Our 2011 election manifesto - Labour Party

Labour‟s Social Inclusion approach will be a new way of working together with
communities in the areas where that way of working can make the most difference. It
is an approach we have seen working well elsewhere: but that we want to develop
here in our own, can-do Kiwi version.
Internationally there have been a number of areas where this approach has yielded real
benefits, both in terms of problems and opportunities. The problems have included:
Homelessness and rough sleeping
School retention and the transition to work
Young offenders, and mental health in the prison system
Disability
Domestic violence, and wider violence against women
Child abuse
The opportunities have been in areas such as supporting to older workers and workers with
disabilities volunteering or otherwise making a contribution.
Labour‟s Social Inclusion approach will be based in a shared community/government
commitment to shared high level goals, and on identifying and tackling difficult
problems and development opportunities, and learning how to work together to the
point where accountability for local outcomes can be genuinely shared.
Labour‟s Social Inclusion approach is not about more meetings or „consultation‟: it is an
invitation to a working partnership, not just a contracting relationship. It will involve enabling
the community to work with government on problem and opportunity identification. In other
words, taking time to identify where there is a need or a better way of working together.
Local information and long practical experience needs to be able to be brought to the table,
alongside the best international evidence, and enter into a wider and deeper policy dialogue.
The complexity of some tough issues will have to get framed and debated from the outset,
and obstacles to real working together discussed up front.
Labour will respect and seek to build existing community capacity to act as real partners for
government, not just sites for short term pilot projects or rapid rollout of programmes to
national scale. An important aim will be identifying and supporting community and local
government partners who can bring effective coordination, in-depth knowledge of local
situations, practical experience and active policy capability to the table.
On this basis, respectful and equal partnership between government and community
becomes a real possibility, not just a „cover‟ for a top down contracting relationship, or a
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