Women's Affairs Minister Lianne Dalziel's speech to the National SuperGrans Conference AGM in Nelson

SuperGrans is a great example of a community initiative that works by matching peoples' needs with other peoples' skills and initiative.

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Thank you for the invitation to speak today.

SuperGrans is a great example of a community initiative that works by matching peoples' needs with other peoples' skills and initiative. It does this all at the local level, but using a model which can be applied anywhere there are people who are prepared to give their time and effort to make a difference to their community.

I have been asked to talk about what the government is doing to recognise the needs of community generally and the SAGES scheme in particular. I have also been asked to talk about the role of volunteers in the community and a wee bit about my role as Minister of Women's Affairs if I have time. I am going to make time, because it is an important role.

The Labour-led government has three themes in terms of our priorities: economic transformation, families - young and old and identity as a nation. You probably heard reports of the Prime Minister's opening address to Parliament this year where she contextualised these three themes within the overarching goal of sustainability - something we all recognise as an imperative facing not only NZ but the world as a whole.

Sustainability doesn't just apply to our economic transformation agenda - sustainability is something that is just as meaningful to our communities. And sustainability is not just something that relates to environmental issues; it matters that communities are able to sustain families. I have made the point ever since I first entered politics, that if we want strong families, we need strong communities to support them.

SuperGrans as an organisation is part of the fabric of the community that provides that support to families. When I was born my grandmother was able to come to stay even though it meant a trip from Dunedin to Christchurch, but that was because she was of a generation where there was no expectation that she would return to the paid workforce even after her children had left home. That was a bonus for Mum because it meant she had her mother to model good parenting and housekeeping skills right from the start.

Not everyone is so fortunate today and SuperGrans is meeting a real need by being able to match skilled volunteers with young families to ensure that they can cope - from budgeting, to cooking, to household duties, to knowing where to turn to when things are not going so well. They are not skills we are born with - we have to learn them. And if we haven't learned them as we have grown up, or if we have had a chaotic home-life ourselves, then the calm, sensible, non-judgmental advice of a SuperGran is what we need.

This leads me to
SAGES. I know most you will be familiar with the SAGES scheme, but even at the risk of repeating what you already know, I believe it is important to acknowledge that it grew out of the work done by SuperGrans. That to me is an example of what works best - a genuine collaboration between government and community.

In the 2004 Budget the Labour-led government announced funding to establish SAGES; the Older People As Mentors programme. We committed nearly $2 million over the first three years, and signalled the intention to continue with increased funding beyond that, pending a positive review to be completed by the middle of this year.

The need that SAGES recognises is that many individuals and families struggle to manage the day-to-day operation of their home and family lives, and would benefit from personal support and guidance on how to cope better. Through SAGES, and your help, these people are able to receive one-on-one life and home skills mentoring, in areas such as home management, cooking, budgeting and parenting. The focus is on helping them to help themselves by giving them the skills and confidence they need.

The opportunity that SAGES recognises is that there are many older people in the community with a wealth of experience and knowledge in these areas. Through SAGES, people like you can use and pass on these skills, to the great benefit of the wider community.

It's a programme that supports the government's aim that all families, young and old, enjoy more opportunity and security and share in the progress
New Zealand is making.

SAGES helps promote Goal 10 of the New Zealand Positive Ageing Strategy:

'by increasing opportunities for personal growth and community participation, through encouraging the utilisation of the experience and skills of older people'.

Which is just another way of saying that being involved helps older people stay young.

At the same time you make an important contribution to society by: helping to build community self-reliance and social cohesion; building trust and modelling a commitment to reciprocity and shared values.

There have been two funding rounds for SAGES so far, through which a total of 15 organisations from Dargaville to Dunedin have received funding for set-up costs, training, transport and administration.

