Introduction:  the latest news.....

AGM Notice: 18 July 2021.....

Raf Manji: Examining the human right to a basic income.

BINZ supports call by Hapai Te Hanora.

Want to join the Committee?  Talk to Gaylene: Ph. 021 1557084 or write binzcontact@gmail.com

Gaylene Middleton:

Have you looked at the Te Utu Tika Hei Oranga I Aotearoa, Basic Income New Zealand Facebook page? Updated regularly by Karl Matthys, this page is a tremendous resource, gathering up to date articles and research around Basic Income.

It is disappointing to all of us Basic Income advocates that Basic Income, which emerged as a viable proposition in a Covid-19 Pandemic world, has disappeared below the radar again as we move toward a post Covid-19 world. Te Utu Tika Hei Oranga I Aotearoa continues to be absolute in its resolve that Basic Income must be adopted right now in Aotearoa. Experiences globally and here in New Zealand with the most recent findings in the report Income support in the wake of Covid-19: interviews by Louise Humpage and Charlotte More, 20 April 2021, are a case in point.

The stories relayed by twelve Income Support recipients on three themes; material well being, engagement with Work and Income, and the Impact of the Covid-19 Income Relief Payment, was compelling evidence that a major overhaul of income for benefit recipients and of the administrative system is needed. Furthermore, Dr Humpage suggests the recommendations made by the Welfare Expert Advisory Group in 2019 must be implemented. What is very pertinent from the twelve interviews is the suggestion that their stories will be similar to the stories of thousands of other beneficiaries!

Te Utu Tika Hei Oranga I Aotearoa agrees with the Child Poverty Action Group comment on the Labour Government's Unemployment Insurance Scheme recently announced in May. Economics spokesperson for Child Poverty Action Group Susan St John says "The problem with social insurance is that it entrenches and ensures that there is special treatment for some newly unemployed, in times of every day unemployment." The Unemployment Insurance Scheme sets up a two-tier system. Those in work receive protection from the uncertainties of employment while those without work are not helped. As Basic Income is a one-tier system, all people will receive it.

A recent Facebook article posted 18 June 21 writes about the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, SEED, which ended in February 2021. This project gave $500 monthly, with no restrictions, to 125 residents of Stockton, California, for two years. In March 2021, the first-year results were released. Recipients had improved mental health, were more economically stable, and were even more likely to find full-time work. "I sleep better," said one SEED participant. "My mind's not racing all the time thinking about next month's rent."(1)

Another article posted 19 June 2021 is about Wales where a Basic Income Pilot is about to be launched. We are familiar with the definition of Basic Income in this article - "Universal Basic Income (UBI) is an idea in which every citizen or resident of a given country or area would be given an unconditional sum of money on a regular basis - regardless of their social or economic status."

We are familiar too with the sentence- "Proponents of Universal Basic Income argue that it would provide a solution to the welfare and benefits system, help alleviate poverty, and support people through unemployment or insecure work." And again, we are so very familiar with this old chestnut often expressed in New Zealand - "critics say that the programme could cost the state too much money and remove the incentive for people to work."( 2 )

In 2016, Eric Crompton wrote in a Spinoff article - "A UBI that pays enough to leave current beneficiaries no worse off would be phenomenally expensive and would require substantial tax increases, if it were not combined with a very high claw back rate." ( 3 )

Numerous Basic Income pilots have shown that with a Basic Income more people move into employment reducing the cost of a Basic Income scheme while increasing the tax income.The Basic Income advocates in Wales conclude that the -"Universal Basic Income trial in Wales could help solve the nation's 'broken' welfare system - and be 'our generation's NHS' "  It is also the contention of Te Utu Tika Hei Oranga I Aotearoa, BINZ, that a Basic Income could go a long way towards solving NZ's broken welfare system. Ganesh Nana, appointed in January 2021 as the head of the Productivity Commission, said in a Stuff article 19 June 2021 ( 4 ): "On Rogernomics, we got sold a lemon. The story we were told was that the market would provide the solutions, that wealth would drip, fairly, through the fingers of those generating it." But Nana concedes the painful economic reforms of the 1980s did not deliver what was promised. Nana continues "It has delivered for some of us ... but for a reasonably broad section of the community, it hasn't delivered; it's actually made things worse." "The world has changed" says Nana, "we need to interrogate the models." Ganesh Nana we hope that Basic Income is a model interrogated.

The understanding of Basic Income requires a re-thinking of the concept of 'work'. For a number of centuries 'work' has been seen as a calling. Work for its own sake is seen as ennobling and linked to human dignity. Hard work is the basis of a just and moral society. Anything that undermines work undermines social order. Those who do not work are suspect. This veneration of work may have contributed to the success of neo-liberalism, which has led to the consequences of inequality that a broad section of our society is now experiencing.

