This Is Home AN UPDATE ON THE STATE OF PASIFIKA PEOPLE IN NEW ZEALAND Ronji Tanielu Social Policy Analyst Alan Johnson Social Policy Analyst The Salvation Army Social Policy and Parlimentary Unit May 2014 ISBN 978-0-9941055-1-6 (Paperback) ISBN 978-0-9941055-2-3 (Electronic) Authorised and approved by Commissioner Robert Donaldson, Territorial Commander, as an official publication of The Salvation Army New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga Territory. This report was produced by The Salvation Army Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit, 16B Bakerfield Place, Manukau 2104, New Zealand. Director: Major Campbell Roberts This report is available for viewing or download from: www.salvationarmy.org.nz/socialpolicy This Is Home AN UPDATE ON THE STATE OF PASIFIKA PEOPLE IN NEW ZEALAND Ronji Tanielu Social Policy Analyst Alan Johnson Social Policy Analyst The Salvation Army Social Policy and Parlimentary Unit May 2014 WE WELCOME YOUR FEEDBACK PO Box 76249, Manukau City 2104 Phone (09) 261 0883 social_policy@nzf.salvationarmy.org Mobile 027 450 6944 salvationarmy.org.nz/socialpolicy Fax (09) 262 4103  2 This Is Home CONTENTS Foreword 5 Overview 7 A Snapshot of Pacific People in New Zealand 8 Counting Pacific People 11 Our Pacific Children 19 Work & Incomes 23 Crime & Punishment 27 Housing 33 Social Hazards 37 Endnotes 39 Contents 3 4 This Is Home FOREWORD In May 2013, The Salvation Army released the inaugural report More Than Churches, Rugby and Festivals: A Report on the State of Pasifika People in New Zealand.1 This 68-page report was the first time that the state of social progress for Pacific people in New Zealand was analysed in great detail. This report was received by Pacific communities and the wider New Zealand public in a variety of ways: from pride in seeing the stories and realities of Pacific families being told, through to derision and dissatisfaction that the social issues facing Pacific peoples were possibly again being over-represented in public. In all honesty, this broad range of reactions was precisely the types of responses The Salvation Army wanted this report to evoke. Research projects or reports should never be a panacea to the issues or challenges they attempt to document. However, they should act to inform, educate, challenge, encourage or even agitate the reader. We have titled our follow-up report This Is Home. Firstly, as a play on racist types of phrases and taunts that some Pacific people in New Zealand have been told, particularly during the Dawn Raids period of the 1970s where Pacific people heard such taunts as, ‘Go home!’ ‘Go back to your home in the Islands’.2 Secondly, this title signals the reality that for the majority of Pacific people in New Zealand, this country is indeed their ‘home’ now. The Pacific community is well-established here and is now predominantly a New Zealand-born population. Ties to the Pacific Island nations are still strong, but for many Pacific people, New Zealand is where they were born and have settled. Therefore, this is home now. We hope that reading this 2014 updated Report on the State of Pasifika People in New Zealand will again agitate or stir you in some way, whether you are Pacific or not. Agitation carries with it the ideas of disturbing, exciting, informing or angering someone. We hope people are agitated or stirred from reading this report and that as a result they want to become even better informed and contribute to thinking and actions that could help address some of these issues. In the end, we sincerely hope that reports like this can act as a catalyst for greater health, prosperity and wellbeing for all Kiwis, regardless of their ethnic origin. In this case, The Salvation Army has chosen to focus on the state of Pacific people in our nation. In this 2014 Election year, the state of Pacific people in New Zealand is crucial. Pacific people now make up about 7.4% of the total New Zealand population3 and are one of the most youthful populations in our nation. They are also increasingly living throughout the country outside of Auckland. Therefore, Pacific people have a vital part to play in this year’s Election. Politicians will continue to court Pacific voters’ right up to Election Day. Pacific voters of all ages will be faced with tough choices on whether to vote for Foreword 5 traditional party options or shift their vote somewhere else. In light of this, we present this 2014 updated Report on the State of Pacific people in New Zealand to agitate and stir, and to hopefully inform both Pacific voters and the wider New Zealand public. Meitaki maata, Malo ‘aupito, Fakefetai, Fakaaue lahi, Faafetai tele lava, Vinaka vaka levu. Thank you for reading this report. 6 This Is Home OVERVIEW This is an updated report where some of the data The Salvation Army discussed in 2013 has been updated. The 2013 report was released before any of the 2013 Census data was publicly available. We believe it is vital and appropriate to remeasure, update and re-evaluate our 2013 analyses using the most up-to-date public statistics. Consequently, this report is shorter in length than the 2013 version. We have not included the Brief History or The Salvation Army and Pacific People sections from last year. We have also excluded the policy and programme Milestones sections from this updated report. We have included another analysis of Pacific population demographics based on the available 2013 Census data. We have opted to focus on the data and discussion in five of the main work areas that The Salvation Army Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit consistently monitors: children and youth, crime and punishment, work and incomes, social hazards, and housing. We are also offering three focused discussions on specific critical issues. These include Pacific migrants from the Pacific Islands, Pacific people and housing, and Pacific youth unemployment. These brief focused discussion areas are offered to highlight these areas further, and to present some of the innovative responses, ideas and thinking seen across these areas. It is our hope that this shorter and possibly more consumable report will, as already mentioned, inform, inspire, educate, stir or even agitate the reader. We also hope that people and groups of all ages can absorb and use this information for various purposes. Finally, we are offering this report as a tool not only for the Pacific people and wider New Zealand public, but also to our political leaders, policy makers and decision makers. We raise some policy issues and questions in this document, particularly around housing and rates of imprisonment. The Salvation Army hopes that the provision of this sort of information and data will aid in the development of effective and meaningful policies and initiatives. Overview 7 A SNAPSHOT OF PACIFIC PEOPLE IN NEW ZEALAND Numbers of Pacific People 2006 2013 Auckland 177,948 194,958 