Child Poverty Action Group NZ - CPAG

‘My dream is for a country where everyone can readily get the food they need. That this remains a dream angers me every day’

We agree with Auckland City Missioner Helen Robinson and call on the government to reverse the cuts to food provision by community providers.

With one in five children living in households where food runs out, food insecurity in Aotearoa needs to be urgently addressed.

Let’s join the call for a National Food Strategy - most recently recommended in the Public Health Advisory Committees May 2024 report.

Find out more hungryforchange.co.nz

Opinion: Govt budget cuts mean we're now forced to turn hungry people away - Auckland City Missioner OPINION: My dream is for a country where everyone can readily get the food they need.

Time is our most precious resource. We thank the volunteers that give their time and expertise to the research, education and advocacy to end child poverty in Aotearoa.

Are you voluntarily reading this post and showing your support? Then you are one of them. Kia ora rawa atu. Big thanks to our volunteers!

Celebrating National Volunteer Week 16-22 June 🎉

A Thousand Cuts - Fairer Futures report on the impact of cuts on disability and other communities is important reading.

www.actionstation.org.nz/publications

The report provides real calculations on the $ cut from whānau and communities….Winter is coming.

A food secure Aotearoa is possible. The Salvation Army is doing great work through Te Kai Mākona it’s food response to strengthen food security for whānau and communities. Addressing the underlying causes of food insecurity is critical to achieving a food secure Aotearoa and is fundamental to the programme. The Salvation Army New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa Territory

Watch the Budget 2024: The Social Justice Perspective including MC - Ulugia Edward Cowley, Sir Collin Tukuitonga on Public Health Perspectives, Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo Human Rights – the disabled Alan Johnson CPAG perspective Craig Renney Union perspective ,Shamubeel Eaqub Economic analysis, Max Rashbrooke Commentary/Summary

The Post-budget breakfast - Budget 2024: The Social Justice Perspective The Post-budget breakfast - Budget 2024: The Social Justice Perspective St Peter’s on Willis Social Justice Group, CPAG, PHANZ Wellington branch, and Public ...

"I will say it will come out of our food."

Christchurch mum Marlena Bunnage told Newshub's Janika ter Ellen that she, like most parents of preschoolers, faces an extra $50 a week increase in daycare fees for her two-year-old. She is going to have to try to find the money from somewhere, most like her family's food budget.

Many parents are reporting an increase in fees since last week's Budget because the government's funding boost only meets half the cost of inflation.

ECCE in NZ has one of the highest rates per capita in the OECD, yet childcare here is the least affordable in the developed world.

The sector has been designed to benefit large privately run centres and how community-run centres, parents and -- most importantly -- children suffer as a result.

'I've given up saving': ECE fees rise after funding boost fails to meet cost of inflation A review is being announced tomorrow.

Treasury forecasts an extra 20,000 New Zealand children will be living in poverty in three years based on the Budget the government passed last week, which makes us remember the Budget of 1991.

Long-time CPAG health spokesperson Emeritus Prof Innes Asher, who retired from CPAG at the end of last year, has often shared how she saw first hand during the 1990s in her work as a paediatrician the drastic increase in children turning up to emergency rooms with preventable illnesses because more families were poor.

More than three decades on from those brutal policies delivered in the Mother of All Budgets by then-Finance Minister Ruth Richardson, New Zealand Children are still paying the cost.

Te Whatu Ora figures in June 2023 showed preventable hospital admissions for babies and pre-schoolers shot up by 35 percent compared with the same time on the previous year.

Will we see those numbers rise again on the back of the cost-of-living crisis, and a budget that delivers for landlords over children at risk of contracting these preventable diseases?

CARTOON: Richard Dale at the New Zealand Herald (1991)

A huge congratulations to CPAG's Colleen Brown (MNZM) who was named a Companion of the King’s Service Order for services to people with disabilities, local government and the community in today's King's Birthday Honours List.

As well as her work with Disability Connect, Colleen is also extremely involved with CPAG as a volunteer. She is a member of CPAG's Management Committee, its Health and Disability Committee and the CPAG Communications and Advocacy Committee.

For many years Colleen has been a leader in her local community in South Auckland. She is also a regular contributor to the Listener and is a children's author.