Guy Standing co-founder of Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) says we need to reconceptualise work.  Article 1 of the suggested Precariat Charter -Redefine work as productive and reproductive activity- says "All forms of work should be recognised and valued, not just paid labour. Much valuable work, such as care for relatives and voluntary work, is unpaid and uncounted. So are many labour-related tasks that people are expected to do in their own time. Meanwhile, labourist policies aim to maximise the numbers in jobs, no matter how pointless, demeaning or resource-depleting". (5) 

( 1) https://progressive.org/magazine/money-for-the-people-thomhave/?fbclid=IwAR1HttXSueDeiPOm-MkuvUrEq99KR9ftYodyOJA1Pr7lReAUOpAIuVP9-JM 

( 2 ) https://redactionpolitics.com/2021/06/09/universal-basic-income-wales-nhs-welfare-benefits/?fbclid=IwAR2xJxg74alg4wnWw6hw9vnsCeLGTLDRo9BSuIqMV9kMrhXwtS9rj7p4al8 

( 3 ) https://thespinoff.co.nz/featured/31-03-2016/i-love-the-idea-of-a-universal-basic-income-but-heres-the-problem/

( 4 ) https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/300333582/rogernomics-not-on-the-watch-of-ganesh-nana-new-head-of-the-productivity-commission?cid=app-android&fbclid=IwAR0l4yvmFxvbM1YRlQCctS4QZWVrN0WLbprJOgHL_Q1e34_YFFGfDOIHpLw 

( 5 ) A Precariat Charter From Denizens to Citizens Guy Standing Bloomsbury 2014

2021 Te Utu Tika Hei Oranga I Aotearoa, Basic Income New Zealand AGM 18 July 2021, 10am until 3pm

120 Kent Terrace, Taradale, Napier

The Te Utu Tika Hei Oranga I Aotearoa, BINZ AGM will deal with the following:

-2020 Financial report2020

-Chairperson’s report

-Election of Officers for 2021

-Presentation from Te Rangikaheke about exploring a different approach to advocacy for a Basic Income in New Zealand using the context of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This approach has the value of bringing the western understanding of the Commons into focus with Tikanga which includes the concepts of Manaakitanga-extending aroha to others, Kaitiatanga- being respectful and conserving the earth and Kotahitanga- sharing and extending support to everyone.

-Talk and Q&A with Meng Foon who served as the Mayor of Gisborne from 2001 to 2019 and NZ Race Relations Commissioner from August 2019. Meng Foon will discuss “Would a Basic Income facilitate good race relations?”

Lunch will be shared at a suitable time during these proceedings. RSVP 14 July 2021 to help with catering arrangements: binzcontact@gmail.com or phone Karl 06 8454372.

Raf Manji

Examining the human right to a universal basic income

 Raf Manji is an advocate for Basic Income in New Zealand. Raf graduated from the University of Manchester in 1987 with a degree in Economics and Social Studies. In 2002, he moved to New Zealand with his family. He has a Grad Dip Arts in Political Science, and a Masters in International Law and Politics from the University of Canterbury.

Raf Manji was a Christchurch City Councillor from 2016 to 2019. Raf suggests that a new social contract must include a basic income, and that we need to re-conceive the idea of citizenship. The idea of the consumer replaces the concept of the citizen. Raf argues that we need to “negotiate a new social contract” that recognizes the rights and duties of citizenship. The new social contract, he believes, should recognize a basic income as a right.

Guy Standing also writes about this imperative of citizenship. It is a theme in all his books on basic income. In Basic Income: And how we can make it happen (2017) Guy wrote, “As a universal right derived from the collective wealth of society, a basic income would strengthen the sense of common citizenship.” It is also Raf’s thought that we should first decide that we want a basic income, and then we can find a way to fund it.

The following are links to Raf Manji interviews and talks on basic income: Universal basic income: A new form of social contract – Raf Manji Q&A 26th Social European Network 2018 https://www.esn-eu.org/news/universal-basic-income-new-form-social-contract-raf-manji-qa .

Is UBI an idea whose time has come? Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan, 2:20 pm on 14 November 2016 https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/201823755/is-ubi-an-idea-whose-time-has-come A Universal Income needs a focus on citizen responsibility | TEDx Christchurch 2016 https://www.tedxchristchurch.com/raf-manji

A summary to Raf’s paper Article 25.1: Examining the human right to a universal basic income. This paper has sought to examine the human right to a basic income. It has discussed the arguments over whether human rights exist at all and, more specifically, whether there are such things as economic rights.

It has then looked at recent examples of how economic rights can be fulfilled by way of a universal basic income. The intent of the UDHR, explicit in its drafting processes, was to place the dignity of the person at the centre of all conceptions of human rights. That dignity was expressed initially as the basic right to life and liberty, to be free from violence and persecution.

