paddy234

I didn't know Child poverty was so high in New Zealand, apparently affecting a third of Children, surely this has to be the highest in the developed world


https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...-child-poverty

For 14 days and 14 nights Elijah Saitu, 15, has lived in a damp motel room, bordered by KFC to the left and a Denny’s 24-hour takeaway to the right. He spends his days watching music videos on television and eating white bread, tinned sardines, fizzy drinks and packets of chips. “He’s suffocating,” says Elijah’s mother, Emily Fiame Saitu, who has been begging the government to help her family. “It’s cut-throat in New Zealand. If you’re struggling you get left behind.”

Unicef and charities urge New Zealand to act on child poverty
Read more

LoCarb

This is what happens when you allow bankers to run the country.

garethwm

I think the figure depends a lot on how they measure child poverty and the definition of it. I googled child poverty OECD and NZ is very much mid table on income child poverty, one place above Australia.

Bo-Jangles

Well lets face it, the majority things that are good about New Zealand are an accident of nature and many Kiwis who are doing okay for themselves like to perpetuate the myth of Hobbitland where the living is easy. They like to make out like we're all living the Country Calendar life, hunting, shooting and fishing; thriving on fresh air, homebaking and lattes, or with glass of wine in hand staring at the mountains telling each other that they live in paradise and that others are failing because they haven't worked hard enough.

There is a constant undercurrent of 'blaming the poor for being poor' and shaming people for having got into difficult situations, i.e. It's their own fault that they made poor choices and are unable to afford a house or are needing help to feed the kids.

It's not just a South Auckland thing either, like many would like to think. There are numerous social issues that nobody likes to admit or addresses among small town New Zealand where there is little work and nothing for folks to do; the typical Kiwi 'solution' or response to to those people would be to pick themselves up, get themselves a job and move themselves to somewhere more desirable or prosperous.

BEVS

Who the hell cares where NZ is placed on that table. It is of absolute no use to those in poverty here in NZ and on the sharp end however perhaps such a table acts as a salve for those in their ivory towers. After all NZ cannot possibly be bad on this issue can it because other countries fare worse, so the NZ poor by definition of that table are not poor in NZ so somehow don't count . Wonderful stuff.

What we should all be caring about is that there is a huge problem with child poverty & abuse right here in this country & that problem is not being addressed by the people of this country. In fact some people actually try to deny and hide this. Just like with domestic violence & conservation issues.

Get a grip all New Zealanders . Acknowledge these issues. Pay the taxes to fund and start solving these social issues. After all it's not as if we are talking a billion people is it.

Bo-Jangles

The shortcomings have been reported on by various international agencies with some regularity during my time here and yet another report from the UN out this week: UN scorecard on Child Rights for NZ presents challenge to address child poverty | Stuff.co.nz

We hear the very same mantras being trotted out, trying to defend the NZ position and discredit the source for having the temerity to point out the issues. Crikey, that's a close call but 'she'll be right' we can brush that one right under the carpet by stating that it is worse elsewhere.

It's a typically Kiwi response to cite the Aussies as being far worse in their treatment of indigenous populations and we're hearing it again right here, that it's all fine then because at least we're one place above them.

There will be more that compare us to Syria and the likes; talk about seriously missing the point, we are after all supposed to be a 'first world' nation and absolutely should be ashamed that we even feature in the rankings and continue to draw the attention of these international agencies.

jmh

I'm not saying poverty isn't a issue in NZ but let's get that family's situation in perspective.

They arrived in NZ from Australia (presumably because they are not entitled to benefits there), and stayed with family when they arrived but had to move out, and so were put up in a motel at the government's expense.

A four bedroom home has since been provided for them by Housing NZ.

I'm also very surprised at the picture painted by the journalist who clearly knows nothing of South Auckland. I meet decile one kids every week. None of them have gummy eyes. They are usually smartly dressed in school uniforms, and look pretty healthy. There is a need for more support in the area, and schools and health agencies are providing exceptional services that people in other parts of the country may not be aware of (dental buses, onsite social workers and nurses, and free breakfasts), but more investment is needed at the sharp end, including in the provision of warm housing.

What would help both the poor and the middle classes is cheaper food, housing and electricity - i.e. the basics. Pre the introduction of neoliberal economics in the 1980s, in NZ those things were provided cheap. We still had poverty, but you could afford to turn the heater on.

