Nick Barber
Spokesperson

The Christian Heritage Party agrees with Women’s Refuge Head Merepeka Raukawa-Tait and her call for the dismantling of the Children Youth and Family Service (CYFS). Helen Clark claims CYFS needs to be retained because it has statutory powers and that the department has been under-funded.

Ms Clark does not understand that the statutory powers are the very thing that has destroyed the department’s effectiveness. Families looking for help do not want to approach government employees who have power to break up their family. Neither do neighbours want responsibility for breaking up a family by seeking intervention for a family in stress.

We want CYFS workers to be re-deployed to approved charitable organisations and be funded by government in a similar arrangement to the one used for private schools. This will introduce a new culture where the workers will be working alongside voluntary colleagues and be clearly seen as serving people instead of some statutory rule book. It will also allow greater flexibility in choosing the type of help required.

Contact: Mr Nick Barber in Nelson, (03) 548 7558 or
Party Leader Graham Capill (021) 661 766

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