Media release from concerned citizens

The 20/20 Trust has operated the national Computers in Homes programme since 2001, helping more than 19,000 families build digital skills and confidence, connect to the internet and participate more fully in the digital world.

The government has slashed $3 million from the Computers in Homes funding. This means the 20/20 Trust will fail in July 2017 and will close down. Their caring, experienced staff will lose their jobs. And thousands of disadvantaged people will be pushed further from the rest of society.

Remember who the 20/20 Trust helps with their Computers in Homes programme.

· 81% = women

· 52% = Māori

· 18% = get a new job.

· 41% = have no other formal educational qualification apart from their Computers in Homes certificate

Do you know a better programme of social investment in the country?

Take another look at those stats. Who is going to be badly affected? Killing the 20/20 Trust means a lot of Māori women will not get jobs and will struggle to support their families and their children will suffer educationally. The kids will find it harder to get jobs. They will commit petty crimes, get involved in drugs and go to prison.

This is a national problem for New Zealand

The 20/20 Trust works with established organisations such as local authorities, libraries, schools, REAPs and other ACE providers, health providers, iwi groups and local community trusts between Kaitaia and Invercargill. Staff at those organisations will now also lose their jobs and an efficient network that has existed for more than 20 years will disappear.

The data in the Digital Technologies in Schools research suggests that there are still 40,000 families with school-age children that do not have access to the Internet at home, including 120,000 children in year four and above. This drives a huge wedge into New Zealand society, the effect of which will impact upon education, employability and social deprivation for generations.

The government knows this is important. New research evidence supporting the importance of government investment in digital inclusion has come out in the last few months, but they don’t care.

Over the last 2 months this research has included:

Building a Digital Nation launched by Hon Simon Bridges March 2017

Digital New Zealanders: research commissioned by MBIE and DIA, April 2017

Internet NZ and 20/20 Trust beta version of Digital Divide Map, April 2017

Computers in Homes Half-Year Report, April 2017

Digital Inclusion in New Zealand: Assessing Government policy approaches and initiatives, Google Fellowship report, Innovation Partnership April 2017

Digital Technologies in New Zealand Schools, Research NZ and 20/20 Trust May 2017

The most depressing thing the Ministry of Education did was pay for research which they ignored. The internationally trusted research firm Martin Jenkins concluded

“there is a case for scaling up Crown funding, to enable the 20/20 Trust to treble the number of people it supports with Computer in Homes.”

That advice was ignored by an arrogant government, they did not treble funding - they cancelled it. It means thousands of school kids from socio-economic backgrounds will not be able to support their education at home with a computer and an internet connection.

This drives a huge wedge into New Zealand society, the effect of which will impact upon education, employability and social deprivation for generations.

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