The new funding crisis facing our Citizens Advice Bureaus
The bright yellow Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) sign still flutters outside the entrance to the Manurewa office but it has just closed for the day. Inside, the offices and waiting areas exude serenity and calm – pamphlets perfectly in place, darkened interview rooms, desks cleared, a tidied kitchen.
Patricia Pera, chair of the Manurewa CAB board, is the acting manager. Pera says it has been “another one of those days”. A Justice of the Peace attended to the needs of 28 clients in the space of three hours. They’ve held a citizenship ceremony for one – CAB staff helped her fulfil her citizenship requirements and the woman then requested her ceremony be at the CAB because it was a “safe, peaceful space”.
Two CAB duty teams have been dealing with complex issues, such as breaking KiwiSaver contributions, immigration inquiries, housing and family conflict.
“We’ve had four KiwiSavers just today. People are torn. They don’t want to break their savings but they don’t want to lose their roof. They don’t want to be a statistic. These consultations take time,” says Pera.
The CAB volunteers take as long as it takes with each person. They are trained to listen, ask questions, be respectful, and help clients find a solution that works.
This CAB, like so many throughout the country, has been around for more than 50 years, and the demand for services is growing. The centre, staffed by volunteers as diverse as the community itself, is run on kaupapa Māori principles. Prayers are offered in te reo Māori or other languages before and after any consultation. Pera believes the only debriefing this CAB gets is with “the big fella upstairs”. Pera also knows that the CAB is under threat with “a few arrows coming our way”.
Those “arrows” are tensions about the funding of most of the 80-plus CAB offices across NZ, each with a paid bureau manager and staffed by about 2110 volunteers.
Kerry Dalton’s world as CEO of Citizens Advice Bureau NZ (CABNZ) essentially revolves around safeguarding long-term funding for the sustainability of operating CABs and also for the very survival of some offices; plus advocating for CABNZ clients. The outstanding issue for Dalton is the impact of government agencies rolling out digital systems in preference to in-person appointments with the public.
Dalton is clear. “As part of its digitalisation transformation, the government is withdrawing face-to-face services without consulting the public. This goes to the heart of the government’s responsibility to its people, because it removes choice and excludes people. It’s an important issue for us to discuss as a country.
“It has significantly eroded the trust between the public and government.”