Peter McKenzie Project Update (May 2018)

Momentum is growing within the Peter McKenzie Project (PMP). As you may be aware, PMP has the privilege and responsibility of maximising the funds held in the Jayar Charitable Trust, which was brought into being and nurtured by Peter until his untimely death. He suggested that the funds be spent on one specific focus to make as much difference as possible, over a period of up to 20 years. This focus is:

Imagine an Aotearoa New Zealand where all our children, young people and mokopuna flourish
He oranga tamariki, he oranga whānau, he oranga tāngata

The key indicators of success are quite simple: we want to see a reduction in the number of children and families living in poverty and hardship. We are particularly interested in how we can contribute to improving systems, to make a poverty-free life attainable for all citizens; this can complement other funding that more often supports programme delivery.

Last year, PMP put out a ‘Call for Ideas’ and received 260! The ideas were varied and thoughtful and came from a wide range of organisations and individuals. We offered 15 of these some funding to develop and scope their idea further. This work is underway and recently four of the initiatives made presentations to the PMP Committee. Some significant funding will be offered in the near future…watch this space.

In other news, PMP is keen to seize the opportunity presented by the Government’s recent commitment to prioritising actions which increase child well-being and reduce child poverty. Along with the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, we are hosting an event in a few weeks to foster cross-pollination between government officials who are creating new policies and practices, community leaders who are experts in this field, and people with personal experience of living in hardship. We have also made a submission to the Child Poverty Reduction Bill which is currently before Parliament.