With another general election on the horizon, it’s a good time to let politicians know what the sector wants and needs. We asked peak bodies (and a commentator) from across the social sector the following question: What are the most important things that politicians can do over the next three years to help the communities, whānau and tamariki that use the services of your members?
Here are the answers we received.
Belinda Himiona (Ngāti Apa, Ngāti Hauiti), Kaiwhakahaere Matua/CE, Te Pai Ora SSPA
Te Pai Ora SSPA is asking our political leaders to transform social services for whānau and tamariki by devolving resourcing and decision-making into the hands of the community-based social sector, including iwi and Māori providers.
We want the voices of whānau, rangatahi and tamariki to be at the centre of care and protection policies, for example through the full implementation of recommendations from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.
We want our sector to be sustainably funded to respond to the real needs in communities.
Finally, we are calling for our social sector workforce to be valued and recognised for the amazing work they do, and for our workforce to be future-proofed so we can best support children and whānau.
Nathan Chong-Nee (Te Rarawa), Pou Whakahaere, Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers
Over the next three years, politicians can make a big difference for whānau, rangatahi and tamariki by building a system that shows up early, consistently, and with mana. That starts with backing the care and support workforce, including social workers, as essential national infrastructure: fund safe staffing and realistic caseloads, protect pay equity, and invest in supervision, training and retention initiatives.
Just as vital is how we approach policy and decisions. Choose partnership over 'tough-on' approaches, grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and build solutions with Māori, the profession and communities, so decisions are practice‑informed, evidence‑based, and focused on prevention and early support. Keep the door open to responsive, well-resourced crisis support, because we know things are tough right now, and move away from policies that punish people for hardship. Do those things, and my hope is that we’ll move from constant reaction to real stability for whānau, and for the workforce walking alongside them.
Tracey Martin, Chief Executive, Aged Care Association New Zealand
Every New Zealander deserves the right to be cared for in their later years in the community they have lived in and loved, surrounded by their whānau. Right now, too many older people are being moved away from their communities, and in some cases separated from spouses and family, because appropriate care is not available locally. This is the result of successive governments failing to plan for the known growth in older New Zealanders who will require aged care.
Our politicians must recognise and fund aged care as health care through a model that meets the full cost of care; invest in local aged care capacity so people can remain in their communities; and deliberately build a workforce that is sufficient to meet demand and paid at a level that reflects its importance. Alongside this, access to day programmes and regular respite care must be funded so whānau can remain in the workforce while continuing to care for their loved ones, and so carers are not pushed to breaking point.
The way we pay the people who care for our elders is a direct measure of how we value them as a society.
Awatea Mita (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Porou), Director of the National Youth and Justice Coalition
The most important thing politicians can do over the next three years is fundamentally shift our approach to justice, away from punishment and toward dignity, care, and community wellbeing. Our Coalition advocates for a life-course approach: embedding dignity early and restoring it later.
For rangatahi and tamariki, this means implementing age-appropriate justice. The law must reflect what we know about young people: their capacity to change and their need for care, not cages. Politicians must raise the age of criminal responsibility, end the use of Police cells to detain children, and invest in early, developmentally informed, and whānau-led supports to prevent harm from compounding.
For whānau and communities, this means restoring dignity across the adult system. This requires reforming unjust bail laws, opposing resource-draining prison expansion (e.g., at Auckland Prison), and redirecting public investment into iwi-led and community-based alternatives that truly strengthen wellbeing and reduce long-term harm. This is how we achieve a system that heals, not harms.
Alicia Sudden, Kaiwhakahaere Matua, New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services
NZCCSS is calling on political leaders to show justice and compassion to all, committing to policies that will lead to real change that frees New Zealanders from poverty. The most recent data shows that almost half a million New Zealanders are living without the basics. Our member organisations work with people across the lifespan and see the daily impacts of poverty on people of all ages.
We are asking for all political parties to make a long-term commitment with the introduction of a Poverty Reduction Act. This would introduce a law to measure poverty rates and set targets to improve incomes and reduce hardship for all New Zealanders, while keeping the ability to measure and set targets for child poverty.
In addition, NZCCSS’ proposed Free From Poverty policies focus on income sufficiency, greater recognition of disability within welfare systems, reducing financial barriers to work, improving the Working for Families scheme, addressing rising food costs and improving housing access and affordability.
Kaye-Maree Dunn, (Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Mahanga, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Ngāi Te Rangikoianaake) director of Making Everything Achievable
From Taitokerau to Kahungunu, the communities I walk alongside are not waiting for politicians to figure out what they need. They already know! What they need is for that knowledge to be resourced and respected.
The social services sector tends to pick up the carnage when the government slashes and burns services. If we underinvest in community the entire country suffers. Equitable access to education, research and innovation is not a luxury; it is critical infrastructure. The dignity and safety of women and girls is also non-negotiable, and any political agenda that does not centre this is incomplete.
Over the next three years, politicians can make the greatest difference by investing in community-led capability, trusting whānau, hapū and iwi to govern with confidence, and ensuring Māori communities are not perpetually consulted but consistently resourced. The tools exist. The leadership exists. Fund us, protect us, get behind us.
Memo Musa, Chief Executive, Atamira Platform
Platform is calling on political leaders to back NGOs and the community sector who are the tāhuhu of Aotearoa’s mental health and addiction system by strengthening and resourcing community-based supports and care they deliver in communities. These providers reach people early, keep them well at home, and prevent distress becoming crisis through integrated, tangata whai ora, whānau‑centred support alongside primary care and specialist services.
Protect NGO providers because the services they deliver are long‑term, holistic, culturally grounded, and stay with people through relapse and fund them the true cost of doing this work well.
Invest in NGO providers where returns are proven in community‑based, peer‑led and kaupapa Māori services that reduce pressure on hospitals, EDs and Police, and deliver outcomes that matter.
Act now for these providers by addressing funding inequity, pay parity, and contract instability. Act with us, not to us, to strengthen the system before it reaches a tipping point.
Tangata Whenua Social Workers Association
MOEMOEA: To preserve and sustain the Rangatiratanga and Mana Motuhake of tangata whenua as the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand
KAUPAPA: To recognize the imperative nature of uritanga to whakamana toa kiritanga identity in whakapapa, connections of pū rākau and aligned practices for tangata whenua as the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand, which are central to Rangatiratanga and Mana Motuhake.
ARA TAUMATA: To authentically embed, implement and steadfastly uphold uritanga and toa kiritanga in legislation, the policies of government, educational institutions and social services and community agencies to enhance the legitimacy, Rangatiratanga and Mana Motuhake of tangata whenua as the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand.
TIKANGA: To ensure the procedures and practices of government, educational institutions and social services and community agencies are commensurate with curricula criteria and service delivery that demonstrate and maintain the importance of uritanga and toa kiritanga for tangata.