Most recently she has been instrumental in drawing attention to cuts made without notice in March to elements of funding for people with disabilities that gave users flexibility and agency. Colleen wrote about this here: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/disability-funding-pause-causes-confusion-trauma-and-disbelief-colleen-brown/KWF6T6QR6JBARM5I6PG7B7VP7Q/

We also warmly congratulate Share My Super founder Elizabeth Greive who was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to child poverty reduction. CPAG is one of 11 charities that receives funds from Share My Super which makes it easy for people to share some or all of their NZ Super to lift up Kiwi kids living in poverty. Elizabeth recently made a $10 million donation to Share my super to guaranteei to pay its operating costs in perpetuity, which you can read about here: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/share-my-super-founder-liz-grieve-donates-10-million-for-child-poverty-how-retirees-can-help/UY5LO37RJZHFFHUTFQS55M6BYY/

Congratulations to Dr Matire Harwood (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Rangi ki Moerewa) who receives a King's Service Medal for services to Māori health. Dr Harwood spoke at CPAG's post-Budget analysis event in 2020. https://www.teaonews.co.nz/2024/06/03/tohu-a-te-kingi-2024-dr-matire-harwood/

CPAG acknowledges these three women and their work, which has in large part focused on child poverty reduction.

How do we keep the hope, keep fighting for change when we know this government knows child poverty rates are on the rise?

We were thrilled esteemed documentary maker Bryan Bruce came to CPAG's post Budget hui on Friday.

With his microphone, he created short podcasts about the day, about the Budget and about poverty.

You can listen to part one and to on his Substack channel.

PART ONE: https://bryanbruce.substack.com/p/thought-provoking-interviews-recorded (12 mins) featuring CPAG founder Susan St John, Bernard Hickey and Max Harris.

PART TWO: https://bryanbruce.substack.com/p/interviews-with-people-attending(11 mins) featuring Amy Hogan, Katy Thomas and CPAG researcher Yu Shi.

Budgets and taxes are how we prioritise the things that really matter to most of us and get us all what we need — outcomes that are bigger than us.

It was great to see so many of our supporters come together in Tāmakai Makaurau on Friday to hear our amazing analysts Amy Hogan, Max Harris, Janet McAllister, Matthew Roskruge and Bernard Hickey talk about why Nicola Willis MP's Budget fails on creating infrastructure of care, contribution, and connection.

For many of us, overcoming child poverty is the right and compassionate thing to do. Right now, our economic system is restricting many families who want to do well for their kids, and the government has just created a suite of policies that will see 20,000 children in poverty in three years, according to Treasury forecasts.

It is great to see so many people calling on the government to create budgets and allocating resources to those initiatives and programmes that prevent poverty.

We need CPAG supporters more than ever. We will continue to provide research and advocacy that shows that systems that were created that lock families in poverty can be changed. If you can, please become a member today: https://www.cpag.org.nz/become-a-member

Or just sign up for our free newsletter here: https://cpag.infoodle.com/form_process?g=490975dc-35e5-4370-9136-4364dfdeef22

Please keep sharing our work, and keeping hope that we can change things for those children, as well as the ones living just above the poverty line for that number will surely increase under this government too.

In the words of Bernard Hickey, summer is coming.

Please subscribe to Bernard's Substack channel The Kākā. There is a free version, and a paid version. If you can afford the paid version please support his work. It is crucial at a time that child poverty will be increasing under this government's watch. https://thekaka.substack.com/

Christopher Luxon campaigned before the election last year promising to not only to keep the child poverty targets but to meet them. It is devastating to hear that this year's Budget will see an extra 20,000 children in poverty in the next three years, according to Treasury forecasts.

In 2018, the Government set a goal to halve child poverty rates by 2028. Treasury's forecasts released on Thursday showed targets are likely to be missed. We ask Finance Minister Nicola Willis about it.

Full interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3bHY0sT4P4

The government has chosen tax cuts for landlords over unlocking children from hardship with this year’s Budget, and are putting an estimated 20,000 more children into poverty within three years, according to the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG).

"The government is excluding children doing it toughest from all cost-of-living crisis relief," said CPAG spokesperson Alan Johnson.

