Childcare costs may be covered
More young people may put their hands up for spots on local councils this year after the Remuneration Authority announced a proposed childcare allowance policy for local government representatives.
Hurunui District councillor Julia McLean said she hoped the move would be the catalyst for younger faces around local government tables across the country.
When she was elected to the council in 2016, McLean asked the Remuneration Authority to subsidise care for her three children while she was doing council business. At the time, the authority covered cellphone bills, internet use and mileage for councillors, but not childcare.
McLean and Nelson City councillor Matt Lawrey joined forces to campaign for the allowance after McLean wrote an open letter questioning why childcare was not a claimable expense, like technology and transport was.
Lawrey had been concerned about the lack of diversity on New Zealand’s councils, and drafted a letter with McLean to Local Government New Zealand’s National Council calling for it to engage with the Remuneration Authority about introducing a childcare allowance.
The campaign was echoed the following year when the Young Elected Members Network (YEM) called for urgent changes to break down barriers and enable younger people to get involved in local government. The submission was a first for the network and included eight case studies on how a lack of childcare support was presenting a barrier to participation in the sector.
The draft policy offers an allowance of up to $15 per hour for the care of children under the age of 14, while elected representatives are engaged in local authority business.
McLean and Lawrey said they were ‘‘ecstatic and relieved’’ their calls for support had been heard.
She hoped the move would be the catalyst for younger faces around local government tables across the country. Julia McLean