I believe in doing with, not doing to, especially when it comes to the charity and community sector.
They move quicker, know their communities better, and are rooted in lived experience. But too often they’re left scrambling for short-term grants or navigating clunky commissioning systems.
We need to fix that. That means proper service-level agreements. Rolling contracts so they can plan, RPIX-linked funding to keep pace with inflation and a clear voice in how policy is made — not just how it’s delivered.
We also need to make sure new policies (like secondary pensions or GST) don’t accidentally squeeze the very organisations we rely on. Fairness means making sure charities are protected and included, not left out.