Devonport parishioner Sarah Sparks (Te Ātiawa/Ngāti Tama/Ngāti Whiti) has been appointed chair of a community panel to give feedback to top levels of Government about the pandemic response.
Sarah Sparks
According to the Unite Against Covid (www.covid19.govt.nz) website, “The Community Panel” was established earlier this year by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, to provide insights across the Covid-19 system direct from communities.
The website stated that the panel brings lived experiences and deep community ties to provide a diverse range of perspectives on different aspects of the Covid-19 response, and to help ensure issues such as equity are addressed.
Ensuring that the experiences and insights of faith communities are heard by policy-makers is one of the priorities for Ms Sparks in her role.
Ms Sparks said that it is vital that a range of independent people is heard, including those with a faith focus, so that the response can be as inclusive and impactful as possible.
“We’re a panel of truth-bringers who will be a robust reality check for any government planning and policy. The upside is we’ll only strengthen the Covid-19 response by avoiding unintended consequences caused by blindspots in worldviews and life experiences.”
“For balanced and informed decision-making, it’s critical to have a pathway like this for a collective of diverse voices to be visible and valued by the Government. If we can help reduce or remove barriers and blocks, we’ve succeeded, as one size definitely does not fit all.”
One recent initiative Ms Sparks has been involved with is facilitating meetings with all the bishops of New Zealand with the Ministry of Health stakeholder engagement lead to listen to their feedback. Another involved all the Auckland church leaders, including auxiliary Bishop Michael Gielen. More meetings involving faith leaders throughout the country dedicated to discussing the Covid vaccine policies and protocols will be held with government agencies in the near future.
The panel members represent communities such as rural, youth/aged, disabled, Māori, Pacific, LGBTQ+ and other ethnic groups.
Their expertise will help shape the medium- to long-term Covid-19 strategy, the Government’s Covid website stated.
Members were chosen after consultation with other government agencies to ensure strong cross-agency collaboration.
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