500 signatures reached
To: Political candidates standing in Aotearoa’s General Election 2020
Open Letter: Five To Thrive
Tēnā koutou to all candidates standing in Aotearoa’s General Election 2020,
Together with leading children’s organisations running the Five to Thrive campaign, Barnardos, Te Kahui Mana Ririki, Save the Children New Zealand and Whānau Āwhina Plunket, we are calling on you to commit to getting the basics in place so that all children and tamariki in Aotearoa can thrive.
You can do this through your party’s policies ahead of the General Election, and by committing to make change if you are a part of New Zealand’s next government.
2020 has been a year of enormous change for the people of Aotearoa New Zealand as we have joined together to respond to a global pandemic. The challenges already facing so many of our nation’s tamariki and whānau around inequity, poverty, poor housing and access to support services have been increased by the devastating effect of COVID-19 on New Zealand.
As we work to recover in our communities and rebuild our nation, we are relying on our political leaders to put the children of Aotearoa at the heart of actions you will take to support us through this time of uncertainty and change.
To have a prosperous and equitable society where we all do well, we must deliver on Te Tiriti o Waitangi for all whānau Māori and invest in our children’s early years and beyond.
This Election, we are asking you to commit to five key asks to ensure all tamariki have the basics they need to thrive. We are asking that you commit to policies that focus on the following five areas, and take action on them if you are part of the next government of Aotearoa New Zealand:
1. Realise the potential of whānau Māori – the promise of Te Tiriti o Waitangi is yet to be delivered resulting inequitable outcomes for Maori across education, health, justice, and housing
2. Invest in children’s early years – the first 1000 days of a child’s life are critical and impact the rest of their lives
3. Lift children and families out of poverty – 20% of our children in New Zealand continue to live in poverty
4. An affordable and healthy home for every child – around 30,000 children are hospitalised every year due to an unhealthy housing environment
5. Mental health support for every child and new parent – New Zealand has unacceptably high rates of youth suicide and suicide is the leading cause of death of our pregnant mothers.
I support #FiveToThrive and am asking you to join me and publicly get behind this important campaign for our tamariki.
Please share how you and your party will commit to our children on these five asks and share this campaign with your followers in the lead up to Election 2020.
If you are a part of the government after the Election, please, commit to doing all you can to get the #FiveToThrive basics right for all children and tamariki in Aotearoa. They and their families and whānau will thank you for it now, and future generations will thank you, too.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Why is this important?
Too many of our children in Aotearoa are missing out on the basics they need to thrive. With political will, we can change this to ensure all of our children have a bright future. We are asking our friends, whānau, and colleagues - Kiwis that care about our children, to sign on to this open letter to ask that every child in Aotearoa gets the five basics they need to do well now, and into the future. To find out more, check out Five To Thrive https://www.fivetothrive.nz/
To keep you updated with the campaign your signature details will be shared with the four organisations leading this campaign; Barnardos, Save the Children, Te Kāhui Mana Ririki Trust, and Whānau Āwhina Plunket.
How it will be delivered
We will meet the incoming government to deliver the signatures in person. We look forward to continuing our campaign to ensure that governments deliver on what is best for our tamariki and rangatahi in Aotearoa New Zealand.