Productivity Commission chair Dr Ganesh Nana. Photo: Supplied
The Productivity Commission wants to establish a new Parliamentary Commissioner looking at future generations to help address disadvantage in society.
The commission has released its final report looking into persistent disadvantage in New Zealand and how it can be addressed.
The inquiry found people experiencing disadvantage and those that supported them were constrained by systemic barriers, including siloed and fragmented government agencies and short-termism.
It followed the interim report last year that found one in six people faced persistent social disadvantage.
The commission has released eight key recommendations, including a new Social Inclusion Act and a future-focused commissioner.
The law would sit alongside and complement the Child Poverty Reduction Act, and the new Parliamentary Commissioner's statutory role would be to represent the interests of future generations, the report said.
The commission also recommended a cross-party agreement to develop and implement 20- to 30-year strategic wellbeing objectives.
"We see value in pursuing a combination of approaches by current and previous governments to address persistent disadvantage," the report said.
Commission chairperson Dr Ganesh Nana said implementing the recommendations would mean a system that ensured everyone could access what they needed to live life better.
"We are looking forward to the government's response to the recommendations we have made in the report and the ensuing conversations to follow with organisations and agencies to effect the changes needed to the public management system," Nana said.
The Productivity Commission's main recommendations to address disadvantage:
- Gain a cross-party agreement to develop and implement generational (20 to 30-year) strategic wellbeing objectives.
- Establish a social floor - a baseline standard of living and quality of life expected in New Zealand.
- Broaden the values within the public management system to give better effect to te Tiriti o Waitangi.
- Introduce a Social Inclusion Act and establish a Parliamentary Commissioner for Future Generations.
- Review and refocus public accountability settings to address critical gaps and ensure they are fit for purpose to address complex challenges, like persistent disadvantage.
- Build a more responsive, relevant, and accessible public management system that learns and empowers community voice, and values evidence from people and communities experiencing disadvantage.
- Commit to long-term funding to support more locally led, whānau-centred and centrally enable ways of working.
- Invest in data collection for measuring wellbeing and disadvantage over a life course, between generations, and within different communities.
