Assistant Police Commissioner Richard Chambers (Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone)
Assistant Police Commissioner Richard Chambers (Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone)

The BulletinMay 2, 2022

Getting smart on youth crime

Assistant Police Commissioner Richard Chambers (Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone)
Assistant Police Commissioner Richard Chambers (Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone)

An increase in ram raids has encouraged a belief that youth crime is out of control but experts say it’s not a result of “being soft on crime”, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in The Bulletin.

 

Do ram raids point to rising youth crime rates? 

It’s been impossible to read the news recently without encountering a story about ram raids. I got eight pages into a Google news search and still hadn’t hit the end of coverage. It can lead to an assumption that youth crime rates are rising. Stuff’s Katie Doyle took a look at that question and found that they’re not. Overall, youth crime rates are down 63-65% between 2010/11 and 2020/21. But the police have said those involved in ram raids are under 20 and youth advocates are concerned. Jack Tame spoke to one of the authors of a report on youth offenders, clinical psychologist Ian Lambie, on Q&A on Sunday.

The risk of moral panic amid calls for a punitive approach

Tame asked Lambie whether there was risk of a “moral panic” around ram raids, resulting in calls for a punitive approach. Lambie said yes. During a panel discussion on The Nation on Saturday, executive producer of The Hui Annabelle Lee-Mather said “It’s important that we don’t over blow it into this huge community issue when actually there’s plenty more rangatahi in our communities doing awesome mahi.” Youth workers have cautioned against a punitive approach saying these kids are living in poverty and often have ​​fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and other disabilities. Police minister Poto Williams said it requires a “whole of society” approach after the children’s commissioner called on the government to intervene.

We’re not “soft on crime”, but we need to be smart on crime

National party police spokesperson Mark Mitchell said the ram raids are due to the government being “soft on crime”. Lambie disagreed in his Q&A interview saying we’re not soft on crime but that we need to get smart on crime. Christopher Luxon addressed his party’s Canterbury Westland regional conference on Saturday. When asked about his approach to the problem, he laid out a three-step plan that included police reviewing its pursuit policy and a gang task force. He also drew a line between truancy and youth violence. Oranga Tamariki confirmed that most involved in ram raids are not attending school.

Truancy plan launched in pre-budget announcement 

In a pre-budget announcement on Sunday afternoon, education minister Chris Hipkins announced a $88m commitment to reduce truancy rates. Figures from term two this year show 40% of kids aren’t attending school regularly, up 10% on 2015. An inquiry into school attendance was launched in July last year and the report from the education and work committee was released in March. The report recommended that the government develop a school attendance strategy and set targets for regular school attendance of 70% by 2024 and 75% by 2026.

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Bank of Mum and Dad fifth largest owner-occupier lender (Photo: RNZ/ 123RF)
Bank of Mum and Dad fifth largest owner-occupier lender (Photo: RNZ/ 123RF)

The BulletinApril 29, 2022

The $22.6bn lender that’s not a bank

Bank of Mum and Dad fifth largest owner-occupier lender (Photo: RNZ/ 123RF)
Bank of Mum and Dad fifth largest owner-occupier lender (Photo: RNZ/ 123RF)

New research reveals how big the bank of Mum and Dad is, and it has practical and societal implications writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in The Bulletin.

 

Fifth largest source of housing finance for owner/occupiers

Research from Consumer NZ has revealed just how big a helping hand parents are giving their children when buying a house. “The bank of Mum and Dad”, something of a ubiquitous phrase now, ranks fifth after ANZ, ASB, Westpac and BNZ when it comes to owner-occupier loans. Parents have contributed $22.6bn in loans, monetary gifts, rental expenses (by allowing children to live with them rent-free), repayments, purchased property and other means of financial help. 14% of families have assisted children to buy a house. As Tess McClure reports for the Guardian, 58% of children who bought property in Auckland had family support.

The return of the landed gentry?

Like Simon Bridges, I read Max Rashbrooke’s “Too Much Money” over the summer (reviewed here by Danyl McLauchlan). It sets out the ways wealth disparities are changing Aotearoa. In the very first paragraph, Rushbrooke introduces “the bank of Mum and Dad”. He refers to “the return of the landed gentry”, a phrase he attributes to economist Shamubeel Eaqub. The Consumer NZ research found only 10% of those surveyed experienced financial hardship as a result of their contribution which suggests there is a level of existing wealth required to be able to assist your children in the first place. Housing wealth is the most widely held type of wealth in New Zealand according to Treasury. Wealth that is now being transferred to the next generation, for the purchase of more property.

“It’s the deposit”

This isn’t Downton Abbey – land and jewels are not being passed down among an aristocracy. For many, the need for parental financial support is the product of a big jump in house prices. The median house price in New Zealand rose from $620,000 in May 2020 to $890,000 as at March 31. “It’s the deposit” has been a catch-cry of first-home buyers and the research revealed that 61% of parents were contributing to a deposit. Rising interest rates may add “it’s the repayments” to the list. According to an interest.co.nz survey published yesterday, housing affordability is the worst it’s been in 18 years desite a drop in house prices.

Frayed social fabric

There are practical implications to all this. It’s something that increasingly needs to be factored into divorce settlements. Evidence of a sizable financial gift is considered when applying for residential care subsidies from the government. Money being plumbed back into the housing market is money not being invested elsewhere. It impacts retiement savings. There are also societal implications. Where we can afford to live and, as the research shows, how we afford it can depend on the wealth of our family. The Prosperity Index for Auckland revealed income disparity between areas of the city. We increasingly live further away from people who don’t live like us. Rashbrooke argues this creates fractures and that as “the social fabric becomes frayed”, “democracy is diminished”.