4535148 FOR RELEASE OIA 2021 22 1123 All Requested Information.PDF.pdf

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MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT
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                            APEC News Release
                             Issued by the APEC Secretariat

New Zealand to Steer APEC’s Work towards Recovery
New Zealand assumes the role of APEC host in 2021, focus on recovery, resilience and innovation

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Singapore, 24 November 2020 – In times of unprecedented health and economic crises, New
Zealand, one of the twelve founding members of APEC, assumes the role of host in 2021,
taking the leadership from Malaysia, the host of APEC 2020. The host year wil  be held fully
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virtual, as announced in June this year, demonstrating New Zealand’s leadership in digital
diplomacy amidst the global pandemic.

“As we plan for recovery from COVID-19, it is economic cooperation through APEC, the most
dynamic region in the world’s economy that wil  help us all rebuild,” said New Zealand Prime
Minister, Jacinda Ardern, in a video introducing the New Zealand’s APEC year presented at the
APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting last Friday.

WATCH: Join, Work, Grow. Together | Haumi ē, Hui ē, Tāiki ē.

Prime Minister Ardern, who wil  be the chair of the 2021 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting
acknowledged the extraordinary scale of the challenges the world faces today, and stressed the
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need for member economies to work together for the greater good.

She explained that New Zealand wil  create an environment where connections can be made
and APEC’s important work can continue, including progress on sustainability, ensuring
widespread adoption of digital tools to drive productivity and developing inclusive plans to create
opportunities for all the people.

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“The way we respond as a region to today’s challenges wil  be felt for generations to come,”
added Prime Minister Ardern. “APEC 2021 New Zealand wil  be the start of reigniting growth,
continuing trade and setting a plan for long-lasting recovery across the entire region.”
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Speaking at a virtual briefing on Monday, Vangelis Vitalis, 2021 Chair of APEC Senior Officials
and Deputy Secretary of Trade and Economic, New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Af airs and
Trade emphasized the importance of more cooperation in times of crisis, noting that trade is “an
absolute vital part” to the journey of recovery.

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“We are hoping to take a closer look at the trade and economic policies that we need to drive
recovery and to take us forward,” he explained. “We would also like to propel more discussion
on not only how we can build back better, but to build back greener and more inclusively, so that
the recovery wil  be much more resilient and sustainable.”

Vitalis, who wil  be leading the technical discussions next year, also highlighted the importance
of the digital and innovation aspect in driving recovery, improving productivity and ef iciency and
keeping the engagement and connectivity alive during periodsof border closings and lockdowns.

WATCH: Virtual Briefing: Towards a Resilient and Inclusive APEC Region
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                            APEC News Release
                             Issued by the APEC Secretariat

“We look forward to a successful virtual APEC year as New Zealand continues the successful
work laid by Malaysia this year, including to develop a work program for the implementation of
the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040,” said Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, Dr Rebecca
Sta Maria. “We stand ready to fully support New Zealand in its vision to pave the way for a more  1982
resilient, inclusive and sustainable APEC region.”

New Zealand wil  begin its host year with a symposium and the Informal Senior Officials Meeting
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in December 2020, followed by the first formal gatherings of senior officials early next year.

For more information on APEC 2021 New Zealand, visit www.apec2021nz.org. To access
media pack, please visit this link.

# # #

For further details, please contact:
Masyitha Baziad +65 9751 2146 at [email address]
Michael Chapnick +65 9647 4847 at [email address]
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More on APEC meetings, events, projects and publications can be found on www.apec.org.
You can also follow APEC on Twitter and join us on Facebook, LinkedIn
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Joint Statement
Reinforcing Multilateralism together building on
the United Nations 75th Anniversary Declaration
Madrid, November 10th 2020

