IN THE NEWS

Happy families

New framework for hearsay

SCRATCHING THE SURFACE

The release this week of It's About Time, a Families Commission report advocating an increase in paid parental leave, has received understandable applause from families and politicians across the spectrum. However, a deeper consideration of the issues raised by the report can help us to see whether the challenge it is attempting to meet can be better met by the community itself.

The report sees women's attachment to the workplace as important and worth encouraging, claiming that women are unfairly disadvantaged by taking years out from the workforce and by the drop in family income. The report also rightly describes the financial pressure that families face with the prospect of dropping to one income, and how it is this pressure that is the primary driver in women returning to the workforce after paid parental leave has expired. At the same time there are significant benefits for children if a parent stays at home beyond a few months to care for them. This report attempts to balance both these contradictory impulses, by proposing an increase in parental leave entitlements, so that by the year 2015 families will be entitled to a total of 13 months paid leave. The total cost is estimated as $450.9 million.

While the report focuses on the 'burden of motherhood,' it does not look at the advantages women gain by investing in their children during those early years. Also, it is disingenuous to suggest that the financial cost inherent in parenthood is borne unequally by the mother. The reason this becomes an equity issue is, as the report points out, because relationships have become more transient. With family breakdown increasing, individuals within a family are now seen much more as separate and separable economic units rather than the family having a secure and permanent collective existence. Consequently, the earning potential of each partner becomes of central importance, and a central preoccupation of government.

Financial pressure is certainly tough on families, and although for some it is a matter of adjusting lifestyle expectations, for others it is hard even to make ends meet on one income. Again this reflects deeper issues, such as the normality of two-income (as opposed to one-income) families in our society. There is now social pressure on both parents to work, combined with economic growth policies based on the same expectation. The government provides incentives and subsidies to families to encourage them to work; the economy adjusts to take these into account, and in the end, those still on one income find it harder and harder to survive in a culture where both parents working is the norm.

Lengthening paid parental leave may simply entrench the cultural problems challenging one-income families further. Giving women a few more precious months at home only deals with a tiny corner of this issue. We need to look at how we can change our culture to provide more stability for all families, more connection between them, and more real choices, rather than just alleviating financial pressure for one year. Involving extended families in financial and emotional support could help make switching to one income a viable option for many families and strengthen intergenerational ties in the process.

Read It's About Time http://www.familiescommission.govt.nz/files/parental-leave.pdf

WHAT IT MEANS TO BELONG

Australia is becoming pickier in whom they will accept as a citizen. The Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Testing) Bill 2007, currently before the Senate, seeks to make completion of a citizenship test a prerequisite for applications. This week has seen the release of a draft booklet from which the questions would be drawn. It essentially summarises what it means to be an Australian citizen and in doing so starts to encapsulate what is culturally distinctive about Australia; its common history, common values, and a common ethic.

History plays an important role in defining the culture of a nation and this is well reflected in the booklet. The booklet extols the Aboriginal heritage of love and respect for the land. The pioneering challenge of carving a sustainable life out of an unforgiving country has grown into a sense of pride not just in being an 'Aussie battler,' but also in the shared values of 'mutual respect and compassion for those in need' or 'mateship.' Other concerns such as a love of freedom have grown out of the wide array of backgrounds from which Australians have come, whether it be as free settlers, convicts or refugees. The booklet also provides future citizens with an understanding of the privileges of being an Australian, including the equality provided under the rule of law and how the interests of justice are protected by government.

The proposed test seeks to ensure at least some understanding of the ideas put forward in the booklet by asking twenty questions drawn from a larger pool. They cover a range of topics, with a sample of the test including questions on freedom of religion and the national anthem. The pass mark for the test is set at 60 percent and there is no restriction on the number of attempts that can be made. The test is also seen as providing a demonstration of English language skills.

The introduction of a citizenship test draws attention to the fact that it actually means something to bear the label 'Australian'—there is a unifying thread which connects every citizen. With increasing immigration from regions where values can differ radically it is important to communicate what a country expects of its citizens, the foundations for the common ethic, and what it means to live together in a common society. Similarly, the introduction of such a test in New Zealand could help to conserve and protect our common values and our culture.