South Auckland 92,016 101,937 Waikato Region 11,781 14,700 Wellington Region 34,752 36,105 %age of Pacific population born in Pacific Islands 35% 30% Our Pacific Children Enrolment rates for under 5 year olds into ECE Suspension Rate Total Population Pacific NCEA Level 1 Achievement European NCEA Level 3 University Entrance European Pacific Pacific 2008 2013 24% 28.8% 2008 2012 6.0 7.1 79% 48% 71% 32% 4.7 4.4 86% 63% 74% 43% Work & Incomes Unemployment Rate Total New Zealand Pacific Pacific share of working age benefits Pacific share of unemployment 2008 2013 4.4% 7.8% 5.9% 13.7% 2008 2014 8.0% 9.1% 7.9% 11.8% 2013—13% Pacific males 15-24 years old classed as NEET* 2013—26% Pacific females 15-24 years old classed as NEET* *not engaged in education, employment, training or caregiving 8 This Is Home Crime & Punishment 27% decline between 2008-2013 of rates of recorded offending for Pacific people. Pacific rate of apprehensions for violent offending 2.1 times greater than rate for total population. Reimprisonment Total Population within 12 months of release Pacific 2009 2013 27.6% 26.7% 21.9% 23.6% Housing 2001 2013 Pacific people who owned their own home 33,411 34,350 Pacific people who do not own their own home 95,238 151,761 %age Change 3% 59% Social Hazards 2006/07 2012/13 Adult Pacific alcohol consumption within last 12 months 59.5% 56.7% Adult Pacific drinkers with hazardous drinking behaviours 23.4% 17.8% A Snapshot of Pacific People in New Zealand 9 Pictured from left: Henry Laveaina (15), Melina Laveaina (13), Hine Laveaina, Mafa Laveaina, Junior Laveaina (14), Vai Sefo holding Christian (18 months) and Fenika Sefo who all share a two-bedroom Housing NZ home, along with two other children, in New Lynn, Auckland. New Zealand Herald, 31 January 2014. Photography: Richard Robinson / New Zealand Herald 10 This Is Home COUNTING PACIFIC PEOPLE CHANGES IN THE PACIFIC POPULATION It is difficult and perhaps impossible to know exactly how many Pacific Island people are living in New Zealand. This difficulty arises for at least two reasons. One reason is to do with the way people define their ethnicity and the fact that in the melting pot which New Zealand has become people can easily identify with two or more ethnicities due to their heritage. For example, in the preliminary results from the 2013 Census New Zealand’s 4.24 million people claimed 4.77 million ethnic identities. This diversity extends into the ethnic identities of Pacific people where people may claim two or more separate Pacific ethnicities. In the 2013 Census, the number of people who claimed a Pacific ethnic identity was 295,941, while the number of separate ethnic identities reported was 337,200. This was because probably as many as 20,000 Pacific people reported a second or perhaps a third Pacific ethnicity; for instance, as in the case of someone with a Samoan mother and a Tongan father. The second complication arises around the limited reach which any survey has—even an extensive one such as the Census. There will always be people that the Census worker is not able to contact either because they are mobile, because of miscommunication, or simply because they do not want to be found. Statistics New Zealand attempts to cover such limitations through a postenumeration survey. To take account of undercounting Statistics New Zealand uses a higher estimate of the various ethnic populations as the basis for its population forecasts and period population estimates. This figure along with the group and individual ethnic responses are reported in Table 1. Using the Census’ grouped ethnic response definition of the Pacific population (and other ethnic populations), the data offered on Table 1 shows that the Pacific population grew at more than twice the rate of the total New Zealand population between 2006 and 2013. This higher rate of growth has meant the Pacific share of the New Zealand population has grown from 6.6% in 2006 to 7.4% in 2013. Table 1: A summary of key population estimates 2006 and 2013 2006 2013 % Change Pacific population as a grouped ethnic response 265,974 295,941 11.2% Sum of all reported Pacific ethnic identities 287,750 337,200 17.2% Statistics New Zealand working estimate (at 30 June) 301,600 NA Total usually resident population from Census 4,027,947 4,242,048 5.3% Sum of all reported ethnic identities in total population 4,859,800 4,748,750 –2.3% Statistics New Zealand working estimate (at 30 June) 4,184,600 NA Counting Pacific People 11 THE END OF A MINI BABY BOOM The relatively high rate of growth of the Pacific population is most likely due to its relative youth and slightly higher fertility, but also to definitional factors around who is identified as a Pacific person. One of these definitional factors is demonstrated in Table 2 below, which offers data around Pacific births over the past decade. Table 2: Pacific (live) births 2004 to 2013 (December years) 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Pacific mothers 6,690 6,553 6,643 7,402 7,701 7,541 7,773 7,660 7,432 6,924 Pacific babies 8,671 8,605 8,926 9,788 10,122 10,068 10,407 10,192 9,895 9,132 Over the past decade, the number of Pacific children born has been about 30% higher than the number of Pacific women giving birth. These additional children will most likely have a Pacific father and a mother who is not Pacific. In other words, 60% of new-born babies identified as Pacific can also be identified as having another ethnicity. Whichever measure of Pacific births provided in Table 2 is used, it is apparent that there was something of a mini baby boom between 2008 and 2011. The most recent results, which show a 10% decline in the number of births since 2011, really returns birth numbers to the level which existed prior to 2007. Statistics New Zealand’s estimates of fertility rates in 2006 suggest that Pacific women’s fertility rate was 50% higher than for the total population overall,4 an initial analysis of 2013 data suggests this ratio has changed little over the intervening seven years. In 2006, the median age of a Pacific woman giving birth was 27.6 years, European women were 31.1 years, and for all women was 30.6 years. These median ages have fallen across the board since 2006. In 2013, the median age of Pacific women giving birth had fallen to 27.2 years, for European women to 30.7 years, and for women overall to 30.0 years. THE SHIFT FURTHER SOUTH In our previous report, More than Churches, Rugby and Festivals, we identified that the basic geography of the Pacific population was that one third of all Pacific people lived in South Auckland, one third across the rest of Auckland and one third across the rest of New Zealand. Early data from the 2013 Census suggests that this distribution is still the case, although there is evidence that 12 This Is Home Pacific people are shifting further southwards—but not too far south. As indicated in Table 1, a common estimate