Questions on standard of living - Children’s Convention from the United Nations

Taking into consideration the adoption of the Child Poverty Reduction Act, 2018, and the child and youth well-being strategy of 2019, please provide information about the following:

Question 24(a)

1. Establishing a national definition of poverty with a view to decreasing child poverty;

The understanding of poverty that informed the development of the Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018 was, ‘exclusion from a minimum acceptable standard of living in one’s own society due to a lack of resources’. The New Zealand Government’s position is that a multi-measure approach is required for monitoring levels of poverty.

The Child Poverty Reduction Act uses ten measures to monitor child poverty, including both income measures (before and after housing costs) and measures of material deprivation — measuring poverty from different perspectives and at different depths. The Act identifies a smaller subset of ‘primary’ measures for target setting over three-year and ten-year periods, with the selection of measures intended to ensure genuine progress is being made for children.

More information on the child poverty measures can be found in the Data Annex.

Question 24(b)

2. Increasing the resources allocated to tackling child poverty in the short, medium and long term;

Reply to 24(b)

During the passage of the Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018, the Public Finance Act 1989 was amended in order to require the Government to publish a report on child poverty as part of the annual Budget process. This report must discuss the latest progress made in reducing child poverty and indicate how initiatives in the Budget will affect child poverty.

As outlined in the child poverty reports for Budgets 2019 and 2020, the New Zealand Government has implemented a number of policies to reduce child poverty – see reply to paragraph 24(d) below.

The Government also acted quickly to reduce the economic impact of COVID-19 on New Zealanders (see reply to paragraph 5(c)).

Question 24(c)

3. Protecting budgetary lines for children in situations of poverty, even in situations of economic crisis, natural disasters or other emergencies;

Reply to 24(c)

The annual Government report on child poverty provides transparency on how the measures in that Budget will affect child poverty.

The Budget 2020 report shows the wide range of measures focused on addressing child poverty, including swift action to protect children from the economic impacts of COVID-19. Further initiatives were also funded through a dedicated COVID Relief and Recovery Fund, including a number of initiatives aimed at supporting families facing additional pressure as a result of COVID-19. [1]

Question 24(d)

4. The impact of the “Families package” and other initiatives to decrease child poverty, increase food security and provide safe and adequate housing to all children, noting the extreme shortage of affordable and accessible housing;

Reply to 24(d)

The Families Package, implemented from July 2018, increased the incomes of around 384,000 low to middle-income families with children – by, on average, $75 a week (in total, $5.5 billion over four years). There were also numerous changes to income support through Budget 2019, including the indexation of main social welfare benefits to average wage growth, and increasing the amount that beneficiaries can earn before their benefit reduces.

Modelling by Treasury estimated that the combined impact of the Families Package and Budget 2019 income support changes would reduce the number of children in poverty on the primary measure of low income by:

• between 41,000 (24%) and 66,000 (37%) children (before housing costs)
• between 50,000 (22%) and 74,000 (30%) children (after housing costs).

Changes to income support were also announced in April 2020, including an increase to benefits, temporarily doubling payments to support low-income families with energy costs during the winter months, and broadening eligibility for the In-Work Tax Credit. Taking all income support changes together, the combined impact is expected to increase income support for beneficiary families with children by, on average, around $100 per week.

Given the uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Treasury did not provide a single estimate of the impact of the Budget 2020 changes on child poverty – instead, they modelled a number of scenarios. These scenarios highlight the sensitivity of the modelling to different economic outcomes.

Measures to address food security

The New Zealand Government has also taken a range of measures that specifically address food security.

The KickStart Breakfast Programme currently provides Sanitarium Weetbix and Anchor milk in over 1,000 schools (approximately 40% of all schools) across New Zealand, reaching 30,000 children. In addition, KidsCan provides support to children in low-decile (1–4) schools with Food for Kids, as well as essential clothing such as raincoats, socks and shoes, and hygiene products. Budget 19 provided $3.2 million to extend funding for this programme for a further two years.

Since early 2020, MOE has been piloting the Free and Healthy School Lunch Programme. The programme provides a free healthy lunch to children and young people each school day. Schools and kura (state schools where the teaching is in te reo Māori and is based on Māori culture and values) are identified for involvement in the programme using MOE’s Equity Index, which estimates where children and young people may experience socio-economic disadvantage that could affect their education.

To support food security at a whānau level for children, TPK currently offer Māra Kai grants for the establishment of kaupapa [2] Māori food gardens across Māori communities and marae.

