recession-resource-pack.

This is a reasonably large file, please let me know if it doesn’t download.

Double bunking, prisoners being locked in their cells for 16 hours a day, the revocation of work programmes, and proposals to build inferior accommodation, have all occurred in the absence of any national standards which safeguard prisoner’s rights, and preserve safe working conditions for staff. There is no national minimum standard against which the humane management of prisoners can be measured.

Experienced prison managers and staff are becoming increasingly concerned at the absence of a set of ethical standards which guide and support good prison management. The best prisons in the world are run within an ethical context which respects the humanity of everyone involved in a prison: prisoners, prison staff and visitors. This approach does not represent a liberal or soft approach to prison management. What it does do is provide a safe and effective set of principles for managing prisons.

Prison officers can’t be expected to understand and interpret international covenants. What is needed is a national set of standards which guides daily management practise, and sets minimum standards around living conditions, the humane treatment of prisoners and staff, and guides those who work in prisons and who deal with prisoners on a day to day basis.

The most fundamental values in a democratic society are those which respect for the inherent dignity of all human beings, whatever their personal or social status. One of the greatest tests of this respect for humanity lies in the way in which a society treats those who have broken the criminal law.

Nelson Mandela put it this way, “No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside the jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones”.

In a message for World Environment Day, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has stressed that “the care for and protection of Creation constitutes the responsibility of everyone on an individual and collective level.”

The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is widely recognized as spiritual leader of the world’s 300 million Orthodox.

In a similar message, Archbishop Hieronymos II, who leads the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece, said: “It is God’s real blessing that people today, though they live in an era of secularization and materialism, have become aware that our Planet is our ‘Oikos’, that is our ‘Home’, which we have to protect and preserve, each and all of us with all our existing forces”.

As “the natural environment is part of Creation and is characterized by sacredness,” Patriarch Bartholomew said, “its abuse and destruction is a sacrilegious and sinful act, revealing prideful despise toward the work of God the Creator.”

The patriarch pointed especially to the treat posed by climate change: “The ecological crisis, and particularly the reality of climate change, constitutes the greatest threat for every form of life in our world.”

World Environment Day, commemorated each year on 5 June, is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.

Patriarch Bartholomew’s staunch support for international environmental causes has been an inspiration for churches at large and the WCC, which has been working to raise awareness on climate change for more than 20 years.

Full text of Patriarch Bartholomew’s message here

Church leaders made the point to Mr Key and Mr English that Church networks and social service agencies are operating at the ‘sharp end’ of the recession, and from that perspective they can provide the government with helpful warning indicators of the severity of the recession’s impact on families they assist – many of whom are often already at the extreme edge of poverty and hardship.

Church leaders left the meeting confident that a purposeful dialogue has been entered into with the government. They were encouraged by the Prime Minister’s acknowledgement of the valued and trusted services already being provided, and by his invitation for Church networks and social services to be “part of the solution”.

Church leaders were also encouraged by signals from Mr Key and Mr English that the government is interested in receiving regular reports about the increasing demand being placed on their social service networks. As a result of the meeting a “feedback loop” is being established through the Prime Minister’s office so that updates can be provided to him on the changing situation as experienced at the level of Church parishes and Christian social services.

During the hour-long meeting Church leaders, supported by the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS), took the opportunity to canvass issues contained in a brief discussion paper on possible responses to the recession titled “Together We Can”. This paper had been developed by Church leaders and NZCCSS in Wellington on 27 February – the same day as the Prime Minister’s Job Summit (see www.justiceandcompassion.org.nz)

A particular issue in the “Together We Can” paper is the evidence that trends in child poverty worsen when unemployment worsens. This has again raised the long-term need for the government to commit to well-chosen measures that can do more to counter the damaging consequences of child poverty.

For their part Church leaders spoke to the Prime Minister about their commitment to rallying and maximising the “good work” already done at parish level and by Christian social services. More and more examples of a strong community spirit are coming to light, and are being highlighted by Church and Christian media.

Actions taken since the 27 February meeting of Church leaders with NZCCSS have included a meeting with Māori advisors at Poupatate Marae north of Feilding to workshop responses particular to Māori; a gathering of social policy researchers from agencies such as NZCCSS, Caritas and The Family Centre to develop closer monitoring and reporting on the impacts of the recession; commencement of a survey of the scale of NZCCSS member services; and a project to more widely publicise activity and initiatives being taken to strengthen community spirit and practical responses to hard times.