Final version
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10-11-20
We, the Heads of State and Government and other High Level Representatives of
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the  People’s  Republic  of  Bangladesh,  Canada,  the  Republic  of  Costa  Rica,  the
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Senegal,
the Republic of South Africa, the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of Sweden and
the Republic of Tunisia have gathered in Madrid to express our support for the
Declaration  on  the  commemoration  of  the  seventy-fifth  anniversary  of  the
United  Nations  adopted  by  all  United  Nations  (UN)  member  states  on  21
September 2020. We underline our strong support for the declaration and the
ambition it embodies. We pledge to help ensure the future we want and the UN
we  need  by  implementing  its  twelve  commitments  with  decisive  actions  and
ensuring that the COVID 19 crisis does not derail these commitments.
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The dire circumstances the world is going through have reinforced the need for
greater  collective  action.  No  area  and  no  country  have  been  spared  from  the
effects  of  the  COVID-19  pandemic.  We  must  ensure  that  the  existing
commitments made toward the Sustainable Development Goals, especially those
that address the  needs of developing  countries  and in particular the means of
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implementation support, are not reversed. We must build back better, reorienting
towards a more equitable and sustainable international order, with strengthened
international cooperation to promote and protect human rights and fundamental
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freedoms, achieve gender equality and  fully implement the social, economic and
environmental pillars of sustainable development, leaving no one left behind. The
United Nations 75th Anniversary Declaration, along with the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the United Nations
Framework  Convention  on  Climate  Change  and  the  Paris  Agreement,  among
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other key instruments, constitute a clear roadmap for the years to come.
We are deeply committed to a stronger, reformed and reinvigorated rules-based
multilateralism, with a more inclusive UN at its core. We reiterate our call for
reforms of the three of the principal organs of the United Nations to create a more
agile, effective, and accountable organization that can deliver better in the field
and adapt to global challenges. We will continue to provide our full support to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations. We will strive to implement the action-
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oriented policies through cross-regional engagement anchored in the respect of
international law and be catalyzers in our respective regions, mobilizing others in
order to overcome the challenges faced by the current multilateral system. We
will respond to the voices of the young girls and boys, who clearly and rightfully

demand that we act. Youth deserve a place in global deliberations for the future
of humanity. We will prioritize contributing towards the success of established
consensus-driven UN processes and join forces with other initiatives and formal
or informal networks, such as the Alliance for Multilateralism, in so far as they
are supportive of those UN processes; together, we can accomplish more.
We believe this group, at this point in time, particularly, but not exclusively, can
be supportive by mobilizing the international community to fulfil the stated goals:
reducing  inequality  and  leaving  no  one  behind;  improving  our  global  health
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system;  protecting  our  planet;  building  peace,  security  and  justice;  defending
human  rights  and  gender  equality;  harnessing  the  digital  revolution;  and
provision of sustainable financing.
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To that end, we enclose to this Joint Statement an annex with suggested actions
to  strengthen  multilateralism  and  turn  the  ambitious  United  Nations  75th
Anniversary Declaration into reality.

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ANNEX
to the Joint Statement: reinforcing multilateralism together building
on the UN 75th Anniversary Declaration

In order to strengthen multilateralism and turn the ambitious United Nations
75th Anniversary Declaration into reality, we will strive to, inter alia:
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1.  Reduce inequality and leave no one behind by:
-  Strengthening our efforts to support the full implementation of the 2030
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Agenda placing it at the center of the recovery, including by delivering on
commitments to provide means of implementation support to developing
countries and mobilizing additional finance through various channels;
-  Fighting  poverty,  inequality,  gender  inequality,  discrimination  and
exclusion in all its forms, everywhere, adopting and advancing efforts to
rethink our socioeconomic model in order to make it more inclusive and
sustainable.  Promoting  the  adoption  of  the  Multidimensional  Poverty
Index (MPI) as a metric to better measure progress towards leaving no one
behind, and as a system more adjusted to the realities of middle-income
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countries.
-  Support safe, orderly and regular migration as a means of reducing global
inequality.  Including  migrants  in  national  and  global  responses  and
recovery efforts to the COVID-19 pandemic, recognizing the contribution
of migrants to economic recovery, ensuring respect for the human rights
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and  fundamental  freedoms  of  migrants,  keep  remittances  flowing  and
bring  transaction  costs  to  less  than  3%  and  strengthen  bilateral,  sub-
regional, regional and multilateral cooperation to promote effectively post
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COVID-19  protection,  well-being,  and  social  and  labor  re-integration  of
migrants into post-COVID-19 job market.
-  Reversing the rise in hunger, malnutrition and rural poverty exacerbated
by the pandemic, keeping in mind the gender dimension of poverty, and
boosting  progress  towards  a  zero  hunger  world  by  2030  through
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sustainable,  diverse  and  inclusive  food  systems,  striving  for  a
transformational  outcome  of  the  UN  Secretary-General´s  Food  System
Summit in 2021.
-  Strengthening social dialogue, social inclusion and social security, through
comprehensive policies that promotes human rights, equal opportunities
and  treatment,  and  just  transitions  as  well  as  well-functioning  labor
markets.  Ensuring  that  all  actors  in  labor  markets,  including
Released manufacturers, brands, buyers, workers and consumers act responsibly in
line  with  the  Global  Deal  initiative  and  the  International  Labor
Organization (ILO) and towards a world where all work is decent work.

