Our 2011 election manifesto - Labour Party

Labour will immediately restore $13 million cut from ACE funding to improve access
to adult and community education.
Labour will immediately restore $2 million to the Training Incentive Allowance and
commit to further increases over time so women on social welfare benefits can obtain
qualifications that give greater opportunity for themselves and their children.
Labour will remove barriers to women‟s participation in post-compulsory education
for women of all ages.
Labour will actively work towards eliminating barriers that prevent women from
entering male dominated apprenticeships and industries.
Eliminating violence against women
New Zealand has a serious and worrying problem with family violence and the
consequences of this violence are huge. There are costs to individuals, families and the
community. These include depression, the loss of confidence and other consequences that
remain long after the physical injuries have healed. Children are also hurt by this violence in
many ways, including fear and trauma from seeing their mother hurt.
Just to give a sense of scale – in 2008 the Police responded to 82,692 incidents involving
some form of domestic violence. We must do something real to change the violence that
pervades our culture. Labour recognises that the response to violence requires action in the
criminal justice system as well as in public health and education.
A comprehensive approach is required to deal with the consequences of violence against
women and to change the culture that leads to such violence. Labour believes this will
require a long term unified commitment by politicians, women‟s and community
organisations, government agencies and New Zealanders.
Labour will ensure that policies to deal with family and sexual violence recognise the
gender perspective.
Labour will ensure that all of our policies recognise the needs and issues of all
women; for example, the particular needs of disabled women and the particular
needs of ethnic/migrant women.
In the short term, Labour will:
Establish a Commission on Sexual and Family Violence which will draw on
the work of the Taskforce on Sexual Violence and the Taskforce on Family
Violence and will provide ongoing evidence based advice to Government.
This will include advice on building a consensus on a long term unified and
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