Speeches 

Venue: Main Auditorium, Wellington Town Hall, Wakefield Street.

Thank you for inviting me to speak to you all, I'm reliably informed this has been a great AGM.  Members of the NZ Women's Institute are at the forefront of volunteering in your communities and make a significant and important contribution in all areas but rural New Zealand in particular.  It is a privilege to be here.

Value of volunteering in NZ - building strong, cohesive communities

• New Zealanders have a long history of volunteering. The Non-Profit institutions' Satellite Account, published last year shows nearly 90,000 (of a total 97,000) of New Zealand's non-profit organisations rely entirely on volunteers. Volunteering in non-profit organisations has been estimated to be worth around $3.3 billion a year.
• An estimated 2.72 million New Zealanders supported the community and voluntary sector in some way in the previous 12 months - 75.4% of all people aged 10 years or over. This includes:

1,217,000 people who volunteered (33.8% of all people 10 and over)

2,176,000 people who donated money or goods (60.3%)

829,000 people who supported in other ways, such as purchasing products (23.0%).

• An estimated 969,000 people both volunteered and donated money or goods in the previous 12 months - meaning that almost 80% of people who volunteered also donated money or goods.
• An estimated 1.70 million people supported three or more different sub-sectors of the community and voluntary sector in the previous 12 months.
• The true value of volunteering, as a form of social capital, is more difficult to measure. But we know from New Zealand and international studies that volunteering contributes to the greater development of our social fabric in profound ways. Engaged communities lead to healthier, safer, and more successful communities.
• A term that is used a lot around the world today is "civil society". A simple term to encompass the wealth of voluntary activity that occurs outside the business and government sectors.
• Everyone in this room clearly realises the importance of civil society - after all 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 that people had a high level of participation in their community - they were active volunteers, they were active community participants, they built healthy, positive communities, and from this strong civic underpinning they created wealth.
• Professor Putnam's work also showed that being involved in the community was good for your health. Joining and participating in one group cuts your odds of dying over the next year in half.  Joining two groups cuts it by three quarters.
• The market model of the 80s and 90s, preaching individual success and individual responsibility, did not support the values behind volunteering. The Community and Voluntary Sector Working Party of 2000, found deep levels of frustration, mistrust, cynicism, anger and burnout at all levels.

Developments over the past eight years

• The working party's report, Potential for Partnership, outlined a new way forward, expressing a desire to improve the quality of engagement between the sector and the government.
• To strengthen these relationships, the Labour-led Government has:

Developed the Statement of Government Intentions in 2001 as a first step to building relationships with the community and voluntary sector.

Developed a Government Policy on Volunteering to actively encourage and support volunteering.

Established the Charities Commission

Established the Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector in 2003.

• We are encouraging government agencies to recognise the importance of the voluntary sector in their strategic plans, policy work and service delivery.
• A stock-take of government agency activity between 2002 and 2008 that supports volunteers and voluntary organisations will soon be available on the OCVS website. This report shows many government agencies have made changes to better reflect the government's volunteering policy in their day-to-day work. Examples include the Department of Conservation's staff training on community engagement, the development of Pacific consultation guidelines produced by the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, and the State Services Commission's work in promoting effective online consultation practices.

Partnerships and participation

• In collaboration with Volunteering New Zealand and Philanthropy NZ, we are looking at ways to encourage individuals and businesses to participate in their communities by giving time, money, or in-kind donations.
• Government is also making it easier for individuals and businesses to give to non-profit organisations through tax changes, such as clarifying the law related to the tax treatment of volunteer expense reimbursement, and raising rebate and tax deduction thresholds on donations to charities.
• Next year the Government will introduce a voluntary payroll-giving system that will enable people to donate to charitable and philanthropic causes through work-based payroll deductions. This along with the removal of rebate thresholds is part of a wider strategy of encouraging a stronger culture of volunteering and giving.
• Working in partnership with community organisations, the Government is creating an environment where New Zealanders can participate without any barriers, within their communities both locally and nationally.  We have come a long way and have put a greater effort into supporting volunteering, but there is yet more to do

Conclusion

I want to acknowledge the leadership of Mrs Eleanor Holt (National President NZFWI) the other members of the National Executive Committee, Mrs Nola Walker and Mrs Margaret Bunn (Vice Presidents), Mrs Aileen Berrigan, Mrs Jenny Blomfield, Mrs Ann Jackson and Mrs Lorraine Miles

Also want to acknowledge everyone here.  You make our communities strong and you make our country the best in the world.

You don't do it for praise or awards, you do it to make our communities better.  And for that, on behalf of the government, I'd like to say thank you.

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