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United Future
Since: 2007-08-08 10:30:45.829588
Posts: 220

Posted at 2007-09-06 14:45:13.278. Permalink.

Several months ago a social policy group calling itself “Break through Britain” made a series of recommendations to the British Conservative Party about how to end the costs of social breakdown.

Chaired by the Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith M.P. the group advocates for a new approach to welfare in the 21st century. Their report called on the government to start reinforcing and strengthening, not the welfare state but the welfare society, which they defined as that which delivers welfare … beyond the State.

http://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/default.asp?pageRef=182

What is fascinating is that this group is calling the British Tories to move away from seeing social breakdown simplisticallty as just the consequence of poor personal decisions, while continuing to reject the notion that the elimination of poverty is the sole responsibility of government.

This group of thinking conservatives is suggesting the more centrist view that people must take responsibility for their own choices but that government has the responsibility to help people make the right choices.
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Joe Burton
Since: 2007-08-16 15:27:03.943
Posts: 34
Moderator

Posted at 2007-09-06 14:45:13.354. Permalink.

I like the idea contained in the report of a Volunteering or V Card � people can build up discounts and earn things like free cinema tickets if they get involved in volunteering in their community. A �fly buys� for volunteers!!

Volunteering benefits the person volunteering as much as the organisation that they are giving their time to. How about a United Future Volunteer Day, where we have groups of people volunteering in all our regions? How about all our MPs in parliament spending one day a year volunteering in their constituencies to highlight the benefits of this much needed activity (although I know MPs give a lot of their time in their communities already! :-)

I am impressed by ANZ and National Bank�s scheme to get their employees to volunteer � up to 15,000 man hours a year, so I understand. We could be doing more to encourage other big businesses in New Zealand to do the same. How about schools getting involved in this way and universities? There seems to be so much untapped potential in this area

Peter Dunne
Since: 2007-08-16 08:44:07.643
Posts: 30

Posted at 2007-09-07 09:29:28.532. Permalink.

There is actually a group working away at present on this to forge closer links between business and the voluntary sector. It includes companies such as ANZ, Vodafone, and IBM, some charitable and philanthropic groups, the Auckland University of Technology, Christchurch Mayor Garry Moore and me, and we have been meeting quietly and steadily throughout the year to develop these opportunities further. Hopefully we will be in a position to make some announcements later in the year about our plans.

My earlier blog about the North Wellington Volunteer Service Awards we run annually in my electorate, and the Budget announcements this year regarding charitable donations, and the further proposals I plan to release in late November are also relevant to this issue.

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