The Health Research Council of New Zealand has released a Request For Proposal (RFP) for the Ngā Kanohi Kitea: Māori Knowledge and Development Research funding initiative.

Developing Māori capability and knowledge is the prime focus of Ngā Kanohi Kitea research grants. The grants provide opportunities for iwi, hapū and other community groups to address community identified health needs.

Development Grants
Up to $10,000 is available over three months to assist applicants in preparing their full project proposal.

Revenue Minister Peter Dunne has welcomed the release of a tax policy issues paper that seeks feedback on suggested changes to improve the fairness of social assistance.

“People should not be able to receive more social assistance simply because of how they structure their affairs or receive their income,” he said.

The paper follows the Government’s announcement in Budget 2010 that it will reform the tax rules around how family income is defined for entitlement to Working for Families, student allowances and community services cards.

A new report – Social Lending: A Tool for Grantmakers, an Opportunity for Communities – discusses the opportunity social lending offers New Zealand’s public and private grantmakers as well as social enterprises, non-profits, iwi, and low-income communities.

Prepared by Laura Benedict, with funding from the sponsors of the Ian Axford (New Zealand) Fellowships in Public Policy, the report describes the three types of social lending:

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori role as outlined in The Māori Language Act 1987 is to support Māori language revitalisation efforts, promote and preserve the integrity of the language and provide advice to the Minister and wider public sector on language issues as required.

A recent survey conducted by Research NZ has found that 38% of New Zealanders support compulsory Māori language education in schools.

Payroll giving only began in New Zealand in January this year, but already donations through the scheme have reached $170,193 for a single month, and they seem to be growing – according to new data from Inland Revenue.

Figures for June 2010, show this amount was donated by 1,135 employees in 227 workplaces. Because the donations were made via payroll giving, the employees received immediate tax credits totaling $56,731 – effectively making their generosity more affordable.