Making a difference in the lives of New Zealanders
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2015.07.15 12:54
Last week the Government issued its latest report card on our focus to deliver better public services for New Zealanders and their families. It shows we’re heading in the right direction and have made significant progress since the targets were introduced.
Three years ago I set 10 challenging targets for the public service to achieve to get better results for New Zealanders from the more than $70 billion of taxpayers’ money we spend each year. We owe that to New Zealanders, many of them from vulnerable families who rely on those public services. These targets focus on areas like reducing long-term welfare dependency, supporting vulnerable children, boosting skills and employment, and reducing crime.
The latest report card shows we’re making continued improvements to some of the really difficult issues that affect our communities and families, however progress in some other areas is slower. Welfare dependency continues to fall. There are now 42,000 fewer children living in a benefit dependent household than there were three years ago. That’s more than the combined populations of Whakatane and Taupo.
Other highlights include the proportion of immunised 8-month-old babies has increased from 84 per cent to 92.9 per cent and there’s been a 14 per cent reduction in people being hospitalised for the first time with rheumatic fever over the past three years.
Participation in early childhood education has increased from 94.7 per cent to 96.1 per cent. More young people are also achieving higher qualifications. The percentage of 18-year-olds with NCEA Level 2 has increased from 74.3 per cent to around 81.1 per cent. For Māori students, this has increased from 57.1 to 67.7 per cent, and for Pasifika students, those with NCEA level 2 has increased from 65.5 to 74.9 per cent.
These targets are all about ensuring the public service is more innovative, enterprising, driven, and focused on results. It’s another example of this Government’s willingness to try new things. The targets also fit neatly with our investment approach to social services, which means we’re willing to invest a bit more upfront to improve people’s lives and to get better results.
There is still much more work to do if we are to achieve all of these targets, some of which are very aspirational, but we make no apologies for having high standards and wanting New Zealanders to get the most out of their public services.We’ll continue to provide updates every six months on these targets.
