Many of the service providers and informants stated that belonging to, and fully participating in, churches was important to their Pacific clients. This included making financial contributions to the church.

A few participants commented that some churches encourage members to give what they can. The majority of participants, however, noted that church organisations and ministers can exacerbate the debt problem. Some churches publicly announce the amounts that were donated by family groups. This places pressure on families who do not want to lose face in front of their church members, and therefore aim to give more than they can afford. Some churches, however, are sensitive to their members' needs, as the following examples demonstrate.

The research indicated that participants did not share a common view on the extent to which giving to churches exacerbated financial problems. Although there was some consensus - particularly in the Good Cents Porirua case - that giving to churches contributed to hardship, none of the families had directly found it a problem themselves.

The report found that Pacific peoples are more vulnerable to problem debt, but that there was little known about how Pacific families manage their finances.

It says that the churches can play an important role is helping Pacific Island families address problem debt by:

Education about budgeting and money management could be done by adapting styles of education, through families, schools, Pacific leaders, churches and communities. An example is the MIT "money management course" run by the pastors.

Leadership from the church and traditional leaders: Pacific churches are well positioned to lead initiatives, not just in financial literacy, but in many other aspects of a holistic approach to well-being (nutrition and health, careers and employment and education, for example). Churches have a role in encouraging families to give what they can afford, and discouraging them from competing when giving to the church.

Alternative ways of doing things: Better budgeting; ways of reducing costs (such as skyping the islands); in-kind rather than financial contributions to community.

Source

• Pacific Families and Problem Debt
• Image: Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett announced the major shake-up yesterday, in which the commission will take on a new monitoring and research role.

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In the week before Easter a member's bill which aims to extend paid parental leave in New Zealand from 14 to 26 weeks came up in the ballot.

It is being proposed by Labour's Sue Moroney, and with Peter Dunne's vote there would be enough support in Parliament for it to to be given a first reading.

However Bill English has announced that the Government will make rare use of its power of veto to stop the passing of any legislation that extends the period of paid parental leave. The Prime Minister, John Key, who is in Indonesia, subsequently said the National Party may consider extending paid parental leave at some time in the future.

"Successive Governments have undervalued mothers - and it continues with this decision.

"In reality, this policy would represent about 0.2% of the total Government spending, yet research shows that the role of mothers and the early bonding between mums and babies is vital for healthy child development."

The Families Commission has reversed its earlier support for a full year of paid parental leave, saying the country can probably no longer afford it.

Most bills are government bills. However, members who are not Ministers can introduce their own bills, which are called members' bills.

The House has limited the number of members' bills that can be introduced. Bills are selected by ballot.

When a ballot is to take place, members are notified of the number of new members' bills that can be introduced and are invited to enter bills in the ballot. They have until 10.00 am on the day of the ballot to notify the Clerk of their intention to enter.

Under Parliament's rules, the Government can veto a bill if it is deemed to have more than a minor impact on government finances.

Source

• TVNZ -Family First
• New Zealand Herald - Bill English
• New Zealand Herald -Families Commission
• TVNZ - John Key
• Image: TV3