Read Becoming an Australian Citizen http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/media/resource-book/_pdf/resource_booklet.pdf

THE ECONOMY OF VOLUNTEERING

A new report released by Statistics New Zealand highlights the value of volunteers' contributions and the impact of the non-profit sector. The statistics released show that a great number of people put much time and effort into charitable organisations, having a substantial impact on the economy. Such donations of time and effort often go unnoticed, but are of critical importance in our society. Giving and generosity are the barometer of compassion, and the badge of a decent society.

Non-profit Institutions Satellite Account: 2004 sets out the sizeable contributions that are made by the non-profit sector to New Zealand's economy. The report finds that in 2004 'Over one million (1,011,600) volunteers gave more than 270 million hours of unpaid labour to non-profit institutions.' When including this labour, the contribution to the gross domestic product of New Zealand is 4.9 percent, or $6.95 billion. The report points out that this is of equivalent value to the 'entire construction industry.'

The largest contributing group was that of the 'social services' category, which alone added nearly a quarter of the total economic contribution through their services such as counselling and food banks. Other significant groups include those working in 'education and research,' and 'grant making, fundraising and voluntarism promotion.'

None of these services could be provided however without the input and sacrifice of the huge number of volunteers. Out of all the non-profit institutions in New Zealand, only ten percent have paid employees. The remaining effort is provided by volunteers, which is estimated to equal '31 percent of the New Zealand population aged 12 years and over.'

The report serves as a reminder of the huge contribution that volunteers and non-profit organisations make to our society. Individual contributions often go unseen and unrewarded, but the report shows exactly how much care, help and generosity they pump into our common life. People rolling up their sleeves to help their friends, neighbours and communities make an essential contribution to society and to the social fabric, fostering the compassionate country we all want to live in, and the support we could ill do without.

Read Non-profit Institutions Satellite Account: 2004 http://www.stats.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/B8AD0FEE-AEFD-4BD4-A11B-0CC9DC852776/0/nonprofitinstitutionssatelliteaccount2004hotp.pdf

IN THE NEWS

HAPPY FAMILIES

A survey in the United States has shown that above all else, what makes youth most happy is spending time with their family. The poll, conducted by MTV and The Associated Press, put questions about happiness to 1,280 participants aged between 13 and 24. 'Spending time with family' was the most common response, followed by 'spending time with friends' and then spending 'time with a significant other,' in answer to the question 'what makes you happy?' Interestingly, very few respondents regarded having money as a source of happiness. When asked about heroes, almost half of the participants named either their Mum or their Dad.

NEW FRAMEWORK FOR HEARSAY

Making broad changes to the law surrounding evidence, new provisions in the Evidence Act 2006 became operational this month. They include altering spousal privilege and introducing a revised framework for dealing with hearsay evidence. Hearsay evidence, which is basically a 'second-hand' statement, was not generally accepted as evidence in the past because of concerns about its reliability. However, the Evidence Act will generally allow hearsay evidence to be admitted if it is 'reliable' and the person who made the statement cannot attend the trial or it would be unreasonable to require them to attend. Some have expressed concerns that this compromises an important standard, and it remains to be seen how Courts will assess the reliability requirement.

Read the Evidence Act 2006 http://www.legislation.govt.nz/libraries/contents/om_isapi.dll?clientID=827727545&infobase=pal_statutes.nfo&record={29AF1}&hitsperheading=on&softpage=DOC

TALKING POINT

'Let no one be discouraged by the belief that there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world's ills—against misery and ignorance, injustice and violence .... Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.'

Robert Francis Kennedy

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Maxim Institute's regular email publication, Real Issues, provides thought-provoking analysis of developments in policy and culture in New Zealand and around the world. You can express you views on any of the articles featured in Real Issues by writing a letter to the editor. A selection of the best letters will be posted each week on Maxim Institute's website http://www.maxim.org.nz/

ENDS

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