Increasing ‘Supercity’ population strong motivation to address the interests of children

Children's Commissioner John Angus is concerned the interests of children are invisible in the planning for the Auckland local government reforms. The Commissioner has outlined these concerns and made some practical recommendations in a submission on the Local Government Auckland Law Reform Bill.

“If we want a 'supercity' then we need to make sure that Auckland is a great place for children and young people. My worry is that all the planning so far has failed to recognise this,” Dr Angus said.

“The new governance arrangements are the best opportunity we have to have to create a child-friendly city. If we get it right Auckland would be recognised on the international stage as a place that supports and nurtures its youthful, diverse and multicultural population. This would help attract and retain talented young people and their families.

“Recently released statistics tell us that by 2031 Auckland will account for 38 percent of New Zealand’s population. Now is the time to start putting in place structures to plan for this population increase and tackle the disparities in the quality of services for children and young people across Auckland. “

Already, almost a third of all New Zealand children aged up to 18 years live in Auckland. When we include young people, aged up to 25 years, they account for almost 40 per cent of Auckland's population, rising to 52 per cent in some areas. “Clearly the current arrangements for many services for children and young people are not working. The evidence I've seen backs this up.

“My concern is that without a clear direction in the planning for the new local government we will simply see the status quo retained. That would be a poor outcome for children and young people and a great opportunity would be lost.

“That is why I'm suggesting that a Children's Advisory Panel is established, similar to the Ethnic and Pacific Peoples Advisory Panels. This will ensure the interests of children are taken into account and given prominence in the new arrangement,” Dr Angus said.

The Commissioner has also made a number of other recommendations, including changes to the structure of the new council. He has urged the committee to consider the establishment of:
• a Chief Advisor, Children and Young People, in the Mayoral Office
• a Social Policy and Strategy Unit
• a Children and Young People's Unit within the Community Development team.

“If we can get things right for children and young people in Auckland, we will be on our way to getting things right for children and young people in New Zealand as a whole”, said Dr Angus.

For the full submission go to: www.occ.org.nz

ENDS

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