CPAG Summit 2019: Whakamana Tāngata: Where to from here? Wellington, November 18

Child poverty, and the need to substantially reduce it, has been at the forefront of public policy in Aotearoa since the election in 2017.

The Government's Families Package signaled a beginning, with improvements to Working for Families, the introduction of Best Start and the Winter Energy Payment, Accommodation Supplement increases and extending paid parental leave. Valuable recent developments include a newly minted Child Poverty Reduction Act, an in-depth report on welfare reform from the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG), the first official Government child poverty reduction targets, and a fresh range of statistics.

Measures and benchmarks are important priorities. But progress on reducing poverty for the worst-off children is yet to be seen. The need for charity assistance is at an all-time high, and while there is increased Government spending on special needs grants and emergency housing needs these interventions are far from adequate.

Late into 2019, 174,000 children living in the most impoverished, desperate situations are yet to see any real gain.

Thus far, uptake of the extensive WEAG recommendations has been disappointing, with Government announcements providing little relief for the children living in the deepest poverty. The limited government response to the WEAG’s Whakamana Tāngata is frustrating, and the lack of public focus is perplexing.

So this year’s CPAG social welfare Summit, being held in Wellington on 18 November, offers Government and stakeholders some answers to the question: when it comes to reducing child poverty, where to from here?

Topics include:

- Welfare principles

- Housing subsidies

- Achieving income adequacy

- Individualisation of benefits

- The interaction of work and welfare

- How best to get our messages across

Speakers include: Minister of Social Development Hon. Carmel Sepuloni, Children's Commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft, Associate Professor Khylee Quince, Professor Innes Asher of CPAG, Moira Lawler and John Zois of Lifewise, Samuel Murray of CCS Disability Action, Professor Tracey McIntosh and more!

Download the Summit programme here

Join CPAG and friends, and hear from the experts speaking at our Summit about how we can make Aotearoa a better place for children and families - and how this Government can be convinced to make the bold steps to achieve the transformational impact it promised.

ENDS

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