Child Poverty Action Group Aotearoa New Zealand
Home > Resources > Recent Articles

Recent Articles

Current | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 1999 | 1998 | 1996

Tapu Misa: Time to think of the children

22 Dec 2008
The girls down the road, aged about 8 to 12, look well cared for, clean and neatly dressed, if a little ravenous and rough-mannered at times. They're always grateful, though, when you give them food to take home... Never mind the incentivising; it's time to think of the children, says Tapu Misa.
More >>

Underachievement is about more than attitudes

8 Dec 2008
Poverty, the resources parents can bring to their children’s schooling, and the aspirations and expectations held by both parents and their children all count towards achievement at school, says CPAG's Prof. Martin Thrupp
More >>

Home energy affordability - the issues, the facts from DEUN

9 Oct 2008
The Domestic Energy Users Network (DEUN) outlines key issues around household energy. Analysis shows decreasing affordability for low-income households, as domestic users subsidise others.
More >>

Social Report 2008 - CPAG comment

22 Sep 2008
The Ministry of Social Development has released its 2008 Social Report. CPAG's Donna Wynd notes where progress has been made and outlines remaining gaps.
More >>

Open letter to politicians on poverty

9 Sep 2008
Particularly on behalf of children living far below the unofficial poverty line, Christian social service organisations have urged political parties to outline actions they will take towards better utilising our nation’s prosperity to reduce poverty.
More >>

Low wages, high hopes

31 Aug 2008
Frances Morton of Metro magazine talked to a Mangere family who just manage to make ends meet but are working hard for a better future.
More >>

Section 59: Update on new child discipline law

30 Jun 2008
CPAG supported repeal of Section 59 of the Crimes Act in 2007, because it provided a legal defence for serious assaults on children in the name of parental discipline. In this briefing sheet, key arguments are provided by similarly supportive NGOs in response to vocal groups opposed to the newly amended law.
More >>

Left Behind: How social and income inequalities damage NZ children

28 Apr 2008
Edited by Dr Susan St John and Donna Wynd, and written by a range of experts this report outlines how increasing inequalities are harmful to children and society at large - and what to do about it. Download the executive summary here, or write to admin@cpag.org.nz to request a copy of the full report (~180pages). Suggested purchase price is $25 - for those able to afford it. Most important is that our information gets to where it needs to go!
More >>

Donna Wynd: New Year's Primer

31 Jan 2008
Donna Wynd says coming to grips with some of the larger economic forces to which your family will be subject over the next year can be daunting. She gives some pointers on what to look out for in 2008.
More >>

Work-Life Balance for DPB Families

8 Jan 2008
Rotorua People's Advocacy Centre's new report finds that sole parents are often in relative poverty and have real difficulty getting a good work life balance whether they are in paid work or not. It calls for less punitive abatement rates of benefits.
More >>

Special Issue on Child Poverty

31 Aug 2007
In the European Journal of Social Security, Susan St John and others show ways in which policy can protect populations against child poverty. "The idea that child poverty is unacceptable enjoys strong support, yet progress is at best slow if there is any at all," the Journal finds. Read the introduction by Sinfield and Pedersen here. Order copies of the Journal V.8 #3, Sept 2006, from www.intersentia.com
More >>

Donna Wynd: Kiwiscammer

18 Jun 2007
Will you be better off with Kiwisaver? Only if you don't need the money now to pay off debt or feed the family. And the more you earn the more you can get. Think of it as redistribution up the income ladder, writes CPAG's Donna Wynd in the Workers Charter.
More >>

St John: The Budget speech I wanted to hear

17 May 2007
Dr Susan St John shows how measures to lift children out of poverty could have taken top priority in Budget 07 - as published in the NZ Herald.
More >>

End legal defense for violence against children

26 Mar 2007
CPAG supports full repeal of Section 59 of the Crimes Act, because it currently provides a legal defense for assaults on children which is not available for assaults on adults. Children deserve equal protection under the law. Download supporters flyer here.
More >>

The Real Kiwi Way? Or the 90s in drag?

22 Mar 2007
Donna Wynd evaluates the National Party's new-found concern for the poor in the latest edition of the Workers Charter - and finds evidence of a prevailing idea in John Key's party that "governments can’t do anything right, and the private sector can’t do anything wrong."
More >>

UNICEF Innocenti report collected coverage

20 Feb 2007
Read a range of responses to last week's Innocenti report on child wellbeing in the OECD.
More >>

Where's our money going?

9 Feb 2007
CPAG research analyst Donna Wynd casts an eye on inflation to Dec 2006, and considers the implications for families on low incomes.
More >>

Jobs, care and justice: A Fair Work regime for Australia

1 Dec 2006
Barbara Pocock, Director of the Centre for Work + Life SA, argues that 'work-care' chains are the basis of current prosperity - but these are being undermined as we increase our attachment to work at the cost of care.
More >>

Robertson: Healthy diet not an option for the poor

23 Nov 2006
Diane Robertson says too many families' budgets allow only $11 per week, per person, for food. Improvements and changes need to be made to the economic and political system that has led to the growth of poverty and food banks.
More >>

Selection: Gamble Free Day 2006

2 Sep 2006
A range of organisations spoke out against the way in which our country's numberous pokie machines suck much-needed money, with ruthless efficiency, out of low income areas to those better off. Children inevitably pay the price...
More >>