of the Pacific population (the usually resident Census figures) suggests the Pacific population grew by just over 11% between 2006 and 2013, or just over twice the rate of the overall population. The concentration of the Pacific population into a relatively small number of neighbourhoods mainly in South Auckland has meant that this population growth has had to spill into other areas.5 As the data on Table 3 suggests, this growth has to a small extent been out of South Auckland and into the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions, rather than into the rest of Auckland. The 2013 Census also indicates there have been minor increases in flows of Pacific people into the Marlborough, Tasman and Manawatu regions. Growth in the Pacific population in South Auckland at 10.8% was just below the national average rate of growth of 11.3%, while growth elsewhere in Auckland was a more modest 8.3% over the seven-year inter-census period. As Table 3 indicates, growth rates at more than twice the national average growth was experienced in Manurewa, Papakura and the Waikato Region. Table 3: The geography of Pacific population change 2006 to 2013 2006 Census population 2013 Census population % Change 2006 to 13 Share of total change Mangere–Otahuhu Local Board Area 36,603 39,045 6.7% 8.1% Otara–Papatoetoe Local Board Area 30,645 31,671 3.3% 3.4% Manurewa Local Board Area 20,445 25,020 22.4% 15.3% Papakura Local Board Area 4,323 6,201 43.4% 6.3% SOUTH AUCKLAND 92,016 101,937 10.8% 33.1% REST of AUCKLAND 85,932 93,021 8.2% 23.7% AUCKLAND 177,948 194,958 9.6% 56.8% REST of NEW ZEALAND 88,020 100,986 14.7% 43.2% Waikato Region 11,781 14,700 24.8% 9.7% Bay of Plenty Region 6,462 7,728 19.6% 4.2% Wellington Region 34,752 36,105 3.9% 4.5% NEW ZEALAND TOTAL 265,974 295,941 11.3% Counting Pacific People 13 THE SHIFT TO BEING NEW ZEALAND-BORN Sometime between 2006 and 2013, the Pacific population passed two milestones in terms of where Pacific people were born. Around the time of the 1986 Census, just over half of the New Zealand resident Pacific population was born in the Pacific.6 By the time of the 2006 Census, this proportion had dropped to 35%, and between 2006 and 2013 the proportion fell even further to just over 30%. Between 2006 and 2013, the number of people identifying as being Pacific and born in the Pacific Islands declined slightly from 97,590 to 97,167 people. This is probably the first such decline in total numbers of people. These trends suggest that migration from the Pacific is now contributing little or nothing to real Pacific population growth. This population growth is now almost entirely through natural increase. This trend is discussed in more detail in the following section. Detailed data on these declines in the proportion of Island-born Pacific Islanders is provided in Tables 4 to 9. This data shows that the ethnic populations from Island nations with New Zealand citizenship, such as the Cook Islands and Niue, have around 80% of their New Zealand resident population now born in New Zealand. Conversely, Island nations such as Samoa and Tonga that face more stringent immigration barriers have a higher percentage of their resident population born in the Islands. Not included in these statistics are the experiences of Fijian and Fiji-born New Zealand residents. Between 2006 and 2013, the number of residents reporting as being born in Fiji rose from just under 5,400 to just over 52,750 people. Over the same period, the number of people identifying as ethnic Fijians rose from 9,864 to 14,447 people. The difference is explained by the number of Fijian-born people of non-Fijian ethnicity—most of whom are of Indian ethnicity. Including these numbers into an overall picture of Pacific population dynamics will, we believe, distort the picture unnecessarily, and for this reason the numbers for Fiji have been omitted from all the analyses offered here. 14 This Is Home Table 4: Changes in Cook Island population 2001 to 2013 2001 2006 2013 Number of people reporting ethnicity 52,569 58,008 61,950 Number of people born in Cook Islands 15,048 14,508 12,954 Cook Island born as % of ethnicity 28.6% 25.0% 20.9% 2001 2006 2013 Number of people reporting ethnicity 20,148 22,476 23,883 Number of people born in Niue 5,787 5,382 4,197 Niue born as % of ethnicity 28.7% 23.9% 17.6% 2001 2006 2013 Number of people reporting ethnicity 115,017 131,103 144,138 Number of people born in Samoa 46,941 50,517 50,658 Samoa born as % of ethnicity 40.8% 38.5% 35.1% 2001 2006 2013 Number of people reporting ethnicity 40,719 50,478 60,336 Number of people born in Tonga 18,258 20,907 22,413 Tonga born as % of ethnicity 44.8% 41.4% 37.1% 2001 2006 2013 Number of people reporting ethnicity 13,590 15,828 32,448 Number of people born in other Pacific islands excluding Fiji 5,661 6,276 6,945 Other Island born as % of ethnicity 41.7% 39.7% 21.4% 2001 2006 2013 Number of people reporting Pacific ethnicity (excluding Fijian) 242,043 277,893 322,755 Number of people born in Pacific islands (excluding Fiji) 91,695 97,590 97,167 All island born as % of ethnicity 37.9% 35.1% 30.1% Table 5: Changes in Niuean population 2001 to 2013 Table 6: Changes in Samoan population 2001 to 2013 Table 7: Changes in Tongan population 2001 to 2013 Table 8: Changes in other Pacific Islands population 2001 to 2013 Table 8: Changes in all Pacific Islands population (excluding Fiji) 2001 to 2013 Counting Pacific People 15 POLICY IMPLICATIONS These significant changes to the size, dispersion, and composition of the Pacific population in New Zealand will clearly have an effect on social policy development in New Zealand. For example, the slight shift of Pacific people further south and into other parts of New Zealand is indicative of many things, including the rising rental and house costs in the Auckland region where most Pacific people are concentrated. This raises further policy questions around social polarisation, gentrification, and the general shifting and moving of Pacific families away from some areas in Auckland that they have traditionally established strong communities.7 Moreover, social housing reform begun in the name of regeneration in communities like Glen Innes in Auckland and Pomare in –ori and Pacific communities that have Wellington have had direct impacts on Ma settled in these areas in large numbers over the last two to three decades. Additionally, the youthfulness of the Pacific population raises further questions. With the majority of the Pacific population now being New Zealand born, there will be impacts on educational and health policies, as well as in other key areas like employment and involvement in the justice system. These are issues we will explore in the following sections. FOCUS AREA 1 PACIFIC IMMIGRATION TO NEW ZEALAND We have already illustrated that the majority of the Pacific population in New Zealand today is born in New Zealand. However, we must