Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | News Video | Crime | Employers | Housing | Immigration | Legal | Local Govt. | Maori | Welfare | Unions | Youth | Search

 

Kids more likely to be in poverty than any other group in NZ

Kids more likely to be in poverty than any other group in NZ

More than 30 organisations supporting the Tick for Kids campaign leading up to the General Election on 20 September are disappointed to see the latest Household Incomes Report and Economic Survey showing there are still far too many children living in poverty, leading to many going without the basic good and services they need. Children carry a disproportionate burden of poverty in New Zealand, with 22 percent of those aged 0-17 years in poverty because policies do not maintain adequate income levels for young families and housing costs lead to high outgoings.

Director of Mana Ririki, and Tick for Kids spokesperson, Anton Blank said, “The report confirms the difference that can be made to New Zealanders’ standard of living when the right policies are in place. Older people are a powerful lobby group – consequently the political parties have responded with policies that provide a guaranteed minimum level of income that keeps up with inflation and wage growth. Just 7 percent of those over 65 years live in poverty.

“The report released today is a reminder of what happens when voters and political parties ignore children. It shows a widening gap in the incomes of those on benefits and those on wages, particularly for sole parent families. It also shows that half of families living in rental accommodation and receiving the Accommodation Supplement are paying more than 50 percent of their incomes on housing costs.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

“Successive governments have neglected children and voters have allowed them to do so. As a result, children are those most likely to live in poverty – with all of the negative health and education impacts that result from it. The reports shows that:
• half of poor children are Maori/Pacific (34% of all children are Maori/Pacific).
• half of poor children are from sole parent families and half from two parent (24% of all children are from sole parent families).
• half of poor children are from households where the highest educational qualification for parent(s) is school or less (31% of all children are in these families).

“Anyone concerned to ensure that New Zealand is a secure, productive and creative nation needs to call on political parties to prioritise children. It is time to build the political consensus that ensures children have a standard of living that supports their development and meets our nation’s legal obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,” said Mr Blank.

www.tick4kids.org.nz

Tick 4 Kids Supporting organisations
Action for Children and Youth Aotearoa (ACYA) www.acya.org.nz
Analytica www.analytica.org.nz
Brainwave Trust www.brainwave.org.nz
Child Wellbeing Network www.pha.org.nz/cwn-bulletin/cwn-01.html
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) www.cpag.org.nz
Early Education Federation www.earlyeducationfederation.com
Every Child Counts (ECC) www.everychildcounts.org.nz
Far North Parent Mentoring
Feed the Need www.feedtheneed.co.nz
Footsteps www.footsteps.co.nz
Health Star Pacific www.healthstarpacific.co.nz
IHC New Zealand Inc. www.ihc.org.nz
Mana Ririki www.ririki.org.nz
National Council of Women www.ncwnz.org.nz
NZ Council of Christian Social Services www.nzccss.org.nz
New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine www.nzcphm.org.nz
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) union.org.nz
NZEI Te Riu Roa www.nzei.org.nz
New Zealand Medical Association www.nzma.org.nz
New Zealand Paediatric Society www.paediatrics.org.nz
OMEP (World Organisation for Early Childhood) Aotearoa NZ www.omepaotearoa.org.nz
Paparore School www.paparore.school.nz
PILLARS www.pillars.org.nz
Plunket www.plunket.org.nz
Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA) www.ppta.org.nz
Public Health Association (PHA)
Public Issues Network, Methodist Church
www.methodist.org.nz/public_questions_network/indexwww.pha.org.nz
Quality Public Education Coalition (QPEC) qpec.xleco.
Robson Hanan Trust (Rethinking Crime and Punishment) www.rethinking.org.nz
Smokefree Coalition www.sfc.org.nz
Te Ora Hou Aotearoa teorahou.org.nz
TOY Foundation
UNICEF NZ www.unicef.org.nz

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines


Gordon Campbell: On The US Opposition To Mortgage Interest Deductibility For Landlords


Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don't think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of political capital by giving landlords a huge $2.9 billion tax break via interest deductibility, while still preaching the need for austerity to the disabled, and to everyone else...
More


 
 

Government: Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity... More

ALSO:


Government: GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan

Declining GDP for the December quarter reinforces the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says... More

ALSO:


Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.