Children's Commissioner Dr Russell Wills has decided to publish his own annual stocktake of child poverty after the Government spurned his call to publish official measures and targets.There is already lots of data available about children's incomes, living standards, health status etc. There is a constant barrage of stuff from MSD already sifted through by goups like the Salvation Army.
His first annual update will be published in December with analysis by experts at Otago University, edited by a private communications company and totally funded by a $525,000 grant from the philanthropic Wellington-based JR McKenzie Trust.
He said the project would not involve any taxpayers' money and he did not need to get it signed off by Social Development Minister Paula Bennett, who appointed him in 2011 for a five-year term.
The NZ Child & Youth Epidemiology Service, who will carry out the new analysis, already produce The Children's Social Health Monitor. There is even the Prime Minister's Ministerial Committee on Poverty.
I'm not sure what the point of spending half a million dollars more on measuring and reporting child poverty is, unless it's political.
4 comments:
Its political. The various reports I've seen come out from the Govt, Treasury and Otago uni are devastating for any case on widespread, systemic poverty, for a living wage, a beat up on the Govt or for more quangoes, poverty groups or major govt interventions.
In fact there's a better case for narrowing resources to that very small group of people in persistent hardship.
JC
In fact there's a better case for narrowing resources to that very small group of people in persistent hardship.
There's an overwhelming case for just ending the dole, DPB, Sicko, Invo & minimum wage.
Doesn't mean the current socialist government will do anything though.
I see that Labour is now promising to abolish the Children's Commission. Interesting.
Someone pointed out that apparently it was Labour who *created* it - apparently as part of a deal with Peter Dunne.
How ironic it would be for them to get rid of it. Mind you, I hope they don't get the chance. I hope that National stays in office.
Hadn't caught up with that thor42. But it was the Families Commission created as the Dunne deal. I think the Children's Commissioner came out of the CYPF Act.
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