Persistent child poverty rates in Aotearoa New Zealand signal a failure to recognise the legal rights of the child consistent with the Articles of the UN Convention, according to a report by Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG). CPAG is concerned groups of children have been ‘left behind’ in recent attempts to reduce poverty, and more Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Child Poverty’
Stagnating progress on child poverty
Thursday, March 30th, 2023
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is known to dislike the nickname Chippy, a hangover from his student days. Given the way he has chewed through Jacinda Ardern’s old policies, maybe we should instead call him the Wood Chipper: big, gnarly policy offcuts are fed in, and out comes a handy pile of pie-related photoshoots and small-target Read more
Child poverty reduction stalls ahead of cost-of-living crisis
Monday, March 27th, 2023The latest child poverty statistics show there was no statistically significant improvement in the year to June 2022. The latest child poverty statistics show there was no statistically significant improvement in the year to June 2022, and campaigners fear the situation has only got worse since then. Stats NZ on Thursday reported no little change Read more
Catholic recommendations for Budget 2023
Thursday, February 16th, 2023
Auckland Catholic diocese has written to the Government’s Finance and Expenditure Select Committee about the 2023 Budget Policy Statement (BPS). The diocese’s Justice and Peace Commission’s submission particularly focuses on housing and child poverty, Māori children and the youth justice system. Housing affordability Acknowledging the ‘10,688 homes added to the public housing stock since 2017″, Read more
Child poverty lowest on record in US
Monday, September 19th, 2022The year 2021 was an outlier in many respects. Much of the year was characterised by halting steps to return to something resembling normality following the global health emergency declared in 2020 over the coronavirus pandemic. There was a recession that started before COVID-19 throttled the United States and much of the world, but that Read more
Children’s experience of child poverty
Monday, August 22nd, 2022
An eight-year-old boy is often hungry, but knows if he tells his mum, she will eat less herself and go hungry. He hates the thought, so he stays quiet. An 11-year-old girl knows once rent is paid, there is almost nothing left over, so she tries not to ask for too much. She never takes Read more
Free lunches and benefit boosts, but our kids are still living in poverty
Thursday, June 30th, 2022
When my son was at intermediate school, he would often ask for two or three extra sandwiches. I didn’t think much of it: ‘He’s a hungry, growing boy,’ was probably the first thing that came to mind. But I never said no. It wasn’t until several months and dozens of ham, egg and mayo sandwiches Read more
Child poverty level worst in 18 years – KidsCan
Thursday, June 2nd, 2022During Christopher Luxon’s tour of KidsCan’s Auckland distribution centre on Friday, the charity’s CEO and founder, Julie Chapman, used the opportunity to inform the National Party leader of the dire state of child poverty in Aotearoa. “We’re seeing unprecedented levels of need,” said Chapman. KidsCan was founded by Chapman in 2005, at the time providing Read more
Dear Pakeha NZ – Child poverty isn’t a ‘Māori’ problem, it’s an ‘us’ problem
Monday, May 30th, 2022
There is a real danger in NZ Politics that when you attack policy as racist to Māori we play the ‘is it racist’ game where everyone screams it is or isn’t, everyone goes back to their polarised corners, nothing progresses. We’ve done it with Police shootings, we’ve done it with Police taking photos of kids Read more
Third-rate outcomes belie government’s child poverty focus
Thursday, July 29th, 2021
Despite the Ardern government’s stated child poverty focus, more and more of New Zealand’s children, particularly Māori and Pacific children, are suffering. In the face of miserable outcomes in relation to child poverty, obesity, suicide and basic education, the Prime Minister remains upbeat about her government’s efforts to date. “You would be hard pressed to Read more