remember that there are regular flows of Pacific people from the Island nations into New Zealand every year. This in-flow is based on two main New Zealand Immigration schemes with Pacific nations—the Samoan Quota Scheme (SAS),8 and the Pacific Access Category (PAC).9 Pacific people are also entering New Zealand via the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) work policy. This does not include the in-flow of Pacific migrants through other means like New Zealand citizenship concessions (Tokelau, Cook Islands and Niue) or general immigration policies.10 The SAS, in place since 1970, allows for up to 1,100 Samoan citizens (and their families) selected by a national ballot to be granted residence and settle in New Zealand every year. In a similar fashion, the PAC, established 16 This Is Home in 2003, allows for up to 75 people from Kiribati, 75 from Tuvalu, 250 Fijian citizens, and 250 Tongan citizens (and their families) each year to be granted residence in New Zealand. The RSE policy was implemented in 2007 primarily to help address the labour supply shortfall in the horticulture and viticulture sectors throughout New Zealand. This policy now brings to New Zealand up to 8,000 workers each year from Pacific nations like Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Nauru and Samoa. The number of workers brought over under this policy varies according to the availability of jobs and the demands of these industries. Workers can stay between seven to nine months in New Zealand under this policy. We raise this as a focus area simply because the social progress and needs of these Pacific people must not be forgotten even as the Pacific population moves to a majority New Zealand-born population. This is even more the case with the RSE as these workers are on short-term visits, do not have the time to settle effectively in the area they move to, and move to regions that do not have major or established Pacific resident populations. With thousands of Pacific people gaining residence through the SAS and PAC, and thousands more also experiencing Kiwi life and work via the RSE every year, developing and supporting sound government and community settlement support for these migrants is vital. In recent years, The Salvation Army has seen many Pacific families that have moved temporarily or permanently to New Zealand under one of these immigration schemes present at our centres with a plethora of social issues. We have anecdotal evidence of these migrant families facing housing and income issues, losing the jobs that facilitated their migration to New Zealand, not enrolling their children into schools and health services, and so on. We hope to work more with Immigration New Zealand and other groups to gather robust data about these social and settlement issues in the near future, and to assist in developing effective solutions for these families. Counting Pacific People 17 Kelston Boys High academic achievers (from left) Samson Fualalo (Year 13), Joeveni Leota (Year 12), Zion Ioka (Year 12) and Roman Prasad (Year 12). Kelston, a decile 4 school in West Auckland, has significantly improved its NCEA results over the past few years. New Zealand Herald, 14 May 2013. Photography: Richard Robinson / New Zealand Herald 18 This Is Home OUR PACIFIC CHILDREN PACIFIC INFANT MORTALITY REMAINS HIGHER THAN NATIONAL RATE Each year, about 55 Pacific babies die during the neo-natal or post-natal stage of their lives producing an infant mortality rate of 58 deaths for every 10,000 live births. As shown in Figure 1, this rate is about 20% higher than the rate for the overall population and remains both fairly consistent in terms of rate and in terms of the gap between Pacific and the total population. Figure 1: Estimates in infant mortality rates 2004 to 2013 80 Infant deaths per 10,000 live births 70 60 50 40 30 Pacifc infant mortality Overall infant mortality 20 10 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 PACIFIC ECE ENROLMENT RATES CONTINUE TO IMPROVE A record number of Pacific children are enrolled in early childhood education –ori and (ECE) as a result of Government efforts to increase enrolment of both Ma Pacific children. The enrolment gap between Pacific and non-Pacific children remains, however, as shown in Figure 2. At July 2013, there were 14,354 Pacific children enrolled in State-licensed ECE centres, which is 35% higher than the total in 2008. As a result, the enrolment rate for all Pacific children aged under five years old lifted from 24.0% in 2008 to 26.7% in 2012 and to 28.8% in 2013. Similarly, the enrolment rates for three- and four-year-old Pacific children rose from 43.5% in 2008 to 47.2% in 2012, and to 48.4% in 2013. These improvements occurred alongside rising enrolment levels for other ethnic groups, which has meant that the enrolment gap has remained and even widened. In 2008, the enrolment gap between Pacific and other children was 40.5% and this widened to 42.4% in 2012 and to 42.7% in 2013.11 Our Pacific Children 19 Figure 2: Early childhood education enrolments for Pacific and other children 2004 to 2013 Enrolments per 1000 children aged under 5 years 800 700 600 500 400 Pacifc Non-Pacific 300 200 100 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 At 30 July Perhaps the good news is that with recent declines in the Pacific birth rate and with more ECE infrastructure in place it may be possible to begin to lift Pacific ECE enrolments further and at a much faster rate simply because there will be fewer Pacific children needing or looking to use these centres. PACIFIC STUDENT ENGAGEMENT SHOWS FURTHER GAINS Various indicators of Pacific school students’ engagement—or more accurately non-engagement—within the compulsory education system show a consistent and significant improvement as shown in Table 10. These improvements range from a 16% decline in the rate of stand downs of Pacific students over the past five years of available data (2008–2012), to a 54% decline in rates of expulsion. Pacific students remain 10% more likely than the average student to be stood down and 60% more likely to be expelled although there are signs that these gaps are narrowing. IMPROVEMENTS IN PACIFIC STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT The most recently available NCEA data shows a comprehensive improvement in Pacific students’ academic achievement. This data is only available from 2012 and is summarised in Table 11 for the period 2008 to 2012. The proportion of Year 11 Pacific students passing NCEA Level 1 qualifications rose from 48% in 2008 to 63% in 2012, while the proportion of Year 12 gaining Level 2 improved 20 This Is Home from 54% to 69% over the same period. Pacific students’ abilities to move into tertiary education have also improved considerably with the proportion of Year 13 Pacific students gaining University Entrance rising from 41% in 2008 to 60% in 2012. As Table 11 shows, Pacific