2.  Improve conditions for health and well-being, our health preparedness
and the effectiveness of the global health system by:
-  Building stronger political consensus for a coordinated global response to
COVID-19. We will champion the importance and urgency of equitable,
transparent, timely, gender-responsive and affordable global access to new
and existing tools, especially safe, quality and effective vaccines, diagnostic
tests  and  treatments.  We  will  contribute  to  promoting  and  providing
sufficient resources to international mechanisms and initiatives, such as
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ACT-A (Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator).  We recognize the role of
extensive  immunization  against  COVID-19  as  a  global  public  good  for
health  in  preventing,  containing  and  stopping  transmission  in  order  to
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bring  the  pandemic  to  an  end.  Favoring  changes  based  on  evidence,
contributing  to  shaping  a  global  health  architecture  fit  for  purpose,
including  the  World  Health  Organization  (WHO),  in  particular  by
supporting the implementation of the findings of the Independent Panel
for  Pandemic  Preparedness  and  Response  (IPPR),  the  Independent
Oversight  and  Advisory  Committee  (IOAC)  for  the  WHO  Health
Emergencies Program and the International Health Regulations Review.
We  will  seek  to  support  the  implementation  of  the  recommendations
issued as a constructive exercise aiming to strengthen the WHO and its
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role in protecting and enabling global health, to make it more effective.
-  Calling  for  a  renewed  and  urgent  focus  on  universal  health  coverage
(UHC), ensuring that health services are accessible and affordable for all.
We will work with the UN Secretary General to convene a UN high-level
event on global health, with the aim to promote strong and resilient health
systems, with a special emphasis on primary health care, including sexual
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and reproductive health services, as vital to making progress towards UHC
and ensuring effective health crisis management. We will bear in mind the
relevance of social determinants of health, paying particular attention to
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the needs of women and girls, as well as those of the elderly and people in
vulnerable  situations,  including  persons  with  disabilities,  people  living
with  HIV/AIDS,  older  persons,  Indigenous  peoples,  refugees  and
internally displaced persons and migrants, respecting their autonomy and
their enjoyment of human rights.
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3.  Protect our planet by:
-  Matching up our collective ambition with the scale of the environmental
and climate crisis, taking transformative measures based on international
cooperation,  solidarity  and  trust  among  countries,  peoples  and
generations.
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Re-affirming  our  commitment  to  the  Multilateral  Environmental
Released Agreements, as well as the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Paris Agreement.
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Submitting updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the
Paris Agreement that represent a significant progression compared to the

