In 2011, Red Alert will do a few new things. One of them is to introduce you to some confirmed Labour electorate candidates who will do the occasional guest post.
This will give them the opportunity to put forward some ideas and you the opportunity to get a sense of who they are before the upcoming election.
Today’s guest poster is Louisa Wall, the recently confirmed candidate for Manurewa.
In anything you have to get the foundation right so your base is strong and solid to keep you focused and clear in what you are trying to achieve.
As a social democrat I am concerned about the distribution of public good resources for the equitable benefit of all New Zealand citizens. So my thinking derives from a base with the ethical ideals of social justice and universalism as a core philosophy.
Should the systems of government only provide demand based services or should some government departments look at supplying or targeting public good services to those individuals and families that need these resources most.
NZ has developed a ‘universal’ free Well Child/Tamariki Ora Framework of 8 health checks to support families/whânau to maximise their child’s developmental potential and health status from birth to five years.
The B4 School Check is a nationwide programme offering a free health and development check for four year olds to identify and address any health, behavioural, social, or developmental concerns which could affect a child’s ability to get the most benefit from school, such as a hearing problem or communication difficulty. It is the eighth core contact of the Well Child Tamariki Ora Schedule of services.
In theory all New Zealand children have as a right of citizenship to receive the B4 School Check. Children have to be referred to a Well Child Provider and the best referral access for this is via their GP. Not all New Zealand children are enrolled with a GP or a Well Child provider so not all NZ children receive the B4 School Check.
Children do not choose not to have the B4 School Check and should not be penalised if their parent or caregiver does not make sure they know about or enrol them with a Well Child provider.
The link between our education and health sectors needs to more than overlap but in this instance hold each other accountable. All children upon enrolment into school if they have not had their B4 School Check should have it then. And if targeting were required we should supply to those children most in need so start with all decile 1 schools progressing through to decile 10 schools.
We cannot afford any of our children not to be ready to learn and all NZ children deserve to have the chance of learning and a quality education.
Happy 2011 – nga mihi mo te tau hou ki tatou katoa!
About Louisa
Louisa Hareruia Wall was born and raised in Taupo and is the eldest of 4 children. She has a Master of Philosophy (Social Policy) from Massey University which she gained whilst representing New Zealand in both netball for the Silver Ferns and rugby for the Black Ferns.
Louisa was a List Member of Parliament (Labour) from 4 March to 29 November 2008 and had membership of the Health and Justice and Electoral select committees. She was selected as Labour’s candidate to contest the Manurewa electorate in the 2011 general election on 12 December 2010.