student academic successes still lag behind all other ethnic groups by a considerable margin although there are signs that this gap is slowly closing. For example, in 2008 Pacific students pass rates were between 45% and 66% of those of New Zealand European students, but by 2012 this gap had narrowed to be between 58% and 78%. Table 10: Student engagement indicators 2007 to 2012 2008 Stand down rate Suspension rate Exclusion rate Expulsion rate 2009 2010 2011 2012 Pacific 33.1 34.9 34.4 29.9 27.7 Total population 28.8 28.1 27.8 26.9 24.4 Pacific 7.1 7.9 6.5 5.4 4.4 Total population 6.0 6.5 5.8 5.2 4.7 Pacific 2.9 3.2 2.9 2.2 1.9 Total population 2.2 2.4 2.3 2.1 1.8 Pacific 4.8 4.4 3.8 3.3 2.2 Total population 1.7 2.0 2.1 1.6 1.4 Table 11: Student NCEA achievement rates 2008 to 2012 2008 Year 11 Level 1 Year 12 Level 2 Year 13 University Entrance 2009 2010 2011 2012 NZ European –ori Ma 79% 79% 83% 84% 86% 53% 55% 60% 64% 66% Pacific 48% 50% 54% 59% 63% Asian 75% 74% 78% 81% 83% NZ European –ori Ma 82% 81% 85% 87% 89% 63% 62% 69% 74% 75% Pacific 54% 55% 62% 64% 69% Asian 77% 78% 80% 82% 85% NZ European –ori Ma 71% 69% 72% 74% 74% 46% 42% 47% 49% 49% Pacific 32% 35% 36% 39% 43% Asian 73% 70% 74% 74% 75% Our Pacific Children 21 19-year-old Israel Aumua with his boss Geoffrey Luxmoore at a building supplies business in East Tamaki, Auckland. Mr Luxmoore created a position for Israel after hearing his plight for work at a local business conference last year. New Zealand Herald, 8 April 2014. Photography: Greg Bowker / New Zealand Herald 22 This Is Home WORK & INCOMES By March 2014, the Pacific unemployment rate remained virtually unchanged at 13.0%, and was twice the overall unemployment rate of 6.2%. Pacific unemployment peaked at 16% during 2012. The proportion of Pacific people of working age (15 to 64 years) that are said to be in the workforce because they are either working or actively seeking work has fallen as a result of these grim job and jobless numbers. In December 2008, the Pacific labour force participation rate was 67% against a nationwide participation rate of 69.6%. In March 2014, the Pacific participation rate had fallen to just above 62%, while the national rate had climbed back to 69.6% following a decline to 67.5% during the recession. In early 2014, 15,800 Pacific people were said to be officially unemployed, but if the higher participation rate of December 2008 was applied then a further 9,000 people would also be defined as officially unemployed. Such an increase would lift the Pacific unemployment rate to almost 19% not the official figure of 13.0%.12 A summary of job and jobless numbers for Pacific people is offered in Table 12. PACIFIC BENEFIT TAKE-UP DECLINES AGAINST NATIONAL TREND Pacific people appear to have lower rates of take-up of income support payments than other New Zealanders. Pacific take-up of support payments in March 2014 was almost the same (in total numbers) as five years earlier, while overall the number of income support payments rose 2.2%. However, rates of income support take-up by Pacific people are lower than might be anticipated as indicated in Table 13. For example, in March 2009, Pacific people received 8% of all the working age benefits being paid out at the time and made up 9.1% of those defined officially as being unemployed. By March 2014 the Pacific share of benefit payouts had fallen slightly to 7.9%, while the Pacific share of unemployment had risen significantly to 11.8%. INCOMES FOR THOSE IN WORK Against the lack of progress in the job stakes, those Pacific people in work appear to have regained some of the ground they have lost in terms of income. This recovery is shown in Table 14, which reports data from Statistics New Zealand’s New Zealand Income Survey.13 Over the five years of data offered in this survey, the median weekly income received by Pacific workers rose 3.1% in real (inflation adjusted) terms. Such an increase is almost the same as the overall increase for the total population over this period. Pacific people continue to receive the lowest median weekly income of any ethnic group at around 92% of the national median, and this has remained unchanged for the past five years or so. Work & Incomes 23 Table 12: Pacific employment and unemployment 2009 to 2013 (March years) Pacific Population Total Population 2009 2013 2014 Number of people in jobs (000s) 103.4 98.0 105.9 Number of people unemployed (000s) 15.6 17.5 15.8 Unemployment rate % 13.1 15.2 13.0 Labour force participation rate % 63.8 60.2 62.4 Number of people in jobs (000s) 2173.0 2239.8 2323.9 Number of people unemployed (000s) 128.8 155.8 154.0 Unemployment rate % 5.6 6.5 6.2 Labour force participation rate % 68.5 68.2 69.6 FOCUS AREA 2 DISENGAGED PACIFIC YOUNG PEOPLE NEET (not engaged in education, employment, training or caregiving) is a measure of youth disengagement. In the year to March 2013 among youth aged 15-24 years old, the Maori NEET rate was 23.2%, while the European rate was 11.4%. This compared to the Pacific NEET rate of almost 20%.14 Using the 2013 Census data, the Pacific NEET rate equates to over 11,400 Pacific young people in New Zealand. Concern is further elevated when you consider that 35% of Pacific young people are aged 0-14 years old. That equates to over 105,000 Pacific children and young people. This younger age group is gradually moving into the crucial 15-24 year old NEET age range discussed above. When you delve into these figures more, as illustrated by Figure 3, in the year-ending March 2013 almost 13% of young Pacific males were NEET, while a worrying 26% of young Pacific females were classed as NEET. We acknowledge that the Government has made recent responses to these issues and In the past, we have advocated for targeted employment policies and programmes including a possible reinvigoration of the Pacific Wave Unit at MSD that was launched in 2003 with relatively good results. It will be interesting to see how our political leaders respond to these youth unemployment issues in Election 2014. 