previous  NDCs  and  reflect  the  highest  possible  ambition  and  long-term
strategies  consistent  with  the  objectives  of  the  Paris  Agreement,  and
contributing  towards  the  Paris  Agreement’s  objective  of  Net  Zero
greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century on the basis of equity and the
principle  of  common  but  differentiated  responsibilities  and  respective
capabilities,  in  the  light  of  different  national  circumstances  and  in  the
context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty.
-
Promoting  international  cooperation  on  adaptation,  thus  committing  to
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strengthening climate resilience in our economies
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Promoting the consistency of climate finance flows with pathway towards
low greenhouse gas emissions and climate resilient development.
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-
Providing  means  of  implementation,  in  the  form  of  climate  finance,
technology  development  and  transfer  and  capacity  developing,  to
Developing Countries, taking into account the needs of countries that are
particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change as well as
addressing the specific needs and circumstances of Developing Countries.
-  Paving  the  way,  in  the  framework  of  the  UN  Convention  on  Biological
Diversity and beyond, for the endorsement and implementation of a strong
Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework on land and in the oceans. Such
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a Framework will combine strong political will with a set of robust science-
based  targets.  It  should  be  supported  by  the  necessary  means  of
implementation,  including  appropriate  legal,  technical  economic  and
financial  tools  and  mutual  accountability  mechanisms  recognizing  the
crucial role of research and indigenous knowledge.
-  Welcoming  Sweden’s  offer  to  convene  in  2022  Stockholm+50,  in
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Stockholm to reflect on how to redefine our relationship to nature and to
foster a green recovery through accelerating a shift towards sustainable
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consumption  and  production,  leaving  no  one  behind.  A  Stockholm+50
would be distinct from UNEP@50, which would take place in Nairobi at
the headquarters of UNEP.
4.  Build peace, security and justice by:
-  Supporting  the  Security  Council  Resolution  2532  (2020)  and  the
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Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire by the  end of this  year by
actively advocating for its implementation in our bilateral and multilateral
engagements. Stepping up international solidarity to address the impact
of  COVID-19  in  countries  ravaged  by  armed  conflict,  in  post-conflict
situations or affected by humanitarian crisis.
-  Ensuring  that  humanitarian  access  to  those  in  need  of  assistance  be
granted  without  obstacle  or  delay  and  in  line  with  the  humanitarian
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-  Enhancing implementation of the Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) initiative
launched  by  the  UN  Secretary-General  and  its  widely  endorsed

Declaration of Shared Commitments as a demonstration of the renewal of
our collective engagement with UN peacekeeping operations.
-  Encouraging  and  supporting  the  Secretary-General  to  enhance  his
diplomatic toolbox to prevent the outbreak, escalation and recurrence of
hostilities.
-  Supporting conflict prevention including climate security and preventive
diplomacy, and contributing to the implementation and financing of the
Sustaining  Peace  Agenda,  and  ensuring  the  meaningful  and  continuous
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involvement of civil society organizations, women, youth, academia, social
leaders, etc. in peacebuilding activities.
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-  Advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda and gathering support
for the Commitment 2025 initiative to fulfil its 15 specific commitments
for effective participation and influence of women in peace processes.
-  Actively supporting the integrity and independence of the International
Criminal  Court  and  its  important  task  to  investigate  and  prosecute  the
gravest crimes of international concern where national courts are unable
or  unwilling  to  do  so,  in  order  to  end  impunity  and  bring  justice  to  its
victims.
-  Implementing concerted political and development cooperation efforts to
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strengthen democracy and the rule of law through democratic, transparent
and  accountable  governance  and  independent  judicial  institutions,  thus
contributing to through concerted political and development cooperation
efforts to advance the implementation of SDG 16 for peaceful and inclusive
societies.
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5.  Defend human rights, democracy and gender equality by:
-  Supporting the Secretary-General’s Call to Action for Human Rights and
enhancing  the  contribution  of  the  Human  Rights  Council  to  prevent
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human  rights  violations  through  monitoring,  dialogue  and  cooperation,
improved access of civil society and National Human Rights Institutions
to  the  Council,  and  more  systematic  links  with  efforts  to  uphold
international  peace  and  security,  sustain  peace  and  implement  the
Sustainable Development Goals.
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-  Championing the achievement of gender equality, the full enjoyment of
human  rights  by  all  women  and  girls  in  all  their  diversity  and  the
empowerment  of  women  and  girls,  including  by  working  for  concrete
results  through  the  global  action  coalitions  of  the  Generation  Equality
Forum in the context of the Beijing+25 anniversary and in support of the
2030  Agenda,  recognizing  that  gender  equality  is  a  pre-requisite  to
creating a more peaceful, prosperous, inclusive, resilient and sustainable
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-  Leading and promoting results for gender equality through joint initiatives
at the UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council to advance gender