This accorded strongly with previous versions of rights declarations and historic beliefs about what rights accrued to the person. In this way, these civil and political rights became considered as first generation rights, the most important ones.

Economic rights, which always sat behind civil and political rights, were regarded somehow as second generation, a hopeful add on. They were described as "nonsense on stilts" and somehow wishful thinking. This thinking has no logic to it at all. How can one be free, if one is dying of poverty? Where is the liberty in hunger? Where is the dignity in destitution?

The simple answer is that there isn't any freedom, liberty or dignity in poverty. As Pogge tells us, of the nearly 1 billion people living in poverty, "each year, some 18 million of them die prematurely from poverty-related causes".

There is no liberty in this. In all the global and regional human rights charters, from 1948 to 2012, there is a clear and unambiguous right to a basic standard of living. This exists regardless of whether a person is in employment or not.

The universal acceptance that a basic standard of living should be available to all, by right, has seen the demand for a universal basic income increase. However, it is important to note that this is not a new idea. From Aristotle to Thomas More, from Thomas Paine to Bertrand Russell, from John Rawls to Philippe van Parjis, there has been a consistent dialogue from moral and political philosophers around the core requirement for a basic subsistence for all human beings.

It is only in recent years that firm proposals for a universal basic income have been put into action. The fear of giving people something for nothing have been assuaged by the results of projects, such as the Namibian Coalition, and have seen shift of perspective even in mature, developed societies with established welfare states.

It seems that logic and emotion would lead to the understanding that the economic and human right to a basic income is indeed a core universal right and one that should not be regarded as a second-generation right or some kind of wishful thinking.

The right to a universal basic income is, without doubt, central to any conception of human rights. Alongside life and liberty should stand the right to a basic subsistence. This can be fulfilled by a universal basic income. After all, one cannot be truly free and live in dignity, if one is starving, cold and sick.

 Basic Income New Zealand Supports Call By Hapai Te Hauora

Thursday, 27 May 2021, 9:19 am Press Release:

Basic Income New Zealand Te Utu Tika Hei Oranga I Aotearoa, Basic Income New Zealand, supports the call by Hapai Te Hauora, the largest Maori public health collective in Aotearoa, for a Basic Income for all New Zealanders.

Hapai Te Hauora includes a Basic Income as part of their vision for community well being. A Basic Income would confer upon all New Zealanders the right to live and be well. As advocates for a Basic Income, Te Utu Tika Hei Oranga I Aotearoa, welcomes the increase in welfare rates in the 2021 Government Budget. This will help relieve poverty for those on the lowest incomes in New Zealand. Relieving poverty is essential for "well being and personal dignity", and for a transformative New Zealand economy.

But, is this Budget transformative? It is a nudge but does not come near to implementing the recommendations of the 2019 Welfare Expert Advisory Group's report. Those on the lowest incomes will spend their additional income on essentials which will boost the incomes of local business, support regional development and increase government tax revenues. This makes the increased benefits largely self-funding. The increased threshold before welfare payments begin to abate will allow people on welfare increased access to work to supplement their incomes.

However, the threshold is not high enough and needs to be increased significantly to allow people greater access to work. Thresholds have not been increased in recent years and have fallen well behind inflation making the poverty trap worse. This is a catch-up rather than a significant improvement. Thresholds should be increased every year in line with inflation and abatement rates reduced to eliminate poverty traps.

Iain Middleton, spokesperson for Te Utu Tika Hei Oranga I Aotearoa says: "It is concerning that the abatement rates remain unduly high. People working and earning beyond the threshold face an initial effective marginal tax rate (EMTR) of 80.5% which is considerable higher than the EMTR of 33% or 39% that medium to high income earners face. Why should those on the lowest incomes face the highest EMTRs? We call on the government to raise the thresholds further and reduce the abatement rates to eliminate poverty traps.

The introduction of a Basic Income for all New Zealanders would eliminate poverty traps and the need for Job Seeker support payments." Basic Income has consistently been shown to enhance the movement of people from unemployment to full time employment while boosting local businesses and regional development. Basic Income trials in other countries have shown good outcomes for health, education, violence reduction, and the recognition that family care is valued. The trials have also shown that people make good decisions for themselves and their families.

The security of a consistent Basic Income gives freedom of choice and self-direction. Constant surveillance of work arrangements and personal circumstances is oppressive. Those in paid work are not subjected to such oppressive intrusion in their lives. With a Basic Income, the present paternalistic and punitive Social Welfare system is replaced with a simpler more humane system.

https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2105/S00255/basic-income-new-zealand-supports-call-by-hapai-te-hauora.htm