24 This Is Home Table 13: Pacific peoples’ receipt of income support payments 2009 to 2014 (March years) Pacific Population 2009 2013 2014 Jobseeker Support 9,178 10,022 9,310 Sole Parent Support 8,296 8,415 7,447 Support Living Payment 4,990 5,741 5,900 782 736 582 All working age benefits 23,246 24,914 23,239 All working age benefits 288,959 310,146 295,320 Pacific share of working age benefits 8.0% 8.0% 7.9% Pacific share of unemployment 9.1% 11.6% 11.8% Other main benefits Total Population Table 14: Median weekly incomes for those in work 2008 to 2013 ($s at June 2013 values) 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Change 2008–13 European –ori Ma 842 835 835 819 814 863 2.5% 801 809 814 797 819 838 4.7% Pacific 744 747 749 722 748 767 3.1% All ethnic groups 808 823 821 780 806 834 3.2% Figure 3: NEET Rates 2009 to 13 15 Pacifc females Pacific males All females All males 26 Enrolments per 1000 children aged under 5 years 24 22 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 March years Work & Incomes 25 Evan Lockington, coordinator at Viscount Community House, Mangere. Operation Safe As Houses is relaunching in Mangere, to help keep homes safe from crime. New Zealand Herald, 7 October 2013. Photography: Brett Phibbs / New Zealand Herald 26 This Is Home CRIME & PUNISHMENT OFFENDING BY PACIFIC PEOPLE FALLS Rates of recorded offending by Pacific people have fallen by 27% over the past five years and this decline is identical to that of the total population. For the December 2013 year there were 15,444 apprehensions of Pacific people for a criminal offence. This was 21% fewer than in 2008. The rate of such apprehensions was 7,888 per 100,000 population aged over 18 years,16 against an apprehension rate of 5,053 per 100,000 for the total population. While it appears from these figures that Pacific offending is about 1.6 times higher than that of the total population, as explained previously, some of this difference can be explained by the relative youth of the Pacific population—it is younger adults who commit most of the crime.17 The trends in apprehension rates over the past five years are provided in Figure 4. Figure 4: Apprehension rates for all crime 2008 to 2013 Rate of apprehensions per 100,000 population over 18 years 14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 Pacific population Total population 2000 0 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 December years Figure 5 compares apprehension rates for various forms of assaults for both Pacific people and the total population. While the explanation of a younger population explains some of this difference, the difference is much larger than that for all crime as illustrated in Figure 4. The Pacific rate of apprehensions for violent offences is around 2.1 times the rate for the total population, which probably points to a specific range of problems for Pacific communities that must be addressed urgently. The good news here is that these apprehension rates are also falling, although not as quickly as for overall crime and at much the same rate for Pacific people and the total population. Crime & Punishment 27 Apprehensions per 100,000 population over 18 years Figure 5: Apprehension rates for assaults intended to cause injury 2008 to 2013 3000 2500 2000 Pacific population Total population 1500 1000 500 0 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 December years PACIFIC YOUTH OFFENDING REMAINS BELOW NZ AVERAGE While young Pacific adults are to some extent committing crime (or at least being apprehended for it) at a higher rate than many other groups, rates of offending by Pacific youth are lower than the New Zealand average. This comparison is given in Figures 6 and 7. Figure 6 shows the most recent five-year trend in apprehension rates of 14- to 16-year-olds and of 14- to 16-year-old Pacific youth. Both rates are declining, although the total population rate is declining slightly faster. For 2013, the Pacific apprehension rate of 8,162 apprehensions per 100,000 people was just 70% of the overall apprehension rate for all 14- to 16-year-olds. Figure 7 provides a comparison of apprehensions for offences intended to cause injury and, once again, the Pacific apprehension rate is 70% that for the total population. These rates have fallen by 21% over the past five years for the total population, and by 36% for Pacific youth. 28 This Is Home Figure 6: Apprehension rates for all offences by 14- to 16-year-olds 2008 to 2013 18000 Apprehensions per 100,000 population aged 14-16 years 16000 14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 Pacific population Total population 4000 2000 0 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 December years Figure 7: Apprehension rates for assaults by 14- to 16-year-olds 2008 to 2013 Apprehensions per 100,000 population aged 14-16 years 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 Pacific population Total population 400 200 0 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 December years Crime & Punishment 29 NOTHING CHANGES FOR PACIFIC PRISON EXPERIENCES Very little has changed over the past five years in terms of Pacific peoples’ experiences of prisons. Consistently, 11% to 12% of the prison population are Pacific Islanders, or between 900 or 1,000 individuals. While official estimates of the Pacific imprisonment rate are not published, we estimate these to be around 100 prisoners per 10,000 Pacific people aged over 18 for males and six prisoners per 10,000 for females. These rates are twice those for the total population overall. As with offending rates, much of this difference can be explained by the relative youth of the Pacific population given that it is younger people who most often go to prison.18 The good news for Pacific prisoners is that they are less likely to return to prison once they have been there. Table 15 below summarises Pacific prisoners’ chances of re-imprisonment or re-conviction within 12 months of release of prison and compares this with the rates for the overall prison population. The Pacific rates in this table are consistently 80% to 90% of those of the total prison population. The unfortunate news here is that recidivism rates for Pacific and other prisoners have not reduced by any significant or consistent amount despite Government attempts to do so. Table 15: Selected recidivism rates for prisoners 2009 to 2013 19 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 27.6% 28.4% 27.1% 27.0% 26.7% Reconvicted within 12 months 47.6% 47.5% 45.3% 43.3% 44.2% Re-imprisoned within 12 months 21.9% 22.3% 23.5% 21.0% 23.6% Reconvicted within 12 months 43.4% 40.0% 36.9% 39.3% 40.3% Total Prison Population Re-imprisoned within 12 months Pacific Prisoners 30 This Is Home Raymond, 13 and Sione, 14 were among some of the Mangere College students who were visited by a prison officer before the school holidays. It shocked them into changing their behaviour and getting back on the straight and narrow. The exercise was praised by parents and teachers. The Aucklander, 18 October 2007. Photography: Steven Mcnicholl / The Aucklander Crime & Punishment 31 From left: Fitalika Leha’uli, 5-month-old Annette Leha’uli, 23-month-old Keleiola Leha’uli, 3-year-old Leha’uli and Sione Leha’uli after the opening of the Matanikolo Housing Project in Mangere, Auckland. The family was one of the first to move into a new home. Stage one of the project involved 22 new affordable homes for Pacific families. New Zealand Herald, 13 February 2014. Photography: Sarah Ivey / New Zealand Herald 32 This Is Home HOUSING PACIFIC HOME-OWNERSHIP RATES TAKE A DIVE Since 1996, New Zealand has seen a structural shift in its housing markets with declining rates of home ownership and increasing rates of renting. In 1996, around 73% of adults and 71% of