The Government also acted quickly to ensure food was available to those who needed it in response to COVID-19. For example, the Government:

• implemented a range of measures to bolster the delivery of food and welfare assistance by local authorities and Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups, as well as providing additional support for foodbanks, food rescue and other community food services.
• made access to Special Needs Grants for food easier.
• funded the distribution of surplus produce to families and communities and is supporting innovative solutions to address supply chain issues exacerbated by COVID-19.
• is providing funding support for foodbanks, food rescue and other community food services.
• provided Free and Healthy School Lunch Programme as part of the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund in June 2020. This programme was initially piloted in specific regions of New Zealand only, but will be expanded to reach approximately 200,000 children and young people across Aotearoa New Zealand during 2021.

Measures to address housing affordability and quality

Since 2018, the Government has substantially increased investment in the supply of public and transitional housing. Funding has been committed for an additional 18,000 public and transitional housing places to be delivered by 2024.

The Government has also developed a comprehensive, cross-agency action plan to prevent and reduce homelessness, including a focus on young people as one of six actions brought forward in response to COVID-19. The Government is providing assistance for families with children in emergency housing and has made changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to improve the quality of rental housing, strengthen security of tenure, and extend the minimum period between rent increases.

As part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, TPK brought forward and reprioritised its Māori housing investment programme. Support for repairs to homes owned and occupied by low income whānau Māori was prioritised against a list of criteria with the first priority being critical and essential repairs to sub-standard homes occupied by whānau with vulnerable persons (tamariki, kaumātua (elders) or others with special health and social service needs).

Another investment related to housing is the Oranga Marae programme. This programme gives support, advice and investment for marae. It gives whānau and hapū advice and support to help develop their marae and achieve their goals. This support may include building projects and activities to revitalise cultural knowledge.

School donations scheme

The donations scheme is an optional extra pool of funding available for decile 1–7 schools introduced in 2020. It provides schools with $150 for each student if they agree not to seek donations from parents and whānau. The scheme was designed to direct funding to schools that are less able to raise funds from their communities and reduce the pressure on parents to pay donations. It aims to reduce the widespread expectation that families should pay voluntary contributions to schools for their child’s education.

Figures show that 92.1% of eligible schools chose to opt into the scheme for the 2020 school year. $64.8 million in funding went to schools, benefitting 431,973 students and their families.

Access to menstrual hygiene products in schools

In June 2020, the Government announced an initiative to provide access to free menstrual hygiene products in schools nationwide, on an opt-in basis, in 2021. The initiative aims to:

• reduce barriers to accessing both education and sanitary products
• improve child and youth wellbeing
• reduce financial strain on families and whānau experiencing material hardship
• promote positive gender norms and reduce stigmatisation of menstruation.

Question 24(e)

5. Taking into account the best interests of the child when investigating and prosecuting cases of benefits fraud in order to avoid further distress and higher level of poverty among children whose parents are prosecuted;

Reply to 24(e)

As the key provider of benefit payments, MSD is the lead agency in benefit fraud investigations.

The process for deciding on prosecution requires that once a solicitor has confirmed that there is sufficient evidence to provide a reasonable expectation of conviction, the case is referred to the Fraud Prosecution Review Panel to determine if it is in the public interest.

In considering a case, the Panel will consider the effect a prosecution would have on any children related to the case (e.g. children in the care of the offender). Where there are children who may be impacted, this would be a factor considered. Each case is taken on its merits on a case-by-case basis and an overall assessment of all factors is required to make a final determination on whether to prosecute or not.

Question 24(f)

6. Undertaking consultations with families, children and children’s rights civil society organizations to inform them about the Act.

Reply to 24(f)

The Children’s Act 2014 sets out a legislative requirement to consult with children on a proposed strategy (or any changes to the strategy). In the development of the CYWS, a range of methods were used to help around 6,000 children and young people to express their views on what wellbeing means to them – namely through:

• partner agencies, skilled in working with children and young people, who were commissioned to lead the engagement process.
• interviews and focus groups to hear from 423 children and young people who were more likely to have faced, or be facing, challenges in their lives.
• a Child and Youth Engagement Toolkit developed to help community organisations organise their own focus groups
• an online survey that was completed by 5,631 children and young people.
• the ‘Postcard to the Prime Minister’ which proved an effective way for children, young people and adults to express their ‘big ideas’ directly with the Prime Minister.
• DPMC’s Child Wellbeing Unit engaging directly with children and young people through a small number of informal face-to-face engagements, as opportunities and events presented themselves.

TPK was engaged in the policy process to ensure that the voice of tamariki Māori and their whānau were clearly reflected in both the CYWS.

Previous page | Next page

Footnotes

1. Summary of Initiatives in the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund (CRRF) Foundational Package (treasury.govt.nz). Return to text
2. Defined as principles and ideas which act as a base or foundation for action. Return to text