Monday, 22 April 2013

Government Initiatives



“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little”
- Franklin D. Roosevelt -

Recent newspaper articles and interviews on television news such as on 3 News www.3news.co.nz/defaultStrip.aspx?tabid=213&articleID=270416 , have made me feel sad and confused about the appalling statistics effecting children living in New Zealand. Statistics regarding the prevalence of child poverty this country. This has me wondering… Is New Zealand meeting article 24 of the United Nations convention on the rights of children, when we are ranked twenty first out of thirty five countries for child poverty? Article 24, http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf  is about meeting basic needs of children such as access to health care, food, clean water and a safe environment in which to grow. Child poverty is not an issue which our Government or the community can ignore.
O’Callaghan & Easton (2013) wrote about the appalling statistics that New Zealand currently holds for rates of child poverty. “A Unicef report …criticises New Zealand’s record in child wellbeing across a variety of measures, including ranking it 21st out of 35 developed countries for levels of child poverty” (O’Callaghan & Easton, 2013).
So what steps are the current government of New Zealand taking to meet the needs of our tamariki who are currently living in poverty? The New Zealand Government issued a press release in December 2012 acknowledging the problem of child poverty and stated that they were “spending billions of dollars to support those in most need” (English, Bennett, 2012). The press release discusses programmes which the government has put in place to help vulnerable children. Programmes such as the White Paper which was recently released, a scheme which aims to have all state housing insulated by the end of 2013, and a programme targeting 44,000 effected children for Rheumatic Fever (English, Bennett, 2012).
The White Paper has new measures for the government and community, which aim to protect the most vulnerable amongst us… the children. The White Paper tackles issues which unfortunately affect families in our communities such as, child poverty, child abuse and neglect, access to agencies including health and education, and improving family incomes. Although the paper does not solely focus on poverty, other issues discussed in the paper all contribute in their own way to the concern of child poverty. It is encouraging to see that the government has realistic goals for the wellbeing of children. Goals such as a special phone line to report child abuse, and the development of a “Vulnerable Kids Information System …” which will “draw together information on the most vulnerable children from government agencies and frontline professionals” (Ministry of Social Development, 2013). I feel this is a good start to assist the community, agencies and other professionals to report, assess and assist our vulnerable children and their families.
So now we can see some of the interventions the government has put forward to assist our vulnerable children and families, I would like next to explore what initiatives the community have in place.

Reference List:

Children’s Action Plan: Identifying, Supporting and Protecting Vulnerable Children, (2012), Retrieved from http://
English, B. , & Bennett, P. (2012). Government receives child poverty report. Retrieved from http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-receives-child-poverty-report
 Experts lament state of NZ child poverty. (2012). Retrieved from www.3news.co.nz/defaultStrip.aspx?tabid=213&articleID=270416
Mandela, N. (n.d). Retrieved from: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/poverty
 Ministry of Social Development. (2012) The white paper for vulnerable children: Children’s action plan Retrieved from http://www.childrensactionplan.govt.nz/children-s-action-plan
Ministry of Social Development. (2012) The white paper for vulnerable children: Volume one Retrieved from http://www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/work-programmes/policy-development/white-paper-vulnerable-children/white-paper-for-vulnerable-children-volume-1.pdf
O’Callaghan, J. , & Easton, P. (2013, April 11). ‘Hold ministers to account’ on child poverty. The Dominion Post, p.
Unicef.  (n.d). Conventions of the right of the child: Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
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2 comments:

  1. PereMihaka24 April 2013 at 21:10

    Hi Rachel,
    Early childhood is in the unique and unenviable position of being both the “ambulance at the bottom of the cliff” and the security fence guarding the top of the cliff.
    20 free hours ECE means no matter how impoverished children are, they still have access to ( 80% qualified ) quality education. We can help make a difference in the lives of these children.
    I firmly believe that the single most motivational thing in the world is children. By engaging with parents to be involved in the progress of their child, we are motivating the parents to seek out ways to no longer be impoverished.
    I managed to find a quote which says something similar:
    "Early childhood education for low-income children is like an inoculation for multiple diseases, with these diseases including low achievement at school, criminality, unemployment and poverty as an adult ... use early childhood education to not only educate at-risk children, but to educate and support their families as well." - Early Childhood Council CEO, Peter Reynolds:
    http://www.hawkesbaytoday.co.nz/news/editorial-too-many-kids-live-in-poverty/1524875/

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  2. Robyn@bloggspot25 April 2013 at 04:42

    Hi Rachel. I have found your blog interesting to read. I was amazed to read New Zealand has dropped to number 28 on the list of 30 OECD countries for child well being. Reading this reminded me of an incident last year. I received a phone call from a telemarketing person wanting me to donate money for overseas children living in poverty. I responded to this by saying that I would rather support children in my own country first as I feel this is a real issue. The person on the end responded with “oh no New Zealand does not have a poverty problem”. I think when we see people in our own country closing their eyes to problems that are now affecting a large number of children this is very sad. I have noticed since last year there has been more about child poverty in the papers and on television, so here is hoping the message is getting through.
    I read through a news article about reporter Bryan Bruce visiting poverty hit areas in New Zealand. Bruce visited an area in Wellington, Porrirua. This community is dealing with the highest levels of rheumatic fever in the country(INSIDE CHILD POVERTY: A SPECIAL REPORT, N.D.). This disease, named the disease of poverty, is a real concern for us all in New Zealand. This disease can cause inflammation of the brain, heart and joints. “If this inflammation causes scarring on the heart valves the affected person can develop a condition known as rheumatic heart disease. Rheumatic heart disease can require heart valve replacement surgery or even cause premature death” (Ministry of Health, n.d.). This health condition, and many others brought on by poverty is costing New Zealanders excessive amounts of money each year.
    Poverty needs to be a number one issue for government to tackle as it is later down the track that the real effects are felt.

    References
    Ministry Of Health (n.d.). Rheumatic fever. Retrieved from. http://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/rheumatic-fever

    Three News, (n.d.). Inside child poverty: A special report. Retrieved from. http://www.tv3.co.nz/Shows/InsideNZ/InsideChildPovertyASpecialReport.aspx


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