Friday, December 01, 2006
Konichiwa, kia ora and good afternoon.
It gives me great pleasure to be here today to address this forum on human rights in New Zealand, and, in particular, in the area of local government.
I want to thank the Minoh Human Rights Forum Executive Committee for the invitation. I regard it as an honour and privilege to speak to you on this most important subject.
I also extend my warmest greetings to you all on behalf of the people of Hutt City, New Zealand, of which I am the mayor, and best wishes for a successful forum.
It is wonderful to be back in Minoh – the sister city of Hutt City – and to take part in the celebration of its 50th anniversary of incorporation as a city.
This is my second visit to Minoh and as with the first time, I am completely impressed. Everyone I have met has been warm and friendly and made me feel very welcome and looked after during my stay.
Minoh itself is a modern, well ordered and attractive city. The council and the people of Minoh should be congratulated for their pride and commitment to the city.
Before I begin, it’s important to define what human rights are. Recognising this is an area of intense debate, I instead sought the interpretation of New Zealand’s Human Rights Commission, which is an organisation I will talk about a little bit later.
According to the Commission, human rights, “affect the lives of each and every one of us. Every person has inherent dignity and value. Human rights recognise our freedom to make choices about our life and develop our potential as human beings.”
The Commission goes on: “Human rights deal with how people relate to one another. They are about how we live together: about our responsibilities to each other. Respect for each other's rights helps diverse groups to share…in harmony. In particular, these rights set a basis for the relationship between the individual and the State…to regional and local government, to the business and community sectors, to voluntary groups and organisations.”
It reminds us that, “Human rights represent common values drawn from the world's diverse spiritual, religious, humanist, political and cultural beliefs. They underlie our expectations about life, education, health, work, our personal security, equal opportunity and fair treatment, and our systems of government.”
The Commission concludes by saying human rights are, “inherent, inalienable, universal, indivisible and interdependent. They are inherent, in that they belong to everyone because of their common humanity. They are inalienable, in that people cannot give them up or be deprived of them by governments. They are universal, in that they apply regardless of distinctions such as race, sex, language or religion. They are indivisible, in that no right is superior to another. They are interdependent, in that realisation of one right contributes to the realisation of other rights.”
Now that I have provided a definition of human rights, I want to briefly touch on the history of human rights in New Zealand.
On the whole, New Zealand has a good record on human rights, and has led the way in many aspects. For example, in 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was signed by the British Crown and the Maori people. It guaranteed everyone – Maori and European – equality before the law, regardless of race. The Treaty is widely regarded as New Zealand’s founding document and remains important to this day – something which I will touch on later.
Also, New Zealand was the first country in the world to give women the vote in 1893 following a campaign led by women’s suffrage campaigner Kate Sheppard, whose face adorns the New Zealand ten dollar note.
As one of the founding members of the United Nations, New Zealand played a significant part in drawing up and ratifying the foundation document of international human rights law, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
Since then, New Zealand has ratified all the core United Nations human rights treaties: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 and its Optional Protocols; the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights 1966; the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 1965; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women 1979; the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989; and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 1984.
In 1978 the Human Rights Commission was established in New Zealand following the passing of legislation called the Human Rights Act in Parliament a year earlier. According to the Act, the Commission exists to advocate and promote respect for, and an understanding and appreciation of, human rights in New Zealand society; and encourage the maintenance and development of harmonious relationships between individuals and among the diverse groups in New Zealand society.
The Commission, which enjoys a high profile, achieves these aims through education about human rights, the production and distribution of human rights information and resources, inquiring into and reporting on human rights matters, and resolving disputes relating to discrimination.
In 1982 Parliamentarians passed the Official Information Act. This Act provides more open and transparent government and allows ordinary citizens access to information which otherwise might not be disclosed to the public.
This was followed four years later by the Local Government Official Information Act, which imposes similar obligations on councils.
In 1990 the New Zealand Parliament voted for the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, which enshrines the fundamental rights and freedoms of New Zealanders, including life and security, democratic and civil rights, non-discrimination and respect for minorities, and a fair and lawful justice system.
Three years later, in 1993, Parliament passed two more pieces of legislation upholding people’s human rights: The Privacy Act which promotes and protects the privacy of individuals; and the Human Rights Amendment Act, which protects people from unlawful discrimination on the grounds of disability, political opinion, employment status, family status and sexual orientation.
As you can see, legislation has played an important part of forming a legal framework to ensure basic human rights in New Zealand. It demonstrates the commitment of successive governments to promoting and upholding human rights and long may that continue.
Before I begin talking about the local government’s role in upholding human rights, and in particular the council I lead, I want to briefly introduce you to the city we administer – Hutt City.
Hutt City is located in the lower North Island and borders New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington. It is a multicultural city with 100,000 people, making it the 10th largest city in New Zealand.
The city is a place of mixed socio-economic classes, with among the most affluent and poorest neighbourhoods in the country. One of the fundamental tenets of human rights is equal access whether that be to education, justice or council services. As a local council, we are committed to providing equal access to our council services for all citizens.
Hutt City enjoys a reputation for having some of the best schools in the country, and is known for its beautiful outdoors, green spaces and parks, which perhaps explains why our city has produced a long list of champion New Zealand sports people, including recent All Black captain Tana Umaga.
In recent times, Hutt City has undergone something of an economic transformation. Historically, the economy was based on light industry and manufacturing, including meat processing and freezing, motor vehicle assembly, and timber processing service industries. However, service industries like research and development, IT and education have become much more important.
