The Public Health Association says the 2015 Child Poverty Moniter confirms poverty is worsening and that its causes are systemic and inter-generational.
According to Chief Executive Officer Warren Lindberg, the evidence provided in the Monitor cannot be overlooked or explained away with myths about personal responsibility.
Lindberg says, “This year’s Child Poverty Monitor reveals poverty is much worse now than it has been for the last two generations. In 2015 it’s almost double the percentage for 1985. Thirty percent of children now live in poverty and for 9 percent that poverty is severe,”
"The children suffering the most today are the grandchildren of the people put out of work by the economic restructuring of the 1980s. Throwing an extra $25 a week at poor families, as promised in this year’s budget, will simply not be enough and a much more comprehensive approach that looks at how the economy includes and excludes opportunity for people is required."
He also adds the report shows that it's untrue that low-income parents only have themselves to blame for the poverty they and their children live in, or that their situation is somehow the result of poor household management.
“No New Zealand family chooses to live in a damp, cold, overcrowded house. Nobody wants to struggle to put three healthy meals on the table every day. These families are doing the best they can with the increasingly limited choices they have,” he says.
He also states that its time to take a nationwide approach to ensure that "New Zealand children and their families can choose the healthy homes, decent clothing and shoes, safe walkable neighbourhoods, educational opportunities and the health care they need."
Linberg says the Public Health Association will be promoting the Children's Commissioner's #itsnotchoice message because it fits with the organisation's values of reducing inequality and promoting good health for all.