Following the 2017 election there was a strong commitment across Parliament to reduce child poverty. Three elections later our governments have failed to reach the targets set by agreement in 2018. One in seven children now live in households who cannot afford basic essentials.
It hasn’t always been like this. Until the 1980s our welfare system worked fairly well to provide a minimum standard of living for almost everyone. Policy changes since then benefitted people already wealthy, and steadily reduced income support for those with least.
Households living without the resources they need work hard to find ways to care for their families, stretch every dollar, and navigate complex systems. However, no one can thrive when they have no real options.
As we approach the election later this year, we can ask our candidates and political parties to make responsible and wise decisions that benefit everyone in society. Policies that raise income support, build affordable housing, and strengthen workplace protections can open the way for households to live well. When households have capacity to plan, children will be able to get what they need to thrive, now and through to adulthood.
There can be enough for everyone with well-designed systems and policy.
For more detail please see Child Poverty statistics at: www.stats.govt.nz ; Child Poverty Action Group www.cpag.org.nz (various fact sheets); Mana Mokopuna Children & Young People’s Commission www.manamokopuna.org.nz (Position Statement on child poverty reduction)
Mavis Duncanson, Parish Council, Speaking Out portfolio