CPAG unveils election asks so every child can thrive
The Child Poverty Action Group has launched three key election asks and a suite of policy briefs 100 days out from the election to show how unacceptable levels of deprivation in Aotearoa can be addressed.
The three asks are simple: free preschool education for every child; a warm, safe dry house for every child and good food for every child.
CPAG acknowledges that each ask is more than just one policy change in one area, and the group has published 11 policy briefs spanning housing, incomes, health, disability, education, tax and food security.
CPAG executive officer Sarita Divis said parents of young children were struggling to pay daycare fees that ultimately ended up in the hands of investors because the early childhood sector had been structured in a way where business needs prevailed.
"Voters need to ask why when only 4 percent of students attend fee-paying primary and secondary schools, but private providers now make up 62 percent of the early childhood care and education market," she said.
"Regardless of who we are or what part of Aotearoa we are in, the cost of childcare is a burden for most parents. The system is faulty and it can be changed. Preschool education is a public good."
You can read CPAG's full policy brief on Early Childhood Care and Education here, and the policy brief on School Funding Equity here.
CPAG’s second key election ask is for every child to have a warm, safe home.
"At the moment we haven't got enough accessible and affordable housing for every child and their families. We need more public housing stock and we need to be building more quickly," Ms Divis said.
You can read CPAG's full policy brief on Social Housing here.
Currently, children living in emergency and unstable housing like cars and motels are not counted in child poverty statistics.
"We need better data so we can really see who is missing out on adequate housing," Ms Divis said.
The third election ask from CPAG is around food security. Read the full policy brief here.
The group is challenging all political parties to create policy that ensures all children have good food that meets their needs.
You can read CPAG policy briefs on the following issues here: Working For Families, Benefit Adequacy, Relationship Rules, Access to Healthcare, Māori Child Health and Pacific Child Health.
In addition, children with disabilities or in a household where someone has a disability are at much higher risk of being swept into poverty. For this reason we have very specific asks around disability. Here is a our policy brief on Disability Support.
"We challenge every political party and every candidate to show how they will fix these issues if they’re elected," Ms Divis said.
"The systems that have locked children into poverty can be changed. When all children and families thrive, all of us win."