Barnardos says that the introduction of the Child Poverty Reduction Bill today signals a new start for children’s rights and well-being in our country, presenting a renewed opportunity to work together to make Aotearoa New Zealand a place where every child shines bright.

Chief Executive Jeff Sanders says, Barnardos welcomes Prime Minister Ardern’s Bill, as it demonstrates the Government is acting on its commitments to addressing the high levels of child poverty in New Zealand and to putting children at the heart of its approach to governing.

“It’s an exciting moment for children and for our society that today we are seeing this child-centred piece of legislation introduced in Parliament. Every day, Barnardos works with children and families throughout New Zealand experiencing the day-to-day impacts of child poverty. We see that it can affect all aspects of children’s lives detrimentally, preventing them from experiencing a positive start in life. Children themselves tell Barnardos that they want action on child poverty, so that no child has to grow up without the basics and so that all children experience a more equal childhood. Children will be among those excited today to see our Prime Minister putting forward a new law to make this happen”, Mr Sanders says.

Barnardos has been advocating for a sustainable long-term approach to reducing and ultimately ending child poverty in New Zealand, and Mr Sanders says the Bill’s framework takes this approach.

“This Bill follows through on many of the recommendations of the Children’s Commissioner’s Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty. Barnardos believes that embedding the proposed suite of primary and supplementary measures in legislation will enable tracking of progress on child poverty reduction over time in a holistic and transparent way.

“We are particularly pleased to see a persistence measure included as one of the four primary measures, because we know some children living at the hardest end of poverty are those for whom poverty persists over time. The reporting and planning requirements in line with the annual Budget should be a transparent way for us all to see how Government is investing and driving policy to create real impact on bringing down the numbers of children experiencing poverty,” says Mr Sanders.

“Something else Barnardos has been calling for is a plan for protecting and promoting the rights of all children in Aotearoa New Zealand, to breathe life into the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. So we strongly welcome the Bill’s requirement on governments to devise, publish and review a Government Child Well-being Strategy. Children have great ideas for what they need to live safe and positive childhoods where they can develop and flourish, and we are happy to see the requirement in the Bill on government to consult children and Māori in developing this Strategy. As New Zealand’s largest children’s charity, we also look forward to contributing to shaping this Strategy with children and Government, and to holding Government to account on its commitments.”

Barnardos believes although ending child poverty will be challenging, it is a realistic goal for New Zealand to work towards. “This is our opportunity to take concerted and collaborative action to address the underlying root cause drivers of poverty, and to potentially lead the world in showing how we can achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of halving poverty in all its forms by 2030 – or to even do better on this, earlier. In that spirit, we hope that the current – and if the Bill is passed, successive Governments – will be ambitious when setting their targets for child poverty reduction,” says Mr Sanders.

Mr Sanders also emphasises that it is crucial all parties and the public get behind the aim of the Bill to create sustainable and enduring progress on child poverty reduction and all children’s well-being. “We stand at a pivotal moment for progress for children. Barnardos encourages all political parties to come together and reach consensus on this legislation. It’s essential we raise up children’s rights and well-being above party political lines. Doing so is in all children’s interests, and it will lift us all as a society, helping build a culture of protecting, respecting and celebrating children in Aotearoa New Zealand.”

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