OMEP Waikato/Bay of Plenty Chapter

omepwaikato@gmail.com

5th October 2016

Open letter to the Government to the attention of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Social Development.

In 2014 the then Children’s Commissioner, Dr Russell Wills asked Professor Jonathan Boston and Dr Tracey McIntosh to convene an Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty. Their report set out a range of possible measures. This week, current Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft asked all parties to work together to cut child poverty rates by 10 percent by the end of next year. We do not agree with Prime Minister Key that there are too many possible measures for child poverty. If New Zealand has signed up to the UN Sustainable Goals[1] of which ending poverty everywhere is a primary goal, we believe his government has both an ethical and legal responsibility to begin with child poverty in this country.

We add our voice to Andrew Becroft, Jonathan Boston, Tracey McIntosh and all the other people and organisations interested in ensuring our vulnerable children and their families are assisted out of the poverty cycle over time. Ten percent by the end of 2017 is a good start towards this goal.

On behalf of OMEP Waikato-Bay of Plenty Chapter[2]:

Maggie Lyall, Chapter President

Margaret Stuart, Chapter Executive Committee

Jane Ewens, National Executive OMEP

Raewyn Higginson

1 Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere (http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/)
2 OMEP Waikato –Bay of Plenty Chapter is a member of OMEP Aotearoa, and thus of the international NGO which advocates for young children and their families.

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