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

 

Muddled numbers provide an opportunity for Government

Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) says that Treasury’s error in overestimating the numbers of children lifted out of poverty by both National and Labour’s families packages provides an opportunity for the Government to take bold action.

Pre-election, both National and Labour promised to reduce the number of children living under the 50% before housing costs (BHC) line by 100,000 - but this will be more costly than originally anticipated by either Government, and a new approach is urgently needed.

Moreover, after a long period of neglect the Families Package will not reduce any child poverty at all for six months because implementation is delayed until July 1.

"Some families, especially smaller families, don’t get nearly enough out of this package to lift them out of poverty," says Associate Professor Susan St John, CPAG economics spokesperson.

Using the Family Tax Credit (FTC) as the tool to reduce the worst of child poverty is not the most cost-effective approach. It has already been substantially increased, and increasing it further to make an impact on the worst poverty figures will be expensive as it will be received well up the income scale. To counter the cost of increasing the FTC, National planned to increase the abatement rate from 20% to 25%, and lower the income threshold for the maximum payment. This policy would have disastrous consequences for low-income families in paid work.

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.

More money needs to be channelled to the families currently falling below the very low 40% poverty line. There is a way to do this without creating impossible cost pressures.

CPAG urges the Government to pay the full Working for Families (WFF) package to ALL low-income families with effect from 1 April. This means paying the In-Work Tax Credit (worth at least $72.50 per week) to all families who currently receive any of the FTC. It will go only to children in the lowest-income families. This is a simple change requiring minimal administration from Inland Revenue, and the $500 million required could be transferred from the proposed restart of payments into the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.

"This is the most cost-effective spending that can be done to impact on families living below the 40% AHC poverty line, and together with the July 1 package would give credibility to the Government’s desire to substantially reduce child poverty," says St John.


© Scoop Media

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



Gordon Campbell: On Dune 2, And Images Of Islam


Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture tends to be hostile to Islam when we’re sitting in the dark, with popcorn.
Any number of movie examples come to mind, beginning with Rudolf Valentino’s role (over a century ago) as the romantic Arab hero in The Sheik...
More


 
 


Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track

The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More

ALSO:


Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... 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.