Rural Women NZ: World Rural Women's Day

Women's Affairs Minister Ruth Dyson
Address to Rural Women NZ: ‘World Rural Women Day’ Honda House, 32 Hawkestone St, Thorndon, Wellington
10am, Friday 15 October 2004

Rau rangatira maa,
tenei te mihi ki a koutou i runga i te kaupapa o te ra.
Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.

[Distinguished guests, greetings to you gathered here for this purpose today. Greetings once, twice, three times to you all.]

Good morning, and thank you for inviting me to celebrate World Rural Women’s Day with you this morning and, in particular, the place of women in rural New Zealand.

Acknowledgements:
·Sherrill Dackers, president of Rural Women New Zealand (who took over from Ellen Ramsay in May 2004).

We are not alone in celebrating today. Throughout New Zealand and around the world, rural women – who make up more than a quarter of the world’s population - are taking time to celebrate their achievements and their enormous contribution to rural communities.

Today’s timing is significant. When the idea for Rural Women’s Day was first launched at the United Nations women’s conference in Beijing in 1995, it was decided to link it to World Food Day - which is tomorrow - because rural women everywhere play such a key role in food production and food security.

More than that, women are the backbone of rural communities. Not only do you literally feed New Zealanders. You also feed the hearts and souls of the people in your communities, bringing up your families, supporting friends and neighbours, and doing extensive voluntary work.

This work is often taken for granted. Yet its value is immeasurable and its impact on society as a whole is profound.

Women’s contribution to a civil society
Last year, at your annual conference, I talked about the term ‘civil society’. It’s a simple term that encompasses the wealth of voluntary activity that occurs outside the business and government sectors.

Everyone in this room clearly realises the importance of participation and civil society – you wouldn't be here if you didn't.

The role of civil society was illustrated by Harvard Professor Robert Putnam in his study of regional governments in Italy. He tried to understand why some regions developed more successfully than others, and concluded:

"These communities did not become civil because they were rich. The historical record suggests precisely the opposite. They became rich because they were civic."

The essential ingredient in the successful regions was the high level of participation that people had in their community – they were active volunteers, they were active community participants, they built healthy, positive communities, and from this strong civic base they created wealth and excellence in their communities.

In other words, interaction enables people to build communities, to commit themselves to each other, and to knit the social fabric. Having a sense of belonging and the concrete experience of social networks (and the relationships of trust and tolerance that can be involved) can bring great benefits to people.

Putman says that most day-to-day issues in our communities – public health, crime rates, race relations, community development, teen suicide, economic productivity, even simple human happiness – are all demonstrably affected by how (and whether) we connect with our family and friends and neighbours and co-workers.

Today is a great opportunity to honour that connection, and the multiple roles you play. It’s also an opportunity to acknowledge Rural Women New Zealand. You have been the voice of rural women for nearly 80 years, a significant achievement in itself.

I want to assure you that your voice is being heard. Since the Labour-led government was elected in November 1999, we have focused our efforts on strengthening rural communities, and returning services to them.

Health
Health is an excellent example.

Yesterday my colleague Damien O’Connor announced a funding boost of almost $11m a year to help rural areas retain GPs, nurses and other health workers, and help ensure reasonable on-call rosters. This funding is an extension and continuation of the $32m the government began providing three years ago to assist rural areas to keep their doctors and nurses.

Our government is committed to building strong public services, and good primary health care is crucial in this regard. By supporting and strengthening rural health services, we are not only keeping people well, but helping to maintain rural communities and the economic growth they generate. That’s why this package is so important.

We are addressing the shortage of rural GPs in other ways too.

Yesterday, Damien announced eight new scholarships to help rural nurses study to become nurse practitioners – with rights to diagnose tests and prescribe medicine.

And next week five overseas doctors will start work as locums in rural communities under the government-supported Rural General Practice Network scheme. The doctors - from England, Canada and Belgium - will put their skills to use in such areas as Waihi, Winton, Kaipara, Fiordland and Gore.

Their arrival is great news, and will provide great benefits for the communities they work in. We find that GPs coming out here for short terms really enjoy their time here and a number return. Even better, some remain permanently.

Home care workers
I know that home care is a subject of particular concern to you - as it is to me.
We are moving in a direction where the delivery of home support services is driven by the client and is flexible and responsive to their needs.

