scale and comprehensive reform of the welfare system to reduce long-term welfare dependency.’ Two key elements were the introduction…
Date: 2010 Period: 1990-current -
Whānau Ora policy
Whānau Ora – an interagency approach to providing services and opportunities to all New Zealand families in need –was also about the transformation of whānau (with whānau setting their own direction). It was driven by a focus on outcomes that whānau would …
Date: 2010 Period: 1990-current -
Christchurch earthquake
A major earthquake strikes Christchurch and surrounding areas. Ngāi Tahu becomes a statutory partner with Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA). Ngai Tahu and Ngā Mātā Waka from across the country established the Māori Recovery Network reaching o…
Date: 2011 Period: 1990-current -
Investment approach announced
In November 2011 the government announced that a long-term fiscal liability focus, or ‘investment approach’, would underpin its future welfare reform programme.[i]
Date: 2011 Period: 1990-current -
Ko Aotearoa Tēnei released
The Waitangi Tribunal released the Wai 262 report: Ko Aotearoa Tēnei. It recommended ‘wide-ranging reforms to laws and policies affecting Māori culture and identity and [called] for the Crown-Māori relationship to move beyond grievance to a new era based o…
Date: 2011 Period: 1990-current -
Te Hiku o Te Ika Iwi signed
The Crown Social Development and Wellbeing Accord entailed Te Hiku Iwi and the Crown working in partnership towards the cultural, social and economic prosperity of the communities, whānau, hapū and iwi of Te Hiku. The Ministry of Social Development was one…
Date: 2013 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.