7 November 2011

Mana: Labour in no hurry over child poverty

Mana Social Wellbeing spokesperson Sue Bradford says she is not impressed with Labour’s lack of urgency over child poverty.

“For years organisations working with children have been challenging Labour over its refusal to extend Working for Families to cover beneficiary children,” she says.

“When they were in Government, Labour absolutely refused to listen because they saw it as their moral responsibility to punish beneficiary parents for not having a job, even if it was the children who suffered.

“Suddenly, they have discovered a conscience. Now they announce they will start to put this right, but it will take them until 2018.

“Nor am I aware of Labour coming out with any policy to lift basic benefit levels, or to reverse National’s attacks on sole parents on the DPB.

“Labour are certainly not treating the present appalling rate of child poverty with any sense of urgency.

“I might sound like a bit of a cynic but a promise to fund something in 2018 is really no commitment at all because so much can happen in the intervening period.”

‘I do congratulate Labour on a number of the positive steps taken with today’s childrens’ policy announcement, but they still have a long way to go.

‘Beneficiaries and their children do not deserve to be treated as second class citizens under either Labour or National-lead Governments.

‘Mana knows money is tight in the current economic situation, but our priority is on creating jobs and lifting incomes for everyone who is living in poverty, not just some of them.

ENDS

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