mainstreaming  throughout  the  work  of  the  UN,  including  the  Human
Rights Council and its mechanisms, as well as to enhance gender balance
in multilateralism by promoting the appointment of women to strategic
and high-level posts and highlighting their crucial contributions through
the organization of a high-level event with women leaders.
6.  Harness the digital revolution by:
-  Supporting  all  global  efforts  to  achieve  global  connectivity  and  access
promoting  a  global  investment-friendly  environment  based  on  private-
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public collaboration and the exchange of best practices, both in regulatory
and investment instruments.
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-  Ensuring  that  the  digital  transition  benefits  everyone  including  by
fostering  digital  inclusion,  closing  the  digital  divides,  particularly  the
gender digital divide, and promoting the human rights based use of data
and  Artificial  Intelligence  (AI).  We  will  develop  evidence-based  public
policies,  provide  more  efficient  public  services,  build  smarter  and  more
humane cities and help tackle societal challenges of our century such as
climate  change,  pandemics  or  lack  of  education,  and  mobility.  We  will
explore the potential for forging an international partnership in the area
of  innovation  and  emerging  technologies  aimed  at  promoting  digital
inclusion.
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-  Promoting the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms also in
the use of information and communication technologies.
-  Noting the gender dimension of the digital divide.
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Ensuring a fair and effective approach to addressing tax challenges posed
by the digitalization of the economy by supporting ongoing negotiations at
the OECD/Inclusive Framework, to ensure that companies in all sectors
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contribute their fair share.
7.   Ensure sustainable financing by:
-  Encouraging the global economic recovery effort by advancing the menu
of  options  developed  through  the  high-level  process  on  Financing  for
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Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond.
-  Assessing ways to  coordinate financial  efforts by international financial
institutions  to  address  global  challenges,  in  particular  the  COVID-19
pandemic  and  the  climate  crisis,  and  to  develop  strategies  to  reduce
financing  risk  in  low  and  middle-income  countries.  This  could  include
innovative ways to get and mobilize finance, addressing the consequences
of  high  debt  levels  on  countries’  ability  to  withstand  the  impact  of  the
Released COVID-19 shock and collectively engaging, on a case-to-case basis, in debt
treatments  for  those  countries  with  significant  debt  vulnerabilities  and
deteriorating outlook. The strategies should be based on the mandates of
each  official  actor,  including  official  creditors  (bilateral,  multilateral,

plurilateral) and involve close co-operation  among the actors, including
with the private sector.
-  Redoubling our efforts to implementing the Addis Ababa Action Agenda
on  Financing  for  Development  in  support  of  the  2030  Agenda  and  the
Paris Agreement.
-  Enhancing the functioning of the global financial and international debt
architecture  and  governance  and  the  international  financial  system  to
make it more representative and equitable and promote economic stability
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and sustainable and inclusive growth.
-  Honoring  commitments  to  developing  countries  and  increasing  Official
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Development Assistance, supporting predictable, timely and flexible core
funding to the United Nations Development system, as well as access to
concessional financing for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
-  Showing our unwavering support for the rules-based multilateral trading
system, with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core, and support
for continued efforts to reform the WTO so that it is as effective as possible.

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Systems Leadership for Child Well-being
A Joint Every Child and ANZSOG Project
Project Overview
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Every Child and ANZSOG are working together on systems leadership to enhance the well-being of
Australia’s children. The project is centred on a series of engagements with key senior leaders –
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through surveys, interviews and forums, across the public and community sectors, with First
Nations leaders, and representatives from the tertiary, philanthropic and corporate sectors - to
map and determine how to address the system barriers to every child reaching their potential.
This brief outlines the background, goals and approach to engaging leaders from government,
non-government and other sectors in a series of summits to facilitate the transformational change
required to improve outcomes for Australian children and our nation’s future productivity and
prosperity.
Why Every Child and ANZSOG?
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Every Child and ANZSOG bring together extensive experience in government and the NGO sectors,
governance, reform, innovation and delivery, insight into the lived experience of children, young
people and families across our systems, as well as connections to the many organisations,
networks and initiatives working to improve outcomes for Australia’s children.
Every Child is an alliance of 70+ organisations, led by a Steering Committee of leaders from 25 non-
government organisations. Our aim is for the wellbeing of children and young people to be
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improved – and for this to be elevated as a nation-building priority, for investment in prevention
and early intervention to be boosted, and for our systems to work better together. In doing so, we
will boost Australia’s productivity.
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ANZSOG is a highly respected education and professional development organisation that is
recognised for advancing public sector leadership. ANZSOG actively supports Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander cultural authority and leadership.  ANZSOG‘s Towards Strategic Leadership, Public
Sector Problem Solving, Reimagining Government, and executive masters and fellows programs
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are acclaimed in building public purpose-oriented, capable and effective leaders.
What is the purpose and scope of the project?
The purpose of the project is to leverage the insight and influence of senior leaders to drive
improvement to the value and impact of early childhood education and care, education, health,
mental health, disability, social services, income support, family support, family violence, child
protection and youth justice systems.
The scope is deliberately broad and focused on the opportunities for better aligned and integrated
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approaches across and within systems at policy, program, investment, workforce and service
delivery levels. It will encompass both what we do and how we do it.  Our primary focus is
identifying practical options for delivering significantly improved outcomes for children through
the best use of available resources.

