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

 

Much Work Still Needed To Lift Kiwi Families Out Of Poverty Bearing Brunt Of Rising Cost Of Living: Save The Children

Today's launch of the Child Poverty Monitor 2022 reaffirms that much work is still needed to lift children out of poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand, with Save the Children fearing the current cost of living crisis and rising inflation will add pressure to already vulnerable families.

Save the Children’s Advocacy and Research Director Jacqui Southey says that while it is positive to see some progress on reducing child poverty overall following Government efforts to lift benefit levels, reduce transport costs and support families to pay for essentials such as household energy, the current cost of living crisis, coupled with Reserve Bank measures to curb inflation, is likely to unfairly impact low and middle-income families even more.

"The sad reality is that low-income families can’t be squeezed any harder to cut spending," says Ms Southey.

"Instead, they will have to make sacrifices on necessities: nutritious food versus health care, rent or mortgage payments versus energy costs.

"Poverty is not felt equally, with tamariki Māori, Pasifika, and disabled children amongst those families more likely to bear the brunt of too-low incomes, especially when housing costs are taken into consideration.

"Bringing about the end of child poverty means we need to look for fairer ways to share incomes and costs, such as government policies that support income adequacy for disabled whānau. Disparities that contribute to enduring rates of poverty for disabled children and their whānau must be addressed.

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.

"Expecting whānau on too low incomes to work their way out of poverty is unrealistic. Research released by the Ministry for Social Development earlier this year found that 75% of parents are in some form of paid work, therefore policies to ease the burden of living costs are essential.

"As we head toward next year’s Election, we urge all political parties to support sustained investment in policies that will reduce economic hardship for families, particularly for those on the lowest incomes."

Other areas that concern Save the Children include low and falling rates of immunisations for preventable and serious childhood illnesses such as measles, high and inequitable rates of Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) for pepi Māori and Pasifika infants, and the continued impact of the housing crisis with too many children living in unaffordable or precarious housing situations.

These issues were highlighted in Save the Children’s thematic report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, released earlier this year.

 

About Save the Children NZ:

Save the Children works in 120 countries across the world. The organisation responds to emergencies and works with children and their communities to ensure they survive, learn and are protected.

Save the Children NZ currently supports international programmes in Fiji, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Laos, Nepal, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. Areas of work include child protection, education and literacy, disaster risk reduction, and alleviating child poverty.

© 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.