Poverty report shows need for living wage

15 December 2015

Tauranga school principal Jan Tinetti never asks kids at her decile one school what they got for their birthday, “because more than often they don’t get anything.”

That is the reality of the growing number of children who live in poverty.

Jan Tinetti says she welcomes yet another report – this time from the Children’s Commissioner - which shows a third of children are living in poverty but she’s sick of seeing no response from central government.

“At school we're seeing more and more families in increasingly desperate situations and this takes an enormous toll on kids. It doesn’t take much for them to explode."

While she says there are no answers coming from the Government, more people are becoming aware of the poverty in their community and taking action.

“One local firm bought all of our kids Christmas presents. And what was telling, was that almost half the kids didn’t open their gift immediately, choosing instead to take it home to have something to open at Christmas.”

The Children’s Commissioner report backs up the findings of Otago University’s Child Monitor Report which shows more than half of those children in poverty are living in “persistent poverty” of entrenched deprivation throughout their childhood.

One of the big causes of poverty is our low wages which means that many working families do have enough income to meet basic living requirements.

“That’s why NZEI Te Riu Roa supports a living wage. This would go a long way to ensuring that children can be freed from the effects of ongoing poverty.”

ENDS

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