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The project will build on a huge body of reform and advocacy work done over the past decade or
so, and link with and augment the wide range of current efforts, including those focused on
enabling Australia to ‘build back better’ in its recovery from COVID.
What are the aims of the leadership engagements?
The project will engage public sector and not-for-profit sector leaders in systems change and
improvement by sharing insights on what’s working, what’s not and what and how we can do
better. It will seek to collaboratively devise credible and impactful ways to advance the wellbeing
of all children and young people in Australia.
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The intent is to bring forward to governments a set of priority cross-systems and sectoral specific
actions for consideration. The leader engagements and summits aim to be active and solution-
focused, in contrast to more passive and process-oriented conferences. They will work through
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the barriers and enablers to addressing:
•  the persistent concern that while 80% of Australian children are doing well, 20% continue
to experience vulnerabilities which significantly impact on their wellbeing,
•  the challenge arising from the wide, deep and enduring effects on many children, young
people and families of the COVID-19 pandemic
•  the opportunity to contribute to recovery for families and communities across Australia
through uplift in systems capability, capacity and effectiveness.
The summits will bring together senior public purpose leaders to:
•
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  make sense of the latest available data about the current state and future trajectories of
Australia’s children
•  exchange policy, program and service insights, innovations and ideas on the most
effective ways for multiple agencies/sectors to respond to the needs of children and
young people
•  trial a more joined-up systems approach to strategy development, policy, program and
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service design, and reform implementation at governmental and community levels
•  identify priority opportunities for investment and reform
•  leverage public service reforms and identify governance changes to drive better value and
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impact, and
•  stimulate actions at systems, sectoral and organisational levels.
In sum, the aim of the project is to assist leaders to influence decision-makers and to drive the
systems changes that are needed to ensure that all children are born as healthy as possible, grow
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according to developmental milestones, reduce their exposure to adverse childhood experiences,
start school ready to learn, and leave school ready for life.
What are we seeking to fix?
The case is compelling – we need to continue to make transformational systems changes in order
to improve the wellbeing of children and young people.
There is a large and growing body of evidence globally indicating that the best results are achieved
when children and their parents have secure access to:
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•  decent incomes, safe and stable living arrangements and material basics;
•  good family and community connections;
•  the skills, knowledge and care networks needed to enable nurturing, developmental
parenting;
•  accessible, quality universal services and support systems;

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•  timely early support, extra subsidies and targeted proportionate interventions when
necessary;
•  timely joined up and specialist responses to complex needs and risks as required;
•  agencies with skilled workforces, deploying evidence-informed interventions, that work
well together as service networks; and
•  service systems with common purpose, effective leadership, strong community
engagement, shared tools and platforms, good data and sufficient workforce capacity and
capability.
The cost of late action – of not providing timely support to children and families – has been
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estimated at $15 billion annually (Teager, Fox & Stafford, 2019).
None of Australia’s current approaches to child wellbeing has closed the gap for the 20% of
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children who persistently do not thrive. 20% of our children who never reach their potential
socially or economically, and who cost human services and other systems disproportionately over
their life-courses. We can and must do better.
With a particular focus on connecting up the system
A starting assumption of this project is that the primary challenge and opportunity is not so much
a knowledge problem – ‘what’ and ‘why’ - but one of mandate, design, coordination, investment
and implementation - ‘will’ and ‘how’.
While there are numerous studies, evaluations, reviews and submissions making
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recommendations about what should be done, these usually focus on a particular system or
sector. There is a wealth of experience and insight into what has worked and what can be
improved through linking two or three system, but options to improve or reform the whole system
are less common.
In recent years, there has been a surge in in knowledge about ‘what works’, and efforts are
shifting from searching for ‘silver-bullet’ stand-alone interventions, to a more holistic and
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balanced focus on data-informed, evidence-based, results-oriented and high performing ‘systems’.
These are better at:
•  improving life outcomes for all children
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•  reducing adverse childhood experiences and the toxic stress and trauma that can result;
•  preventing problems getting worse;
•  shifting life trajectories;
•  disrupting cycles of inter-generational disadvantage; and
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•  reducing demands for high cost tertiary responses.
There are six wellbeing domains in the well-known Australian Research Alliance for Children and
Youth (ARACY) child wellbeing framework, known as The Nest, developed 7 years ago.  Of course,
the nature of our lives, and the causes and effects of factors impacting child wellbeing outcomes,
mean that these domains are inter-dependent. Yet that’s not generally well reflected in the
design and interaction of our early childhood education and care, education, health, mental
health, disability, housing, social services, income support, family support, family violence, child
protection and youth justice systems. Every Child and ARACY will be advancing this integrated
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approach through the forthcoming It Takes Six initiative.
Australia is fortunate to have generally robust systems in themselves, but our agencies, programs,
professions and systems have tended to operate in silos – in both the government and non-
government sectors – without strong ‘in built’ integrating ‘architecture’ or pathways, and with
uneven translation of knowledge about ‘what works’ into policy, programs and practices.

