Income boost for children welcomed by advocates

Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) has welcomed the government's announcement this week of an increase of $10 per week per child in payments for children who do not live with their parents.

The increases will help some of our most vulnerable children. The new money is secure, non-conditional income which is sorely needed. But it is only a long-overdue next step to addressing poverty among children who live with their grandparents or extended family.

Payments for these children still lag behind those allocated for non-kin foster care. This creates a double standard, the unfairness of which has already been acknowledged by Minister for Social Development, David Benson-Pope.

But the true gap is wider than payment levels alone suggest, as on top of these basic payments children in foster care are allocated clothing grants, and have their medical, education, sports and activities and camp costs covered. Grandparents and other kin carers do not receive these, despite their often fixed incomes and the fact that the children likely have high needs. Increased hours of paid work on top of care responsibilities would be impossible and/or downright harmful for many.

CPAG asks the Ministry to ensure parity in caregiver payments urgently and to remove discrimination in all payments for the support of children.

• Increases affect the Unsupported Child Allowance/Orphans Benefit and Foster Care Allowance.

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