Tariana Turia: No carrot and a lot of stick isn't answer

You know it's election year when parties come out of the woodwork with quick-fix solutions to "touchpoint" issues - the issues voters are talking about.
We saw this last week, with parties conjuring up policy tricks to respond to the ever-agonising crisis around child abuse. National has returned to mandatory reporting; Labour wants to abolish the Families Commission and establish a new Department of Children; and Winston Peters wants to cut the benefits of family members who fail to speak up.
The all-too-familiar theme seems to be placing faith in bureaucracies to monitor, report and punish families while leaving our communities out in the cold. No carrot but a lot of stick.
The Maori Party has a different view. We believe the cure for many of these issues rests in the care of our communities. Who remembers when a death in the family aroused the collective compassion of our communities? We would open the door to neighbours bearing scones, a casserole, a hug and tears to share.
The February earthquake brought that collective capacity to care back to the surface. We must capitalise on our innate generosity of spirit to resolve some of the most complex issues facing our communities.
I see some amazing pockets of success in parts of my electorate. In Cannons Creek, a brave little school stood up to oppose the relicensing of a liquor store located in the hub of their community. In Foxton, the publican got rid of his pokie machines, balancing the profits against the wellbeing of families he'd known all his life, and realising he just couldn't do it any more.
Programmes like Mauri Ora equip our whanau, hapu and iwi with all the skills and strategies we need to confront violence in our communities.
And, of course, Whanau Ora is driven by the belief that our own locally-driven solutions will bring about the change we need to "get our own house" in order.
I came across an inspiring paper from Kim Workman, which encapsulated the value of trusting in our communities to come up with the goods. He talked about a growing movement around the world where leadership comes from every corner of a community - residents, businesses, iwi and community agencies. It makes good sense, or as Kim says, it's about good justice:
"If we can build on the assets and strengths of local communities and those who live, work, invest in and care about their place, we will be doing 'good justice'. If we can work across traditional boundaries and be actively involved as communities without relying on agencies or government to 'fix' a street, suburb or city, we will be doing 'good justice'. If we are able to work with communities to create innovative solutions, and offer opportunities for business, philanthropy and government agencies to support local residents in making their own communities better places to live, we will be doing 'good justice'. And all at a reduced cost to the taxpayer."