PM throws ‘thank you’ picnic for young people at Premier House

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has rolled out the picnic blanket for children and young people who’ve shared ideas about how to make New Zealand the best place to grow up, hosting a special picnic ‘thank you’ at Premier House.

As part of the Child Poverty Reduction Bill the Government is developing a Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy that maps out how children and young people’s overall wellbeing will be improved.

“The strategy is about improving life for kids and, if we want it to work, we need to hear from children and young people themselves about the changes they think we need,” Jacinda Ardern said.

So far more than 2,500 children and young people have shared ideas through face-to-face conversations, postcards to the Prime Minister and through an online survey. This work has been jointly run by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC) and Oranga Tamariki, working with the Child Wellbeing and Child Poverty Units at DPMC.

“Throughout this process I’ve been really impressed by how deeply young Kiwis think about some of the big issues that really matter to them and to their families.

“They’ve talked about the importance of friends, they’ve told us that they worry about the stress their parents are under, and they’ve highlighted the need for their family and others to have good homes, and healthy food.

“One thing young people have made really clear is that they want to be listened to, and for their views to be respected by adults.

“Today I want to say thanks all the young people who’ve told us what matters. Your views do count and we’re taking your ideas really seriously. I also want to encourage others to tell us what they think too,” Jacinda Ardern said.

DPMC, the OCC and Oranga Tamariki are continuing to listen to children and young people through the on-line survey, postcards to the Prime Minister, face-to-face interviews and group discussion till the end of November. More details on how kids can engage with the Prime Minister can be found here:

A survey and submission form for adults to share their ideas is also going live at this link today.

The Government aims to publish an initial version of the strategy next year.

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