households owned or partly owned the dwelling they usually lived in. By 2006, these rates of ownership had fallen to approximately 53% for adults and 55% for dwellings. The most recent data for the 2013 Census reports ownership rates for adults falling to just below 50%, while data on household tenure was still to be reported at the writing of this report. The commencement of this decline coincides with the withdrawal by the Government in 1993 of affordable home ownership programmes. Pacific people have experienced even greater declines in rates of homeownership. The number of Pacific people that owned or partly owned their house hardly changed between 2001 and 2013. This number increased from 33,411 in 2001 to 34,350 in 2013, an increase of just fewer than 3%. Over the same period, the number of Pacific people reporting their housing tenure rose 31% from 151,654 to 186,111, and the number reporting not owning their dwelling rose 59% from 95,238 in 2001 to 120,099 in 2006, and to 151,761 in 2013. These trends are shown in Figure 8. A simple Shift Share Analysis20 suggests that about 30% of the increase in the number of Pacific Island adult tenants between 2006 and 2013 was due to the relative increase in the total Pacific population, while a further 30% was due to the increase in the number of tenants overall. The remaining 40% of the overall increase between 2006 and 2013 was due to a shift effect; that is, deterioration in the housing position of Pacific people relative to other ethnic groups. Figure 8: Pacific housing tenure—total number of people reporting tenure Number of people reporting tenure 160,000 140,000 120,000 Own or partly own usual residence do not own usual residence Not elsewhere included 100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 2001 2006 2013 Housing 33 As a result of this rapid increase in the number of Pacific people that do not own their home, the proportion of Pacific people owning or part owning their home fell from 26% in 2001 to 21.8% in 2006, and to 18.5% in 2013. By comparison, homeownership rates among other ethnic groups are both higher and have not fallen as sharply over the period 2001 to 2013. Figure 9 shows that the decline in the proportion of Pacific Island people who own or partly own their house is much higher than that of other ethnic groups. A closer analysis of the data suggests this decline is something of a structural shift in Pacific peoples’ already weak position in the housing market. Figure 9: Proportion of tenure holders who own their home by ethnicity 70% 2001 2006 2013 Proportion of people who own or partly own their usual place of residence 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0 European –ori Ma Pacific Asian FOCUS AREA 3 HOUSING Housing is clearly a major area of concern for Pacific families as illustrated by our data analysis. The housing issues are mammoth, and include high rental costs, low-quality rental properties, low rates of home ownership, and more. Pacific people are either effectively being shut out of a major aspect of our national economy­—the housing market—or their experience of home ownership or renting is often very difficult and problematic. 34 This Is Home In this Focus Area, we want to briefly highlight the Matanikolo Housing Development in Mangere, South Auckland.21 The Government has and will continue to employ a myriad of measures to alleviate the housing stress in New Zealand, particularly in Auckland. This has included the loan-to-value rules, a Warrant of Fitness trial for state houses, and several legislative changes. All of these measures will impact Pacific families. However, the Matanikolo Project is a positive response from the Pacific community themselves to the housing crises their families face. Matanikolo is a collaborative effort between several partners, including the Tongan Methodist Church, the Social Housing Unit (SHU), Airedale Property Trust, the Methodist Church of New Zealand, and others. In February 2014, 22 homes were opened under Stage One of the Matanikolo Project, with 22 lowincome Pacific families moving into newly built homes. Other key aspects of this Project include: • project cost of $8.6 million, with the SHU providing a $4.3 million grant via its Growth Fund in 2012 • the remaining $4.3 million came from a bank loan and the value of the 6.4 ha block of land in Mangere that the Tongan Methodist Church bought for $210,000 in 1994 • rents for the first 22 homes are set at 80% of market value • the consortium has already made an application to the SHU for Stage Two of the Project to build 14 homes for Pacific elderly people. We believe that community-driven projects like this must be celebrated, especially as Matanikolo responds directly to housing stress and need within their own community. Matanikolo is also unique as it brings together the Government, government policies and funding, Pacific churches, NGOs, private companies, and community members—all with the aim of providing affordable, warm, and safe housing to Kiwis. While housing-related problems remain significant for Pacific families, responses like this should be highlighted and possibly even modelled by other Pacific churches or community organisations. Furthermore, Matanikolo shows that Pacific groups can participate effectively in the social and community housing sector. Of course, there are bound to be problems that arise with Matanikolo simply because there is no perfect policy, programme or project. But Matanikolo remains a tangible and positive Pacific response to the real problems facing their families. Housing 35 Poutoa Papali’i is an Otara resident who campaigned for stricter liquor laws. The Law Commission has given back to communities the power to determine the number of liquor stores they will have. The Aucklander, 17 May 2010. Photography: Michelle Hyslop / The Aucklander 36 This Is Home SOCIAL HAZARDS THE SALVATION ARMY PERSPECTIVE When looking at social hazards, The Salvation Army usually focuses on three main areas: alcohol, drug-related crime and problem gambling. These are areas where we deliver rehabilitative services throughout the country via our Addiction Services. They are also all health-related areas. However, The Salvation Army is not a direct provider of health services, and so we do not always comment on such health-related areas as nutrition, infectious diseases and primary health care. In our 2013 Pasifika Report, we provided a snapshot of the concentration of Class 4 Electronic Gaming machines into areas with high Pacific populations. In this update, we will offer some data and commentary around alcohol, relating to Pacific people. MINISTRY OF HEALTH SURVEYS The data on Pacific people and alcohol is heavily reliant on the Ministry of Health’s population health survey programme and other related data. The most recent Health Survey (2012/13) showed that 56.7% of Pacific adults drank alcohol in the past 