Behind drive to ease suffering

rooftops, I think the best way is for me to just be an example by how I’ve done it. And to walk that every day.

‘‘This is who I am, this is who I bring to work, and I also have a family. And I’ve wanted to protect my family, and that’s probably why I haven’t been as public about this particular area of my life as others may have.’’

She lives near Cambridge with her partner Hamish, and has three children: a son, also called Hamish, another son Mac, and a daughter Jess.

Although her experience of a benefit is part of who she is, it’s not her main driver in social development.

‘‘For me it’s about individuals, who have challenges, and how do we support them, and give them opportunities and enable them to make choices and have a brighter future.’’

Her work in Government exposed her to ‘‘very raw and brutal challenges that some New Zealanders are dealing with’’.

So when she became National’s spokeswoman on social development following the election, she had a strong sense of what she needed to address.

‘‘For me, personally, I have enormous belief in people’s spirit, and their ability to overcome whatever it is they have to overcome, with a bit of support.

‘‘With a bit of support from their family, from their community, and, when necessary, from the Government or a government department.’’

Often families are plagued by multiple challenges: a parent serving a custodial sentence, benefit dependency, physical health issues, mental health issues, domestic violence, and drug and alcohol addiction, Upston says.

‘‘Any family, in any part of the country, dealing with any one of those challenges, would find it difficult. But when you have all of those at once, it is incredibly

I remember, so clearly, walking into Work and Income and being absolutely petrified.

difficult to see how a family could navigate their way through all of that on their own.

‘‘And you sure as heck, can’t have an official sitting in Wellington waving a magic wand, and fixing it for them.’’

Those complex needs cannot be fixed by a single government department, she says. Various state agencies need to work together, work with local organisations who understand the circumstances.

When Upston talks about agencies co-operating, using data to solve social issues, she’s talking about National’s social investment approach – a term used a lot during National leader Bill English’s reign.

Social investment sounds simple when English describes it as ‘‘targeting right in on the families that need support … we will deal with them one by one if that is what it takes’’.

In reality this approach is more complex and uses the Integrated Data Infrastructure tool linking various government agency databases in an effort to pinpoint, then target, New Zealanders deemed to be the most ‘‘at risk’’.

Upston says using specific, individualised data, rather than relying on blunt measures, is the most effective way to break the cycle of benefit dependence.

She has been a vocal opponent of Labour’s plans to overhaul the social development system and social investment approach set up under National’s watch.

She says she will continue to oppose Labour’s policy, because she believes social investment is the best way to target individuals’ needs in order to give them a better chance to succeed.

The impression Labour cares about people, and National cares about money, makes her ‘‘wild’’.

‘‘If I look at my colleagues, they get up and go to work every day because they care so much.’’

Upston believes the former National Government made good progress into reducing the number of people dependant on benefits, and supporting them into work and training.

‘‘Why would we do that if we didn’t care? Why would we do that if we didn’t care about individuals and actually want something better for their lives?’’