The focus must be on promoting independence and dignity. They must be well integrated with other services, enabling a “continuum of care” and an holistic approach to service delivery.
They must take into consideration the needs of the family and whanau. They must be equitable and they must be sustainable.

Key factors that have to be taken into account include:
·the growing number of older people and increasing longevity;
·the increase in ethnic and social diversity of older people;
·economies of scale – particularly how they affect the principles of client choice and service flexibility;
·the need to develop and sustain a stable and well-trained workforce;
·the need use limited resources efficiently, as well as effectively;
·and, not least, the legacy of a sector that has a long history of being undervalued.

That last point has presented some particular challenges. It means that we have to address the effects of that history of neglect while at the same time building a new regime that will deliver on the principles I’ve outlined.

It means the gap between where we were and where we need to be to achieve our vision has been a wide one.

So what is being done towards bridging the gap and securing the vision? A great deal, actually – though I know many of you are frustrated because the progress to date is not yet affecting the day-today work on the front line, and there is still much to do.

We have established the Health of Older People Strategy, complementing broader strategies on Health, Disability and Positive Ageing. Within those linking strategies we have a clear plan and direction for systematically developing integrated aged care and disability support services that are able to respond to people’s varied and changing needs.

We have overhauled needs assessment services and introduced guidelines to ensure consistent provision of these services nationwide.

We have injected extra funds into home support services over recent years, but I acknowledge that more will be needed to secure the vision of our strategies.

A new foundation qualification has been developed by the Community Support Services Industry Training Organisation that takes into account the skills required for the delivery of our health and disability strategies.

The qualification will provide national consistency while at the same time recognising the different requirements for different settings and client groups (eg residential aged care, home support for people with intellectual disability etc).

The foundation qualification will also be transportable across the various services areas within the disability support and aged care sectors. And it is intended to link with professional training programmes in other social service areas to develop potential career paths.

The intention is to introduce a systematic programme to train the support worker workforce over the coming years, and to ensure training is reflected in workers’ pay packets. This will require additional funding from the government.

In order to seek this funding, we have first had to put in a lot of work to get a more precise and detailed profile of the workforce. This work is a key part of the Quality and Safety Project being led by the Ministry of Health with input from a sector reference group and other government agencies.
The project includes a review of the purchase framework and the service framework to address the increasing acuity and complexity of services delivered in the community. It also includes a series of national surveys of providers, consumers and workers.

I will shortly be receiving a report from this project that will include recommendations on a policy and service framework for ensuring the safety and quality of support services delivered in the community or in residential care settings.

This report will be the basis for considerations of funding and priorities for action. I can tell you now that the progress reports I have had indicate that home-based support services have been identified as a priority, and that travel and rural issues are among concerns that have been thoroughly canvassed.

Paid Parental Leave
I know that Rural Women NZ has many other issues in its sights, such as paid parental leave. You may be aware of the extensions to the scheme announced in March. The leave period will be extended from 12 to 14 weeks, phased in over two years, and parents will also be eligible for paid leave after only six months in the same job, rather than 12 months as at present. This is particularly good news for seasonal workers.

My hope is that we can ultimately extend the scheme to self-employed people, so that farming families will be able to get assistance as well.

Women’s Action Plan
Paid parental leave is an excellent example of our Women’s Action Plan in action, and embodies its three key themes:
·economic independence;
·work-life balance; and
·general health and well-being.

The action plan was launched last year after extensive consultation with women all around the country - including six focus groups, one of which was rural women. A key issue identified by this group was the need for cross-government coordination in rural areas.

In response, we have established an additional five Heartland Service Centres - one-stop shops in rural districts involving a wide range of government services. The five new centres are in Pahiatua (Tararua), Balclutha, Taihape, Oamaru and Chatham Islands, taking the total number to 30.

This month and next, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs is holding regional meetings around the country to talk about the action plan and its implementation.
The ministry’s website will tell you where and when these meetings are being held, and I encourage you to go along and have your say.

Conclusion
In conclusion, I want to say this is a great time to be the Minister for Women’s Affairs.

The successes of New Zealand women to date have been due to the women’s movement working together, setting priorities, and making strong and steady progress.

I undertake to maintain an open and direct dialogue with you on women’s issues. I appreciate the support and the challenges that the movement offers. I look forward to meeting those challenges and to sharing the many victories we have ahead of us.

I hope you enjoy today. It is a fitting recognition of your contribution to the excellence of rural communities, and a great opportunity to celebrate your achievements.

Thank you.