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Each system is itself diverse, complicated and fragmented.  Responsibilities are split or shared
across levels of government, a very large number of service providers and practitioners. Hundreds
and hundreds of programs and initiatives have been introduced and accreted over time, adding to
the complexity. Many investments and practices have not been assessed for evidence of value and
impact.
For families, especially those with multiple and complex needs, these arrangements can be
extremely hard and costly to navigate.  They must repeatedly tell their stories and explain their
needs. There are customer journey maps emerging that expose the disconnects. Staff on the
ground do their best to make them work for and with people and communities, yet problems
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often fall between or are exacerbated by gaps between systems, and costs are often borne by
people who cannot afford them. Costs are also sometimes shifted from one system or level of
government or organisation to another. Investment is predominantly on crisis, acute and tertiary
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responses, with limited funding to enable informal care networks, early and preventive supports
or integrated interventions.
For sector leaders and advocates, these arrangements are difficult to shift and mobilise (other
than in disasters) as required when seeking to deal with complex needs and entrenched
disadvantage. Various efforts continue to be made to link systems at strategy and delivery levels.
Yet key initiatives – from transformational changes such as the National Disability Insurance
Scheme to much smaller new initiatives like Stronger Places Stronger People – are challenged by
the difficulties associated with how our systems work and interact.
The recent APS (Thodey) review concluded that the APS needs to:
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•  ‘work more effectively together, guided by a strong purpose and clear values and principles
•  partner with the community and others to solve problems
•  make better use of digital technologies and data to deliver outstanding services
•  strengthen its expertise and professional skills to become a high-performing institution
•  use dynamic and flexible means to deliver priorities responsively, and
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•  improve leadership and governance arrangements’.
The recent refresh of the Closing the Gap NPA - with an expanded partnership between
Governments and the First Nations Coalition Of Peaks - well reflects, and will be challenged by,
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these issues.
Public purpose leaders across all levels and all child-related sectors are grappling with high
demands, dynamic situations, high pressure, high risk, limited resources and complicated
arrangements. The challenges are now even more urgent and difficult due to the COVID pandemic,
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though it does present the need and opportunity to build back better. We cannot afford to waste
human potential or public resources. This project will work through what practical measures could
be taken to address a ‘shared mission’ of improving child wellbeing and disrupting disadvantage.
How will the leader engagement and forums be delivered?
Michael Hogan (Every Child) and Lin Hatfield Dodds (ANZSOG) have been engaged as a consulting
team to facilitate the engagement of key systems leaders through surveys and interviews and as
possible, a series of forums, guided by a joint EveryChild and ANZSOG Steering Group.
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Given the impacts and demands of COVID on senior leaders in the government and non-
government sectors, the team will engage over September and October 2020 with key leaders
from a range of systems, agencies and sectors in a number of jurisdictions with surveys and
interviews, and in two or more leader summits (possibly virtual).  The government leaders will be
from central and line agencies and statutory bodies. Targeted engagement is also proposed with

