In the lead-up to Election 2023 in October, we’re posting a series of blogs written by our members, tied together with threads of hope and optimism for how Aotearoa might change in the near future. We want to highlight what our members are seeing out there in their communities, and also suggest innovative solutions for positive systemic and individual change.
In this, our third blog of the series, Melanie Wilson (NZCCSS) writes about the changes we’ve seen since the 2017 election regarding the rights of tamariki | children in New Zealand and how things look in 2023. She reminds us of Aotearoa’s aspirations for our tamariki, and highlights places to find more details to inform your decision-making before we head to the polls next month.
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Back in 2017, child poverty was an important focus in election campaigns. Bill English and Jacinda Ardern competed on proposed child poverty reduction targets. Following her election as Prime Minister, Ardern led the establishment of the Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018 and herself became the Minister for Child Poverty Reduction. This gave prominence to the task of improving life for many children experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Act requires government to set targets based on measures of child poverty and hardship, and report on progress annually.
Next came the Child & Youth Wellbeing Strategy, developed in 2019 – “a unifying framework to align the work of government and others, so that we’re all working together to create positive and transformative change”[1] – with the aim of making Aotearoa New Zealand the best place in the world to be a child or young person.
These efforts sought to better honour Māori rights to exercise tino rangatiratanga over their taonga –tamariki and mokopuna – as established under Article 2 of te Tiriti, and the Government’s commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The Convention sets out specific rights for children, including rights that protect children’s survival and development, and access to an adequate standard of living.
Then came a global pandemic, a recession, and the environmental crises of 2022 and 2023 – events that were hard to foresee when these measures were introduced. Each had a marked impact on the ability for these aspirations to be fulfilled as intended. We find ourselves in 2023 having made headway but with still a long way to go.
We continue to witness breaches of children’s rights in our communities. We see these breaches in terms of basic necessities of life, such as the right to an adequate standard of living: warm, dry housing and nutritious food. We also see breaches of rights that are essential to healthy development, as well as those which are often overlooked, such as the right to play. We know that certain groups of children experience higher rates of disadvantage, with tamariki Māori disproportionately affected in direct conflict with the obligations of Te Tiriti.
Since 2017 we have seen:
- Child poverty decreased between 2017/18 and 2020/21 however has remained static more recently, with no significant change in the year to 2021/22.
- A review of Working for Families leading to increases in this entitlement for many families. Unfortunately, the benefit of these increases has been offset somewhat by the concurrent increase in financial pressure due to high rates of inflation.
- Greater postnatal support in the form of extended paid parental leave from 18 to 26 weeks has been a win for parents.
- Child Support payments are now being passed on to beneficiaries, increasing income for most parents in this situation.
- The introduction of Ka Ora, Ka Ako – the Healthy School Lunches programme which provides lunches to children at 974 schools. The programme seeks to reduce food insecurity through the provision of healthy lunches in school communities that face the greatest socioeconomic barriers, but funding for the programme beyond 2024 is uncertain.
- The number of applicants with children on the Housing Register increased from 4,161 in the quarter to June 2018 to 10,290 in the quarter to June 2023.
- 237 couples with children and 1,404 single people with children received Emergency Housing Special Needs Grants in the quarter to June 2023.
- Our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services are overwhelmed, with some regions at crisis point due to increased demand and workforce pressures.
- The development of the Oranga Tamariki Action Plan provides greater government accountability for the prevention of harm and promotion of wellbeing for children who experience the most need.
And now we are in 2023? With the exception of the Green’s Children’s Policy and policies focused on education, we have heard little about children, or more specifically child poverty, in 2023 campaigns to date. The voice for child poverty appears largely to have left the building.
Despite this the aspiration of an Aotearoa where all children are treasured has not changed and is shared by us all. We all want a New Zealand where children have sufficient nourishing food to grow, a healthy home and the essentials they need. Where they are physically and emotionally safe and have access to the healthcare and support they need to thrive. Where they can participate in their communities and engage in education and play as appropriate for their development.
In theory, we all want a government that will be steadfast in their pursuit of this goal. As we look to this election, we must challenge those in leadership – will each party commit to ensuring progress is made in this area? How do they plan to deliver on this commitment? What aspects of children’s wellbeing will they prioritise and why? How will they recognise children as taonga? And in what ways are they seeking the voices of our tamariki in the decisions that are being made about them?
And rather than an unpicking of previous government’s strategies – pendulum swings that make little headway and see untold resource spent coming up with shiny new words on pages – we need to see collaborative approaches and bipartisan commitments with an intergenerational focus, that can weather the storms of election cycles.
Of equal importance is consideration of how we, the community, will hold the successful government to account. Will we prioritise our nation’s children in our assessment of party policies and our choice of vote, and will we continue to advocate for the needs of children where we see promises broken and progress slipping?
Fortunately, there are some valuable resources available to inform our decision making. I’d encourage you to check out the following:
- As part of our Election 2023 coverage, NZCCSS has created At a Glance tables and Policy Overviews to help you understand and compare policies between parties for the groups most relevant to our work. This includes Tamariki |Children, particularly the 5-12 year old age group who we are focussing on over the next three years.
- Tick for Kids Policy Scorecards: Ticks for Kids is a movement designed to engage candidates every national election in public discussion about what needs to be done to improve life for children and young people in Aotearoa. Their 2023 scorecards will be online this month.
- Child Poverty Action Group Policy Briefs 2023 provide a comprehensive roadmap to end child poverty in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
- VOYCE Whakarongo Mai “You Promised, Now Deliver” campaign: A call for government to be accountable for meeting the basic needs of children in care in Aotearoa NZ.
- Encourage children and young people in your life to share their views in UNICEF Aotearoa’s National Kōrero survey
As you look to vote in 2023, let’s ensure we keep tamariki, and the future we aspire to for them, a central focus.
[1] https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/our-programmes/child-and-youth-wellbeing-strategy