About

The TacklingPovertyNZ workshops are a collaboration between the New Zealand Treasury and the McGuinness Institute.

Background
In December 2015, the McGuinness Institute undertook a three-day workshop in collaboration with The New Zealand Treasury. The workshop brought together 36 New Zealanders between the ages of 18 and 25 to explore ways to reduce poverty in New Zealand. To see the final presentation by the 36 participants or videos of workshop speakers, please watch the Institute’s YouTube TacklingPovertyNZ Playlist. The primary output from the workshop was a booklet outlining participants’ observations, reflections and recommendations for how New Zealand might tackle poverty. You can download a PDF of the booklet here. You can learn more about the 2015 workshop here.

About the 2016 Tour
One of the observations made by participants at the 2015 TacklingPovertyNZ workshop was that poverty in New Zealand is too complex an issue to be overcome with a blanket solution. Instead, solutions must be sought at a local level to acknowledge that poverty has vastly differing consequences for people in different areas of New Zealand. This observation has led to the undertaking of a TacklingPovertyNZ tour – a series of one-day workshops around New Zealand to provide a platform for local voices to address the issue of poverty in their region. You can learn more about these one-day workshops here.

About the Logo
The logo needed to acknowledge the seriousness of poverty while at the same time expressing optimism and practicality. To depict a more literal struggle would risk implying an overly emotional or defeatist attitude, where instead the intention of this workshop is to move forward with purpose and positivity. Bright orange illuminates the issue, bringing it out into the open so that we can confront it directly. Think of the logo as two arms reaching out to tackle it. They are open, not closed, to emphasise the importance of broad-mindedness and clarity of thinking in the fight against poverty.

About the New Zealand Treasury
The New Zealand Treasury is the government’s lead advisor on economic, financial and regulatory policy. Its main functions are:

  • advising ministers on economic and fiscal performance;
  • managing the financial affairs of the Crown;
  • helping the government develop its overall strategy for state services;
  • monitoring the performance of state sector agencies; and
  • providing commercial policy advice and financial operations services.

About the McGuinness Institute
The McGuinness Institute is a non-partisan think tank working towards a sustainable future, contributing strategic foresight through evidence-based research and policy analysis.