Charismatic

Should we be talking about it if it's a secret?

Across developed countries the wage growth among working and lower middle class people has stalled. I'd expect by many measures people would be worse off, not just child poverty.

That said there is little pressure for reform in reality.

garethwm

BEVs, youre a tough moderator. Paddy said NZ must have the worst child poverty in the developed world. I pointed out that it doesnt,. What is wrong in saying that? Is this not a forum for context? Here we have an article printed in the Guardian, as though the problem is unique to NZ, but it isnt. Its stattistically no different to the UK. And poverty is rather an emotional term. What some families experience here is not poverty in my understanding of the word. People in real poverty can only dream of a comparative social welfare system similar to the UK or NZ.

paddy234

More population thus more competition in the market provides that. I say keep the migrants coming

garethwm

Bo Jangles, NZ doesnt feature in the rankings on child poverty. Talk about seriously missing the point We have the 16th least child poverty in the OECD. So assume that as roughly similar on a worldwide basis. Just offering an opinion.

Justcol

I think this is it for me
I am sick and tired of people whinging and whining about what is bad about New Zealand.
All we get on here now are people who live here, moaning about how bad it is. I have said this many
times in the past and will say it for the last time IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY HERE, **** OFF BACK HOME
You chose to come here, if it hasnt worked out, thats a shame, its a beautiful place to live
Nothng about New Zealand or Kiwi's will have changed since you decided to come.
prices are what they are, which is what they've always been. Choice is what it is, restricted compared to the UK.
House prices are climbing, some areas have priced folk out of the market just as they are all over the world.
some houses are good, some are poor, if you dont like one, dont buy / rent it.If you cant afford to be where
you are or where you want to be, move. . . its that simple.

In every country there are rich and poor and NZ is no different.

During my time on here I may have given someone some advice that was helpful, I hope so.

The membership now is not what it was, most seem content only to drag NZ down and I dont want to be part of that.
I am happier, healthier and wealthier than I have ever been and I am tired of reading all the negative bullshit
that is now common on this forum

I'm out

paddy234

I agree to an extent, i am very happy here and i know most people on this board are however there are always things that we want to improve on and this is definitely one of them, it's how we progress as a society instead of standing still. Remember without the latest record number of migrants we have had in the last few years New Zealand would continue exporting it's young to Australia while the wage gap between it and Australia grew forcing New Zealand in the future to become nothing more than a retirement state for wealthy people. These New migrants compare their way of life to their previous countries and while obviously preferring their lifestyle here feel the need to improve on areas where New Zealand is way behind, one issue being housing which now is finally starting to improve, another is the gap between rich and poor.

BEVS

Nothing at all. I wasn't writing as a moderator or the site admin. I wrote as someone that emigrated to New Zealand and has lived here for over twelve years. I perhaps also write as someone who grew up within a very poor family. I know what that is like.

I'm not interested in some ranking somewhere. It is meaningless to those really struggling. I'm no longer in the UK so that isn't my focus. My focus is for here in NZ. I'm interested that the people of this nation and New Zealand as a whole acknowledge there is quite a whole lot of child poverty here and so come right out and state that they want that addressed.

^ This. Exactly this.

Also this

I agree jmh. The article would have been better had it cited more than one family. (1) White pakeha (2) Maori (3) Immigrant.

..... and Justcol. I think you have misunderstood. I personally am not moaning about my living here in New Zealand or New Zealand per se. ( apart from the price of tomatoes) I'm stating I want the social issues better addressed & so improved. My 'going back to the UK' because I want to see better progress than I am seeing isn't going to solve it for those families living in NZ poverty. In fact, what I am actually stating is that I care about all those people. I am sure you do too.

LoCarb

The first thing I would do if PM would be to take GST off food.

The argument that it's too complicated, as National claim, is obviously not correct as other countries don't have food taxes.

Second, I'd introduce a Job Guarantee, where anyone who wants a full-time job could get one through government/local-body agencies paid for through central government

There's plenty of work that needs doing in the community and not getting done, especially within conservation & green initiatives. These jobs would be at the minimum wage, or more correctly nearer the living wage. This would also encourage private sector employers to raise wages or increase productivity to compete.

There are just way too many low-wage and part-time causal jobs in New Zealand statistically masking the true level of unemployment.