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Further Action
Email the Minister for Social Development
It is shocking that in a rich country like New Zealand, one in five children lives below the poverty line. Please email the Minister of Social Development to ask him to take action.
- Copy the text in the box below into an email and add your name at the bottom
- Copy the following address into the email: dbenson-pope@ministers.govt.nz
- Press send!
Hon David Benson Pope
Minister for Social Development
Parliament Buildings
Wellington
Dear Minister,
I ask that you consider bringing an end to child poverty in New Zealand.
We are a country that prides itself on Kiwi ingenuity and generosity yet we continue to bypass the real issues of poverty in this country.
The recent cross-government action plan aiming to improve outcomes for young people and reduce youth offending in Counties Manukau clearly targets poor children in South Auckland, but overlooks the real issue of deepening child poverty throughout New Zealand.
I ask that the Government develop a systematic plan that timetables and adequately resources a policy to bring an end to child poverty in New Zealand.
Children born into our poorest families will not thrive without much greater protection from our country’s low wages, growing income inequality, growing cost of living, unaffordable and unhealthy housing, food insecurity and the host of other social ills which these bring on. We need to ensure that every child in New Zealand has the basics of life.
Current government policy discriminates against 300,000 children by leaving them out of additional payments for families, simply because their carer is not in paid work.
I support MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY and others’ call for the New Zealand Government to fix a timeline for the reduction and elimination of child poverty, and to allocate substantial resources towards this goal.
Please take action!
Yours sincerely,
(your name)
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