Caring for children a ‘job for all’

The Minister for Children says money isn’t 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, was 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, were 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 kids.

‘‘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 be, and do the things they want to for their children.’’

The new Best Start payment would see 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’s 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.

It’s a common misconception lower-income families spend any extra money on non-essentials like alcohol and cigarettes, rather than their kids.

The myth often resurfaces when governments announce new, or higher, benefit payments.

Statistics New Zealand figures show regardless of their socioeconomic 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 to the wealthy: 18.4 per cent versus 15.3 per cent.

This discussion came from a ‘‘misguided idea’’ that poor people didn’t try as hard to be good parents, Martin said.

‘‘That is not true. It’s harder for people with lower incomes to give their kids what they want to.’’

"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."

Minister for Children Tracey Martin

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.’’

Child poverty reduction became a focus during the election campaign, with Jacinda Ardern saying it was the reason she got into politics.

During the Newshub leaders debate, Bill English pledged to lift

50,000 children out of poverty on April 1, 2018, and a further 50,000 in

2020 if economic circumstances allowed.

Ardern, now the Minister Responsible for Child Poverty Reduction, said she would commit to the same goal - 100,000 children out of poverty by 2020.

The Families Package announced on Thursday has projections of

88,000 kids out of poverty by 2021. Ardern said there was more work for her government to do in this area.

Ultimately, she wanted to lift every child out of poverty, she said.

Anywhere between 155,000 and

295,000 children are living in poverty in New Zealand.

The Government’s figures recognise 155,000 as being in poverty. That number related to the number of children living in families that were earning 50 per cent, or less, of the median household income.

Martin said while the Families Package would lift 88,000 children out of poverty (meaning their families would bring in more than 50 per cent of the median household income), that didn’t mean the remaining 67,000 kids were missing out.

‘‘Every single child ‘in poverty’ will benefit,’’ she said.

With the Accommodation Supplement, Working for Families and other changes, lower income households would see their incomes rise $150 or more a week.