[New Zealand] Government should get serious about child poverty - PHA

From Stuff Online

The Public Health Association (PHA) has called on the Government to make tackling child poverty a priority for 2006.

PHA director Dr Gay Keating said it was not acceptable that children in New Zealand were suffering from third-world diseases.

"The Government needs to get serious about this issue.

"Fixing a timeline for the reduction and elimination of child poverty and allocating substantial resources towards this goal would be a good start," she said.

One immediate action the Government could take to improve the health of poorer children would be to extend the availability of the in-work payment - part of the Working for Families package which will be introduced in April but would not go to parents who were on benefits.

"Any additional financial support needs to be extended to all children who need it, not just those with parents in work."