Council to pump up community support
Waipa District Council will employ community advisors to work directly with local social agencies and community groups to help the district recover from Covid-19.
The positions will be part of a $795,000 recovery package earmarked by Council to help support and rebuild Waipa’s economy and community following the pandemic. The recovery money will come from a reserve fund built up by earnings from arbitrage arrangements; it will not be funded by rates
Mayor Jim Mylchreest said it was inevitable Waipā will be negatively impacted by Covid-19 and that Council will have a critical role in the district’s recovery.
“Waipa might be in a slightly better position that some parts of New Zealand but there is a lot of pain still to come and we need to be ready for it,” he said.
“We know that social services within our communities are already stretched and that redundancies are forecast. If we are to minimise the negative economic and social impacts of that upon families in our district, it’s important we are proactive and put resources where they are needed most.”
An independent report commissioned by the Council said district-wide unemployment as a result of Covid-19 will climb from 2.5% to 6.9% to March 2021. Maori unemployment within Waipā is predicted to rise to 16 %.
Iwi need to be at the forefront of any initiatives, given Maori will be disproportionately impacted by the Covid fall-out, Mylchreest said.
The community advisors are likely to be employed on an 18-month fixed term and will help link Waipa to regional and national initiatives. They will work in the community to ensure social priorities are well-understood and that responses from Council are stream-lined, timely and clear.
“This is not about handouts. It is about leveraging and bolstering our community’s existing strengths and making sure we are doing all we can with what we already have,” Mylchreest said.
“This is aimed at growing the long-term capability of the social sector so Waipā, overall, builds more resilience. We need to make sure people have the right tools to fully participate in our community so they can contribute economically and socially.”