Nurses Support Call For Child Poverty Action
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation is supporting the call from the Child Poverty Action Group for an end to a
discriminatory government policy which denies tax relief to some of New Zealand’s poorest families.
The Child Poverty Action Group has asked the Human Rights Commission to convene a meeting with government officials to
discuss why children of families where the caregiver receives an income-tested benefit are ineligible for the Child Tax
Credit of $15 a week, per child.
“NZNO members see the results of child poverty every day, when they care for sick children,” said NZNO CEO Geoff Annals
today.
“Child poverty in New Zealand must be acknowledged and the impact of child poverty on areas such as health must be
addressed.”
Geoff Annals said it did not make sense to discriminate against the children of our poorest families.
“Child Poverty Action Group has correctly identified this as discrimination against children because of the source of
their parent’s income,” he said.
“There is no good reason for additional government money to be available to some parents to pay for such things as
health care, when others are struggling on benefits.”
The Child Tax Credit is not available to all low-income families. It is available to those who do not receive an
income-tested benefit.
If the caregivers receive any of their income from NZ Super, a student allowance, ACC (for longer than three months),
DPB, or a widow’s or unemployment benefit, then the family is not eligible to receive the Child Tax Credit.