Poverty response doesn't go far enough
Experts: Restart universal child payment
An expert group appointed by the Children's Commissioner has released its findings on the best way to reduce child poverty in New Zealand.
There are many excellent ideas in the plan to end our denial over the 270 000 NZ children living in poverty.
Allowing fathers to pay their child support directly to the mother rather than hand it over to the state would not only benefit the children, it would increase child support payment compliance.
Raising the family tax credit and restarting the universal child payment are ways to directly impact the pocket and the warrant of fitness for all rental housing would force the slum lords to adequately heat their homes, but the food in schools programme just doesn't go far enough.
Supporting organisations like KidsCan, Fonterra and Sanitarium just won't go far enough if we want to lift the educational achievement of the poorest children. KidsCan runs in 223 low decile schools and mostly provide fruit and snacks rather than actual meals.
Feeding our poorest kids can't be a charity supported endeavor, it must be a fully state-funded programme.
MANA have put their 'Feed the Kids' Bill into the ballot this week, at a cost of $100 million, it proposes to feed every decile 1 and 2 school breakfast and lunch. That's 531 schools representing 113 095 pupils.
If we are serious about changing child poverty rather than talk about it, we require genuine investment.
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posted by Bomber @ 10:33 am
4 comments
4 Comments:
I don't agree with this one
"Allowing fathers to pay their child support directly to the mother rather than hand it over to the state would not only benefit the children, it would increase child support payment compliance."
That's just a way for the partner paying child support to blackmail the partner providing child care by withholding child support money. It sounds like another way that a pissed-off partner can get at their ex. And don't think the police are going to get involved to sort out accounting issues.
The taxman as a middleman works as protection. (o.k. the gender neutral version sounds weird.)
Point taken - let's have the IRD still take that money, but it is then handed to the mother ON TOP of what ever benefit they receive. Let the dad's of NZ have an active role in lifting their kids out of poverty rather than the money slip into the general taxation pot.
Agreed Bomber @11:50. That way we might even overcome the utterly STUPID situation where an ex-wife pays IRD (and then me) for looking after my son, whilst I pay IRD (and then my ex-wife) for looking after my daughter. All of which was entirely unnecessary anyway. I wonder where all those penalty payments went went she missed various deadlines - sure as hell not to either son OR daughter.
I don't really think there'll be any sensible solution though to ANY of this sort of thing when there are contol-freak fascists in power.
God Defend New Zealand indeed! Sure as hell there's a gubbamint that isn't up to it.
Having spent a lot of my 45 years of working life chasing bastard fathers who refuse to pay for their children bacause "I am not going to subsidiuse that bitch's lifestyle,she chose to live without me", I can't quite bring myself to find your naievity charming.
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