The city is governed by a council comprising a mayor and 11 councillors, who are elected every three years under a first past the post system. The mayor is elected to represent the entire city, while each councillor represents one of the six wards in the city. Three wards also have community boards, made up of two councillors and board members elected by the community.
The wards are constructed along geographic lines and this means that some reflect the interests of the richest in the city, others the middle classes and still others are the poorest. Balancing these interests is not easy, as I am sure you are aware. Nevertheless it is the right of every citizen, whether they are ratepayers or not, to be heard and respond to their needs.
Local government plays a significant role in upholding human rights in New Zealand. Among the most obvious of these rights being the freedom to vote and the freedom to express one’s opinions. It’s disappointing that in a democratic society like ours, many people take the former for granted. In Hutt City, only 39 per cent of eligible voters turned out at the last local body elections. Despite that, public participation in the democratic process doesn’t start and end at the ballot box, but continues throughout a council’s term in office.
In the main part, that’s because of the Local Government Act. Passed by Parliament in 2002, the Act requires councils to encourage public input into decision-making, and to consult widely on major decisions that are likely to have a significant impact on their communities.
For local government, active consultation with their community is the paramount way to exercise and strengthen human rights in at a local level. Let me outline another two examples how we support consultation among our citizens.
First, my council recently voted to abolish community boards and consulted the public on the decision by inviting them to make submissions. There was strong feedback, with the overwhelming view to retain them.
We listened and responded by reversing our original decision and, in fact, are looking at ways to give community boards extra support to enable them to perform their functions and better serve the people they represent. Further, we are considering how to provide a similar level of representation for parts of the city without community boards.
Second, at least once every three years, councils are also required under the Act to produce a long-term council community plan (LTCCP) that sets out activities planned for the next 10 years. In keeping with our commitment to community consultation, we produce a LTCCP every year, so we can seek the public’s views on the future direction of the city.
Accordingly, the Council publishes its draft LTTCP in March each year, and asks for submissions from the community by the middle of May. This year we received over 1,000 submissions from individuals, businesses, groups and organisations (among the highest number of submissions per capita in the country). Many present their submissions in person to Council. In late June, the LTCCP is adopted, after all submissions have been taken into account.
Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. As I mentioned earlier, in 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the British Crown and representatives of Maori. We recognise the importance of the Treaty as part of the human rights of New Zealanders, both Maori and pakeha. To meet our obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi, the Council consults extensively with Maori, recognising our special relationship with the Tangata Whenua.
The public also have an opportunity to share what’s on their minds at Council and committee meetings, which are open to the public unless there are specific grounds, such as personal privacy and commercial sensitivity, for dealing with particular matters in closed session. Time is allocated for public comment at the start of Council meetings. Local government recognises personal opinion is a human right.
Human rights feature prominently in our council’s Community Charter. Hutt City was the first city in New Zealand to adopt its own charter, setting out what it believes are the values and attitudes the city as a whole should promote. The Charter includes the following community values:
- Our city has a place for everyone; and
- We uphold everyone’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
These values are at the core of human rights and by promoting them within the Council and the community we are demonstrating our commitment to upholding human rights in our city.
That flows neatly into our Council vision, which includes a vibrant and diverse city that’s open and friendly, and welcomes different lifestyles and celebrates diversity. As I said earlier, Hutt City is a multi-cultural society. We have many times welcomed refugees and migrants from countries that have suffered war, desolation and tragedy of various kinds. You will find Iranians, Iraqis, Ethiopians, Croats, Sri Lankans, Fijians, Sudanese and more. We have provided a safe home and haven for people from countries where human rights have been ignored during troubled times. I hope that Hutt City will prove to be a place where their and all our human rights, are respected.
Hutt City Council has been contracted by the government to strengthen services and support to refugees and migrants. The contract requires the Council to take a leadership role to ensure a collaborative approach is adopted – connecting government agencies, service providers, local communities and refugees and migrants.
An inter-sectoral steering group has also been established and a five-year strategic plan developed to address the needs of refugees and migrants across the Hutt Valley.
Every year Council celebrates Multi-ethnic Day and World Refugee Day with a range of events and activities that educate the community about tolerance and respect for different cultures.
Many disabled people in our community experience discrimination and a lack of respect for their human rights. Studies show people with disabilities face greater barriers to employment, education and access to services than that of the able bodied. All of these issues have a profound impact on the opportunities and daily lives of disabled people.
Hutt City Council recognises these barriers are a human rights issue and has responded by working in partnership with the local District Health Board and near-neighbours, Upper Hutt City Council to establish a Disability Advisory Group. The Group hopes to achieve a better understanding of the needs of people with disabilities in the Hutt Valley and awareness of the barriers preventing people with disabilities from participating fully in community and city life. Taking a joint approach will ensure a louder voice in advocating disabled people’s issues affecting the Hutt Valley and a cohesive response from community agencies.
Hutt City Council recognises the intrinsic rights of all its citizens, like every local authority does in New Zealand. We promote consultation with everyone in the community. We place particular emphasis on the rights of those minorities who might otherwise be disadvantaged or excluded: Maori, immigrants and those people with disabilities.
Thank you for the opportunity to share with you an overview of human rights in New Zealand and also how they relate to local government. I have enjoyed my time with you and hope that you have found my speech interesting and informative. I congratulate you for the work you do promoting human rights and wish you much success in the future.
Before I finish, I wish to extend a warm invitation for you to visit us in Hutt City, and see for yourself our beautiful country New Zealand. We look forward to seeing you.
Thank you.