Children

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Not set out on their website.

• We've developed four solutions which, if implemented, would bring 100,000 New Zealand kids out of poverty within the next term of government.
• We'd extend Working for Families to provide an extra $60 per week for 140,000 of the poorest households in New Zealand.
• There used to be support for sole parents to study at university, and it worked: parents moved off the benefit six months earlier and went into higher paying jobs. We'd reinstate and extend this support to help 10,000 people get a higher education and take better care of their kids.
• 275,000 people work for minimum wage, and many of them take care of dependent children. It's almost impossible to make ends meet on such low wages. We'd raise the minimum wage to $15 immediately to help working parents provide the basics for their kids.
• 375,000 kids live in cold, damp houses which make them sick. Most of these houses are rental properties. We'd create minimum performance standards for rental properties which would ensure warm, healthy, homes for thousands of children.

• Labour will dis-establish the Families Commission, and establish a Ministry for Children and
  a Minister for Children.
• The Minister for Children will be a senior minister at the Cabinet table.
• Ensure every 3 and 4 year old has access to free 20 hours Early Childhood Education a week, maintain fees control, work with the sector to reinstate 100% qualified teachers and restore cuts made by this government over time;
• Assist 150,000 of our poorest families with children, with an extra $70-$80 a week. This will come through Labour‟s $5000 tax free zone and by extending, in three steps, full Working for Families eligibility to people who currently don‟t meet the criteria for the 'In Work Tax Credit' component.
• Provide free 24 hours a day seven days a week access to primary health care for all under 6s – through new funding, not cuts to other services;
• Extend paid parental leave to 26 weeks in two steps;
• Provide high quality ECE and parent support from 18 months to 3 years for very vulnerable children;
• Fund free dental treatment for all pregnant women – studies show 18% of premature births are attributed to poor oral health in mothers;
• Set in legislation an official poverty measure -- for the first time in New Zealand;
• Support all parents by registering every child with a Well Child provider of their parents' choice before birth and resourcing those providers to assist families who need additional support. (more here)

• Support a framework of  universal health & wellbeing screening for all babies and children.  One possible model is Te Ara Tukutuku Nga Whanaungtanga o Nga Tamariki, as presented by former Children’s Commissioner Cindy Kiro in 2008.
• Increase funding and other support for children with disabilities and their families and whanau.
• Improve the quality and accountability of CYFS services throughout the country, including in rural and provincial rohe. Ensure adequate training and support for staff. Develop an organisational culture which respects and understands the children, families, whanau and communities served by CYFS. (more

• We will enact the recommendations from the 1989 review of Matua Whāngai.
• We will review the Children, Young Persons and their Families Act for progress made since Puao-te-ata-tū. (more here)

Not set out on their website.

Not set out on their website.