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, informed by the initiatives such as the recent Closing
the Gap National Partnership Agreement refresh.
These engagements are proposed, subject to resources, to lead to a final summit bringing
together leaders across sectors.
This project connects with a range of other work underway. This includes related work led or
facilitated by Thrive By Five (Minderoo Foundation), ARACY, Family Matters, Families Australia,
The Front Project and the Centre for Policy Development (CPD) and others. For example, CPD is
undertaking systems design and policy work focused on early learning (ECEC) for 0-5s, and will
advance this through two major activities: an Early Childhood Council comprised of state and
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Commonwealth officials, early childhood providers, NGO peaks and other experts; and a major
scoping study on alternate early learning system models design and delivery.
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This ANZSOG / Every Child project is focused on the broader suite and interface of systems across
the domains that contribute to the wellbeing of children and young people. The project will also
connect with cross-systems work arising from the National Early Years Summit, initiatives such as
ARACY’s National Brain Builders Alliance, and initiatives within jurisdictions, such as NSW’s Their
Futures Matter, Qld’s A Great Start for All Our Children and Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership,
and SA’s work on a child development agenda.
The project will also engage with a select group of New Zealand leaders to draw on their
experience and results to date with their national Child Wellbeing agenda.
This initial stage of the Systems Leadership for Child Well-being project will report to ANZSOG and
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Every Child and to participating jurisdictions by the end of 2020.
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From: Maree Brown [DPMC] <[email address]>
Sent:
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15 April, 2020 11:42 AM
To: section 9(2)(a)
Subject: Youth participation in futures thinking

[IN-CONFIDENCE]

Kia ora section 9(2)(a)

I hope you and your family are healthy and well in this very strange new environment we all find
ourselves living in.
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As you may know New Zealand is also in full lockdown at the moment with tighter controls than
most countries in an effort to stamp out the virus before community transmission really takes
off.  So far the approach appears to be working – (just 9 deaths and around 1400 cases so far, at
least half of which are people returning from overseas) but there are difficult decisions ahead
about how quickly we move out of lockdown and what that will look like.
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Many of our youth agencies are beginning to collect information and feedback from young
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people about how they are coping and what sorts of support they are looking for and this
information will help inform ongoing response efforts.

At the same time our team and other youth sector agencies are also thinking about how we can
generate a sense of agency (and hope) among young people in this very uncertain time by
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creating meaningful platforms for them to contribute ideas to decision-makers about a better
future – ie how we build back better, greener, more sustainably etc.

I am wondering whether your team is working on anything in this area at the moment and/or
gathering information from other countries about the approaches they are taking to involve
young people in COVID recovery planning or futures planning?  We’d be keen to learn from
others!  And we are happy to update you once our plans take shape.

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Best regards

Maree

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UNCLASSIFIED

Fiji 50th Anniversary Independence – MFA video message

Tēnā koutou katoa

Ni sa bula vinaka [“ni-sahm boo-la vi-na-kah”]

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On behalf of the people and Government of New Zealand, I wish His Excellency the
President, the Government and people of Fiji all the best as you mark the 50th
anniversary of your independence.
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This year also marks 50 years of diplomatic relations between our two countries, with
New Zealand one of the first countries to accredit a High Commissioner to Fiji.

Although 2020 has not been the year we had all hoped for, it is nevertheless an
opportunity for Fijians to reflect upon and celebrate your proud shared history, heritage,
culture, languages, customs, and achievements, which will form the foundation for Fiji’s
continuing success into the future.

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Fijians and New Zealanders have a strong kinship and deep affection for each other that
has endured through these last 50 years, fostered by our connection as islands in the
Pacific.

We are linked by our shared values, our family connections, and our trade and education
links.
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We are brought together by our shared sporting passions – especially rugby - fierce
competitors when we are on the field, but warm friends off it.
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Fiji is a leader in the Pacific, and as Pacific nations we both aspire to see our region
succeed and prosper, working together to face up to the big issues such as climate
change that affect us all.

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We have worked shoulder to shoulder in good times, as well in tough times in the wake
of natural disasters and other hardships. We now stand firmly together facing perhaps
the biggest global challenge in living memory.

The Pandemic is a test of resilience for all of us, but I have no doubt that Fiji will come
out of it stronger, and that through working together we will help each other to recover
faster and build back better.

We look forward to deepening the connections between our two countries and our people
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over the many years to come.

Once again, congratulations on 50 years of independence.
POLI-93-4614

UNCLASSIFIED