ELECTION 08

Links to the community sector, health and mental health policies of the Political Parties

Greens 
Community and Voluntary Sector Policy   
www.greens.org.nz/policy/summary/community in August.  The ideas follow through the Greens commitment to a strong sector with adequate funding and emphasis on reduced dependence on funding from gambling.

Health Policy
Summary of the principles and specific policy points http://www.greens.org.nz/policy/summary/health

Mental Health
Greens have a specific mental health policy

Note no other party has yet released policies in these areas

Lobbying for your Interests 

ComVoices (a collaborative community sector collation that promotes and provides media response to common sector issues ) has published a great beginners guide for community organisations to lobbying for this election

Wellington After Care Question Candidates Disability Policy
Minister Ruth Dyson; Labour, Paul Hutchison MP; National, Metiria Turei MP; Green, Colin Du Plessis; ACT, Judy Turner MP; United Future , Barbara Stewart MP; NZ First were invited to a sector wide form and answered questions  about rights, funding, monitoring and administrative costs for community organisations. Forum report 

National Party and Mission Australia

Paula Bennett National spokesperson on the community sector told the September Community Sector Round table meeting hosted by ANGOA that National have no intention to invite Mission Australia to New Zealand.
This followed weeks of emails, press releases and speculation circulating within the sector that should National be the next Government, Mission Australia (a large service provider) would become a some sort of super community agency to deliver community contracts
Paula Bennett said that this was political scaremongering and that we had come such a long way that they did not want to go back to the days of distrust between the community sector and the Government. The National party have yet to release policy about what they are planning but are still promoting the principles they described of full and multi year funding described in the earlier Turbo charging the community sector material. http://www.national.org.nz/Article.aspx?ArticleId=12095