12 months, compared to 80% of the overall population. However, this survey also showed that over 35% of Pacific drinkers had a hazardous drinking pattern. Table 16 shows changes in alcohol consumption among Pacific adults since 2006/07. It is encouraging to see significant decline in alcohol consumption by Pacific males since 2006/07, whereas the proportion of Pacific women drinking has increased slightly since 2011/12. In terms of hazardous drinking behaviours, there have been consistent declines for Pacific adult drinkers between 2006/07 and 2012/13. There has been a nearly 50% decrease in the proportion of Pacific women over 15 engaging in hazardous drinking behaviours between 2006/07 and 2012/13. This trend is also very encouraging. Table 17 illustrates this decline. Table 16: Alcohol consumption in the last year by Pacific adults 2006/07 to 2012/13 22 2006/07 2011/12 2012/13 Total Pacific population 59.5% 58.4% 56.7% Pacific Men 70.5% 71.9% 67% Pacific Women 49.2% 47% 47.8% Table 17: Hazardous drinking amongst Pacific population 2006/07 to 2012/13 23 2006/07 2011/12 2012/13 Total Pacific population 23.4% 20.3% 17.8% Pacific Men 33.7% 30.6% 28.3% Pacific Women 14.0% 11.6% 8.7% Social Hazards 37 38 This Is Home ENDNOTES 1 Available at: http://www.salvationarmy.org.nz/research-media/ social-policy-and-parliamentary-unit/reports/more-than-churches 13 http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/income-and-work/ Income/nz-income-survey-info-releases.aspx 2 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_ id=1&objectid=152504 14 http://www.dol.govt.nz/publications/lmr/pdfs/lmr-fs/lmr-fs-youthmar13.pdf 3 The majority of the statistics used in this report are taken from the 2001, 2006 or 2013 Censuses administered by Statistics New Zealand. We have used the tables and releases by Statistics New Zealand in developing commentary and analysis for this report. Therefore, the analysis here is based on this information unless otherwise noted or referenced. 15 http://www.dol.govt.nz/publications/lmr/pdfs/lmr-fs/lmr-fs-pacificmar13.pdf 4 This 60% is based on an assumption that as many Pacific men as women have children with a non-Pacific person. If, for example, there are 10,000 Pacific children and 7,000 Pacific women giving birth, then the extra 3,000 children had a Pacific father and nonPacific mother (assuming few multiple births of twins or triplets). In the same way, of the 7,000 Pacific women giving birth we could assume that 3,000 of these women shared their parenting with a non-Pacific man. This means that 6,000 of the 10,000 Pacific children born, or 60%, had either a mother or father who was not of Pacific ethnicity. 5 http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/population/births/ births-tables.aspx 6 In 2013, half of all Pacific Islanders living in Auckland and one-third of those living in New Zealand lived in 47 of Auckland’s 409 Census Area Units. 7 http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/people_and_ communities/pacific_peoples/pacific-progress-demography/ birthplace.aspx. The Salvation Army Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit will release a report on Social Polarisation and Gentrification in New Zealand in July/August 2014. 8 http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/live/ samoanquota 9 http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/live/pacificaccess 10 http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/general/ generalinformation/media/rse.htm 11 For example, in 2008 the overall rate of enrolment for non-Pacific children aged under five year olds was 64.5% against a Pacific enrolment rate of 24%. 12 In December 2013, the Pacific working age population was estimated at 195,200 people, of which 64.2% (125,300) people were reported as being in the labour force. Of this labour force number, 108,200 were employed and 17,200 were officially unemployed, producing an official Pacific unemployment rate of 13.7%. If, however, the higher participation rate of 67% reached in December 2008 was applied to the December 2013 working age population of 195,200 people, the number of people unemployed would rise to 22,600 and the unemployment rate to 17.3%. 16 This estimate is based on the authors’ estimates of the Pacific population aged over 18 years. These estimates have been based on earlier Pacific population age/sex estimates provided by Statistics New Zealand, having made some allowance for small changes over the years in the numbers in each age cohort. In mid-2013, the Pacific population aged over 18 years was estimated at 195,800 people, of which 95,000 were male and 100,800 female. 17 In 2013, nearly 24% of all those aged over 16 that were apprehended for criminal offences were aged between 17 and 20 years old, yet this age cohort made up just 7% of the over 16 population. Similarly, 36% of all those apprehended who were aged over 16 was aged between 21 and 30, yet this age group made up just 18% of the over 16 population. In 2012, Pacific adults aged 17 to 19 years made up approximately 6.3% of the Pacific population, while this age group made up only 4.1% of the non-Pacific population. At the same time, Pacific people aged 17 to 19 made up 9.4% of the total 17- to 19-yearold population, yet only 9.2% of the people within this age group were apprehended for a criminal offence. Source: Statistics New Zealand’s crime database. 18 While we do not have data on the age of Pacific prisoners, just under 35% of prisoners are aged between 20 and 29 years old, yet this group makes up less than 20% of the over-20 population. By comparison, 20- to 29-year-olds in the Pacific population make up over 30% of the over 20 Pacific population. Source of prison data: Department of Corrections Prison facts and Statistics March 2014 available at http://www.corrections.govt.nz/resources/facts_and_ statistics/quarterly_prison_statistics/CP_December_2014.html 19 Source: Department of Corrections Annual Reports 2008/09-2012/13 20 Shift-share analysis is a relatively simple statistical method that disaggregates the changes in a sub-population or other subgroup which are due to changes in the overall population, such as falling ownership rates, with changes that are specific to the sub-population or sub-group, such as disproportionate falls in ownership rates. This second type of change is a shift. 21 This short documentary film is a simple way to view the development and launch of the Matanikolo Project: http://www. popgunfilms.com/matanikolo 22 Adult data tables: Health status, health behaviours and risk factors from New Zealand Health Survey: Annual update of key findings 2012/13 report. 23 Ibid. Endnotes 39 40 This Is Home The Salvation Army Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit New Zealand, Fiji & Tonga Territory PO Box 76-075, Manukau City 2104, New Zealand Phone (09) 261 0883 Fax (09) 262 4103 salvationarmy.org.nz/socialpolicy