Targeting struggling families
The Minister for Children says money is not the only thing children need to succeed but being without it certainly is a problem.
The Government passed its Families Package (Income and Tax Benefits) Bill under urgency on Friday evening.
The package, which was unveiled on Thursday during the Government’s mini Budget, is expected to halve the number of children in poverty in New Zealand.
During the first year, following the implementation of the package, 750,000 children, in 385,000 families, are expected to be better off, according to Treasury projections.
Minister for Children Tracey Martin said children needed more than money but the package was a significant step in the right direction.
Without enough money families struggled to pay for the things others didn’t - and no matter what efforts the parents or carers made, the children might miss out on things.
Money issues could also put people under pressure, affecting relationships – that meant families and children.
‘‘So I’m under no illusion that this is going to solve every last problem for children.
‘‘But it sure as hell is going to make a big difference,’’ Martin said.
‘‘If parents have more money, it takes some of the pressure off them and helps them be the parents they want to, and do the things they want to for their children.’’
The new Best Start payment will have all families with babies born after July 1, 2018, receiving $60 a week for the child’s first year and for the subsequent two years if they earn $79,000 or less.
But it is not paid at the same time as paid parental leave, which will be extended to 26 weeks by 2020.
Martin said Best Start recognised the first year of parenthood was always a tricky adjustment and the first three years for a child were especially important.
But the biggest part of the Families Package - increased Working for Families and other payments - were firmly targeted at the people who needed the extra income the most.
In a material sense, that meant disadvantaged children. Common misconception It is a common misconception lower-income families spend any extra money on non-essentials like alcohol and cigarettes, rather than their children.
The myth often resurfaces when governments announce new, or higher, benefit payments.
Statistics NZ figures show that, regardless of their socio-economic status, New Zealanders spend the same proportion of their weekly income on alcohol: about 2 per cent.
And those in poverty spend more of their weekly income on food compared with the wealthy: 18.4 per cent versus 15.3 per cent.
‘‘Answer me this question: how many parents out there do you know who don’t want to do a good job?’’ Martin said.
‘‘Most parents love their kids. They want to do whatever they can for them.
‘‘And my experience is that what you do as a parent is give things up for yourself because your children come first.’’
This discussion came from a ‘‘misguided idea’’ that poor people didn’t try as hard to be good parents, she said.
‘‘That is not true. It’s harder for people with lower incomes to give their kids what they want to.’’
The Families Package was ‘‘practical help’’ to make it a bit easier to be a good parent.
Just a generation ago New Zealand had the universal family benefit - where every mother with a child under 16 received social security payments - and there weren’t headlines about delinquent parents, Martin said.
‘‘As a nation we chose to trust our parents and support our children.’’