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To: Christopher Luxon, cc: David Seymour, Winston Peters

URGENT: We need to talk about child poverty in Aotearoa

As the next government prepares to take office, we want our newly elected leaders to put an urgent issue on the top of their agenda - child poverty.

We heard very little about poverty during the election campaign, but the pressures are real and growing for many families.

We are urging the next government to meet with the organisations on the frontline of child poverty before Christmas.

Why is this important?

We all want tamariki to grow up surrounded by loving, thriving whānau within supportive communities where there are resources, opportunities and systems to enable them to flourish free of poverty.

Prime Minister-elect Luxon has committed to keeping the Child Poverty Reduction Act (2018) and halving child poverty by 2028. This will take a concerted effort in several areas.

Poverty is notoriously difficult to measure but here are some statistics PM-elect Luxon needs to know right now.

• A record almost half a million Kiwis each month rely on food handouts from charity. This will increase at Christmas. Food parcels are not the answer. Our whole food system is broken, and kids are suffering.

• Te Whatu Ora statistics this month show hospital admissions for babies and preschoolers for preventable illnesses are up more than 30 percent since June 2022

The situation is urgent. We want to show our new leaders the evidence-based policies that will help them fulfil their election promise to halve child poverty.

Speaking on behalf of children in poverty; Child Poverty Action Group, Methodist Alliance, Presbyterian Support New Zealand, Methodist Mission Northern, NZ Council of Christian Services and the Paediatric Society of New Zealand.

Please sign the petition to show how much people across Aotearoa care about child poverty, and help put pressure on the next government to meet with us ASAP.
New Zealand

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Updates

2023-12-22 20:07:49 +1300

1,000 signatures reached

2023-11-28 23:57:09 +1300

Kia ora koutou,
Now that the new government has been sworn in, we remain concerned that there is no mention of child poverty in either the National-Act or National-New Zealand First coalition agreements, and we are still calling for a meeting with the new Prime Minister.
We know the new Prime Minister doesn't want to fail on his election promise to halve child poverty by 2028.
After all, when he became an MP in 2021 he said the following in his maiden speech: "It's not good enough saying you're going to reduce child poverty but not actually doing it. Talking about it gets you a headline, but doing it makes a difference."
We will be writing to Prime Minister Luxon again next week urging him to speak with us about poverty traps that can be alleviated for the 500,000 Kiwis who use food banks each month.
We are not a lobby group powered by big business, but we speak on behalf of children in hardship who deserve to be heard by our new leaders.
Thank you for your support. The team at CPAG.

2023-11-17 12:47:18 +1300

500 signatures reached

2023-11-15 08:03:02 +1300

100 signatures reached

2023-11-15 07:22:33 +1300

50 signatures reached

2023-11-15 06:52:14 +1300

25 signatures reached

2023-11-15 06:35:32 +1300

10 signatures reached