‘There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in
which it treats its children.’ - Nelson Mandela.
“In
2010, 25,000 children were admitted to hospital with preventable diseases” and
illnesses (SustainableBusinessNZ, 2012). These
diseases and illnesses include…
 |
| Rheumatic Fever in children |
· Rheumatic fever – “An inflammatory
disease that may develop as a complication of a streptococcus infection, such
as strep throat or scarlet fever” (Medical News Today, 2010). Dr Didsbury states that "now and again
we see rheumatic fever, which for most developed countries is never heard of.
It's almost an embarrassment that we see it." (Didsbury, 2012).
·
Impetigo (School Sores) – Starts as “pimples
and sometimes develops into big oozing bubbles which grow bigger every day” (Didsbury,
2012).
·
Cellulitis - A “skin infection that can
spread under the skin and can be very severe and require hospital
admissions"(Didsbury, 2012).
·
Bronchiolitis (Respiratory Illness) - A
wheezy condition (Didsbury, 2012).
It
was predominantly poverty stricken children who encounter one, if not all of
these diseases and illnesses. They were
likely to be caused through extended families living under one roof (one way to
cut costs) and houses being cold, damp and mouldy. When the colder months start to approach
families living under or on the poverty line are unable or struggling to afford
heat, so to keep warm it is common for everyone to sleep in one room. This is how the illnesses and diseases are transmitted,
“it’s spread person to person by germs” (Didsbury, 2012). Anyone who is affected will need medical attention.
So what is the GOVERNMENT doing about it?
In
2006 the government put in place a ‘very low-cost access’ funding scheme
(Scoop, 2008). As of 1 July 2008, over
300 general practices/health centres around New Zealand had joined, allowing
children between 6 – 17 years of age to see a doctor for $11.50 and over 500
general practices/health centres have joined the free for under 6 year olds
scheme (Scoop, 2008). Even with this in
place families with children over the age of six have to decide on going to the
doctors or having no food for dinner and situations like this can “put some
families off” (Didsbury, 2012).
On
top of the ‘very low-cost access’ funding scheme, the New Zealand government
have put numerous initiatives in place to alleviate child poverty. Since 1980 Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ)
have offered many services to support families in need (Bunce, 2011).
Visit http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/individuals/a-z-benefits/
to see the whole ‘A-Z’ list of benefits WINZ have to offer (Work and Income, n.d).
When Labour was in government
they initiated Working for Families (WFF) package through Inland Revenue Department (IRD). This was introduced in 2003 and implemented
in 2005. The specific purpose of this
package was to provide incentives to work and reduce the rate of child
poverty in New Zealand (Bunce, 2011).
The WFF package consists of:
·
Family Tax Credit (FTC) - Child-related
supplement that is not tied to work requirements
·
Parental Tax Credit (PTC) - Weekly
payment of NZ$150 for eight weeks for a new child.
·
Marginal Family Tax Credit (MFTC).
·
In Work Tax Credit (IWTC).
To
be eligible for the MFTC and the IWTC a work requirement must be fulfilled of
20 hours for a single-parent and 30 hours for a couple (Bunce, 2011). There
is also free dental care to children up to the age of 18 and all housing NZ
homes are or are in the process of getting insulated.
So, with all the government initiatives put in place
with the overall outcome of alleviating child poverty, are they working?
NO!!!!!
Since the implementation of the WFF package in 2005
there has been “NO marked reduction in child poverty with the rate remaining at
22 percent from 2007-2011” (Bunce, 2010, p. 6). It also discriminates against
children in families dependent on benefits, are difficult for families to work
out eligibility; it complicates the tax system and does not adjust for
inflation (Bunce, 2010).
Yes, WINZ do provide many benefits/allowances to
support families in need. However, WINZ do not give enough money to survive on,
on a weekly basis, hence the reason poverty is such an epidemic here in NZ (Andykenworthy,
2013).
…However…
The Children's Commissioner's expert advisory group
have proposed that government and
non-government organisations work in alliance with the food-in-schools programme,
implement "warrant of fitness for rental homes,” create “a new "child
payment" to support families needing extra help, along with changes to the
child support system” and “introduce a new Children’s Act” (Australian
Associated Press Pty, 2012). The Children's
Commissioner's expert advisory group think that by implementing these new
changes “poverty will reduce by at least 30 per cent by 2022” (Australian
Associated Press Pty, 2012). Click below
to read article.
Personally I think that the New Zealand government
needs to review and simplify its benefit system and raise the amount of money
given to families so poverty can start to decrease. I think it is brilliant that the 'Children's
Commissioner's' expert advisory group have recognise the need to address and
make recommendations on the issue of poverty, however, in order for the recommendations
to be achieved it needs to be implemented.
So for now the government looks at the ‘poverty recommendations’ as just
words or a subject to bring up in parliament, but I feel that if they really
wanted to decrease poverty these recommendations would have been implemented
straight away. On my next entry I am hoping to obtain a Māori perspective on poverty and maybe even
discover when it first came into being for their culture.
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