Analysis of treasury forecasts show this policy package will increase child poverty and is set to lock an additional estimated 20,000 children into poverty in the next three years. (BHC50 moving line)

"Children in benefit recipient families have been left out of the Budget, with casual disregard," Alan Johnson said.

"The government has put up a policy package knowing it will increase child poverty in Aotearoa."

In addition, CPAG is concerned that the government’s disability services budget is set to reduce by almost 30 percent in 2025.

"CPAG are concerned this future reduction in spend will lead to disabled people and their whānau having less of a say over how they live their lives," CPAG disability spokesperson Colleen Brown.

Current statistics show that 1 in 8 children in New Zealand live in poverty, but the number is 1 in 4 for children with a disability or a disabled family member.

"The cost of living crisis means too many Kiwi children and their families are kept in a daily struggle to make ends meet, unable to think about a different future," said CPAG economics spokesperson Assoc Prof Mike O’Brien.

"A strong commitment to reduce child poverty is needed now more than ever. It is hard to break free from the restrictions our economy places on people when the government gives up on helping them."

We are looking forward to seeing many of you at our post-Budget in Auckland this Friday.

AUCKLAND EVENT: CPAG's analysis will be prepared on Budget Day (Thursday), and then shared on Friday by Janet McAllister, Max Harris and Amy Hogan. We will also hear from Bernard Hickey and Prof Matthew Roskruge, and will have a youth perspective.

When: Friday 31 May 2024 11:30am-1:30pm.

The Auckland event will be held at Western Springs Hall, 956 Great North Road, Western Springs. (Public transport and parking available).

There are limited spots available here: https://cpag.infoodle.com/f/ChildPovertyActionGroupPostBudgetHui

Register to get the livestream link here: https://cpag.infoodle.com/f/CPAGPostBudgetHuiLivestreamRegistration

John Campbell: My pre-Budget roadie to Northland was an eye opener As we await next week's release of Budget 2024, John Campbell headed north to gauge the mood.

What are you doing this time next Friday? Coming along to our Post Budget Event we hope. Register for the in person event in Auckland here
https://cpag.infoodle.com/f/ChildPovertyActionGroupPostBudgetHui or the Online event streamed across the motu here https://cpag.infoodle.com/f/CPAGPostBudgetHuiLivestreamRegistration

Registrations for CPAG’s Post-Budget analysis are open. We’d love to see you there if you’re in Tāmaki Mākaurau.

Friday May 31
11.30-1.30pm
Western Springs Garden Community Hall

https://tinyurl.com/4snrx2jk

What's missing from the Government's Kāinga Ora review? Some key details. CPAG's Alan Johnson explains:

The Kāinga Ora review avoids the big and obvious questions Its criticisms of Kāinga Ora are valid, but the report offers little to address Aotearoa's chronic shortage of affordable rental housing.

"I think it's a choice the government has to make and I would like to see it put investment into building new homes for people because that's where the need is. We need more houses," said Sister Margaret Martin of Sisters of Mercy Wiri.

Review finds Kāinga Ora 'underperforming', new chair appointed The report also suggested the wider social housing system is under-delivering, lacks transparency and accountability, and has a "poor understanding" of tenant outcomes.

CPAG and Public Housing Futures created A People’s Review of Kāinga Ora to tell a different story about public housing and the important role it plays in providing stable and truly affordable homes to people, and thriving communities.
The groups have also analysed Kāinga Ora’s finances, to help understand the reason the agency was in debt.
Kāinga Ora was forced to borrow and sell off land in state housing neighbourhoods in order to pay for years of neglect.
Kāinga Ora, under the previous government, began to build houses again and it is important to maintain this in order to achieve a greater presence of public rental housing in the housing landscape.
“If we put things into perspective, the debt that Kāinga Ora has is essentially an accounting convention. The government could have funded it as equity. This debt is Government-backed so its current level is unlikely to concern financial markets, and its so-called sustainability depends entirely on a political choice by the Government to support Kāinga Ora and its operations”, says Alan Johnson, housing spokesperson for CPAG.
The Government has already announced plans which skew demand through increasing evictions, forcing people in emergency housing into private rentals, and suggesting even more landlord subsidies. At the same time, all over the country, Kāinga Ora developments have been put on hold, postponed, shrunk, reconsidered or cancelled.
“Public housing provides stable and secure homes for people so they can put down roots in a community and be able to participate more fully. Making public housing marginal and temporary will lead to more people being forced into an expensive and insecure private rental market, and increase homelessness,” says Cole.
Read the A People’s Review of Kāinga Ora here: https://lnkd.in/gvKMuqRc
Read the review of Kainga Ora’s financial position here: https://lnkd.in/gjwwtjFQ