Church leaders present at the meeting were: Archbishop David Moxon, Anglican Church; Rodney McCann, Baptist Church; Archbishop John Dew, Catholic Church; Jill van de Geer, Methodist Church; Dr Graham Redding, Presbyterian Church; Ken Harrison, Assemblies of God; Donald Bell, Salvation Army.

Contact for further information:

Stephen Olsen, Media Advisor (027) 216 9999

This is, in a nutshell, the proposal made by the World Council of Churches general secretary Samuel Kobia in a 27 March letter to UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown ahead of the G20 summit which takes place on 2 April in London. Brown holds the rotating presidency of the G20, an informal grouping of nations that includes the group of eight the most developed countries (the “G8”) and a number of emerging economic powers.

In his letter, Kobia makes the case for “radical changes” in view of a “drastic transformation” of global finances, aware of the fact that this goal would take “brave and new measures”. Welcoming the idea of a “global charter for sustainable economic activity” proposed by Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and Holland’s Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, Kobia suggests 12 concrete proposals for the debate.

According to Kobia, values such as “honesty, social justice and dignity for all” need to be at the centre of a new financial architecture; in addition, mechanisms able to curb “greed [as] the basis for economic growth” are needed. Only in this way will the “moral and ethical dimensions” of the crisis be taken into account.

Setting the financial crisis in a broader context, the WCC general secretary states that “churches believe that fighting global poverty, the food crisis and climate change should be given the same attention” as salvaging institutions from the financial meltdown.

Full text of the WCC general secretary’s letter to the G20
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=6722

WCC work on economic globalization
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3117

G20 London summit official website
http://www.londonsummit.gov.uk/en

The Community Action Fund supports family violence prevention projects in New Zealand communities to change attitudes and behaviours that ignore, excuse, minimise or trivialise the effects of family violence.

The purpose of the Community Action Fund is to:
·         ensure the objectives and messages of the national campaign are echoed, made relevant and acted on in local communities
·         build community ownership and commitment to the prevention of family violence and support local change
·         encourage community organisations to work collaboratively to prevent family violence.

Key messages are:
·         family violence is preventable - attitudes and behaviours can change
·         preventing family violence is a public issue - it’s everyone’s business
·         community action changes the way we think about family violence.

Who can apply?
The Fund is open to local not-for-profit community organisations, hapu and iwi Maori organisations and networks working collaboratively in their communities. Projects need to have a well thought-out plan to effect change in the community. The maximum grant is $30,000.

Information and application forms are attached or please go to http://www.familyservices.govt.nz/our-work/preventing-violence/community-action.html
If you have any queries about your application please call Sally Rye-Dunn (04) 978 4190 or Cristy Trewartha (04) 916 3922.

Read the story from Scoop here.

In his address to a gathering of walkers at Frank Kitts Park in Wellington, the Transport Minister did not say that he had just halved the funding for walking and cycling facilities in the Land Transport Programme and put the money into new state highways.

To illustrate the crippling effect of the budget cuts to walking and cycling infrastructure, a group of young walkers and cyclists tied their feet together and hobbled to meet the Minister.

Green Party Co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons personally challenged the Minister, saying his action was the “ultimate in hypocrisy.” The Minister replied that the cuts were about “restoring balance.”

“The Minister, and the media, have got everyone debating whether the petrol tax should be paid regionally or nationally, when the real issue is the sleight of hand that rips $420 million out of other transport needs in order to build more roads,” Ms Fitzsimons said.

“Public transport, rail freight, coastal shipping, road safety policing, and road maintenance will all suffer cuts so that new roads can be built to encourage more cars, more fuel use, more carbon emissions, more crashes, and a bigger balance of payments deficit.”

New road construction is highly capital intensive, creating few additional jobs at a time when New Zealand needs them most, Ms Fitzsimons added. A United Nations study shows that, by comparison, investments in other forms of transport offer significant direct employment gains and major secondary employment effects.

“The Minister of Transport might at least have had the grace to stay away from an event celebrating walking to work after slashing their funding.”

The above was part of a press release from the Greens office