As I mentioned, the SAGES programme is currently being evaluated by the Ministry of Social Development, and a report is expected to be provided to the Minister for Social Development and Employment, and the Minister of Finance, by 30 June this year. Future funding for the programme depends on the success of the evaluation.
I hope it is, because as I said before, I believe the strongest models for delivery involve a partnership between government and community and SAGES fits the bill.

You have asked me to comment on volunteers, which I am happy to do, because I am also a real advocate for providing real support for volunteers. The reason is that I believe there is something special about receiving help from people who are providing that help, not because they are being paid to do so, but because they are doing so out of their own sense of community, civic duty, love for humanity.whatever the motive.it is authentic and it makes it very meaningful. I read once a saying that said that volunteers were not paid for their work, not because it was worthless, but because it was priceless. This of course is no excuse for not valuing volunteers, by providing for their expenses and allowing them the ongoing professional development that their paid counterparts would receive.

I know that one of the problems faced by SuperGrans and other voluntary agencies, is that once these volunteers are trained to do what they do, they are offered jobs. The skill sets that SuperGrans have are readily translated to the private sector.

So it is important that volunteers are encouraged and supported. Increasingly that means looking after that growing group of older people who are fit, able and willing to share their skills and knowledge.

The proportion of community volunteers drawn from this group will continue to grow - partly because you make up a larger proportion of the population as a whole; partly because people are healthier and living longer, and want to lead meaningful 'third lives'; and partly because the people in their 30s, 40s and 50s, who in the past made up the bulk of volunteers, have so many competing pressures on their time that fewer and fewer have the time to be actively involved in community service.

Finally I want to address my role as Minister of Women's Affairs. I was very pleased to see that the Opposition has decided not to continue with its shortsighted policy to shutdown the Ministry of Women's Affairs. I am worried though that this is just a cynical ploy to get them through to the next election given the lack of understanding of the role of the Ministry.

Let me explain. Despite its title, it is not a Ministry that advocates for women. That's my job as Minister for Women's Affairs. The Ministry provides me the back-up for what I do and they work across government, because they have the ability to take a helicopter view. They provide gender analysis, which in a basic sense means a women's perspective on policies and practices and they provide sound policy advice, based on quality research, which means they have an evidential basis for that advice.

The provide oversight of the Action Plan for New Zealand Women, which focuses on economic independence, work-life balance, and health and well-being.

They also run a database of women from all around the country, so that we can ensure that women are at least considered when government is seeking to make appointments to boards and committees. The 41 per cent participation rate we have achieved in government appointments proves the women are there. The 7 per cent achieved in the top 100 listed companies in NZ suggests that these boards don't know where to look. This is not about tokenism; it is about making sure that women are on the radar, when appointments are being considered.

Finally, the Ministry plays a vital role in terms of our international obligations such as CEDAW - the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women - and the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

Even though we haven't achieved total equality, New Zealand is seen as a world leader and many other countries look to us to support their struggle for advancement.

When you think about it, because we led the world in terms of women's right to vote, it is part of our identity as a nation.

So I think the Ministry is important and my role as Minister of Women's Affairs is important too. I asked the Prime Minister for the Commerce & Small Business portfolios, but I was honoured to be given the Women's Affairs portfolio, not only because it has brought me into contact with women's groups, but it has also enabled me to work with other Ministers on policies that I have a passion for - because what happens to women matters. They are the mothers of the generation to come; they are so often the mainstay of their families and communities; and they are predominantly the volunteers all our communities rely upon.

And despite the statistics that tell us that nearly 95 per cent of people think that childcare and household duties should be equally shared when both parents work fulltime, surveys tell us that the practice does not achieve the ideal.

So women matter. And although I know that the occasional SuperGran has been a SuperGrandad, the reality is that your organisation is a women's organisation, and I am proud to represent you at the Cabinet table.

So thank you for your work. SuperGrans is a great initiative and I know it is helping families solve problems that they would really struggle to solve on their own. I wish you well for your Conference and I thank you for enabling families to become strong and more confident because you took the time to care.

Thank you.

ENDS

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