A review led by Bill English into Kāinga Ora has been described by public housing advocates as a way to reduce the state’s role in public housing, despite overwhelming evidence suggesting we need the state to build more state-owned houses to solve the housing crisis.

The Luxon-led government has said it won’t sell off state houses. However the Bill English report makes recommendations to create community housing associations, which Public Housing Futures and Child Poverty Action Group warn could see the state withdraw from building the public homes we need.

New Zealand has the lowest level of public housing in the OECD with public housing stock just 3.4% of all housing. The OECD average is 7%, and the Netherlands 34.1%.

Under the previous National-led government Mr English was involved in a programme to privatise state housing and shrink Government responsibility through transfers to third party providers, evicting tenants after reviewing eligibility, and selling land to private developers.

"No matter where you look globally, the evidence is clear - public housing is the only lasting solution to our housing crisis, yet successive governments have under-maintained and under-resourced the programme, prioritising private market profits over making sure that everyone has a home," says Vanessa Cole, spokesperson for Public Housing Futures.

"We need more public housing, not more social housing. The real risk is that the Government will usher in privatisation by stealth by reducing their role in building public housing, and opening up low-income housing to private providers and investors. This will be to the detriment of stable and affordable homes for everyone," says Ms Cole.

"Increasing the role of private market players in our public housing landscape is effectively the Government subsidising the private market with no guarantee of long-term, stable and affordable housing for people," says Ms Cole.

The two groups created A People’s Review of Kāinga Ora to tell a different story about public housing and the important role it plays in providing stable and truly affordable homes to people, and thriving communities. The groups have also analysed Kāinga Ora’s finances, to help understand the reason the agency was in debt.

Kāinga Ora was forced to borrow and sell off land in state housing neighbourhoods in order to pay for years of neglect.

Kāinga Ora, under the previous government, began to build houses again and it is important to maintain this in order to achieve a greater presence of public rental housing in the housing landscape.

"If we put things into perspective, the debt that Kāinga Ora has is essentially an accounting convention. The government could have funded it as equity. This debt is Government-backed so its current level is unlikely to concern financial markets, and its so-called sustainability depends entirely on a political choice by the Government to support Kāinga Ora and its operations", says Alan Johnson, housing spokesperson for CPAG.

The Government has already announced plans which skew demand through increasing evictions, forcing people in emergency housing into private rentals, and suggesting even more landlord subsidies. At the same time, all over the country, Kāinga Ora developments have been put on hold, postponed, shrunk, reconsidered or cancelled.

"Public housing provides stable and secure homes for people so they can put down roots in a community and be able to participate more fully. Making public housing marginal and temporary will lead to more people being forced into an expensive and insecure private rental market, and increase homelessness," says Cole.

Read the A People’s Review of Kāinga Ora here:https://static1.squarespace.com/static/64b65a49e3f77b64ccfb17a2/t/6600b1f8ac80cf4b9144693c/1711321622588/A+Peoples+Review+of+Kāinga+Ora+In+Defence+of+Public+Housing+V1.pdf

Read the review of Kainga Ora’s financial position here:https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60189fe639b6d67b861cf5c4/t/664adea3333ed61fbb3ff538/1716182692889/CPAG+Review+Of+Kainga+Ora+Financials.pdf

If you didn't believe that we have a food insecurity problem in Aotearoa the latest voices report provides further evidence that yes we do- with families increasingly reliant on food banks to eat.

Thank you to for producing this comprehensive report available now on their website. Providing data-led insights into the financial wellbeing of whānau supported by financial mentors throughout Aotearoa. Its well worth a read.

And to the budgeting services and financial mentors that are facing funding cuts as the demand for their services increases-- we see you and appreciate your good mahi.
https://www.fincap.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/FinCap-Voices-report.pdf