Mana: Labour in no hurry over child poverty
Posted on November 8, 2011 by admin in Press ReleasesMana Social Wellbeing spokesperson Sue Bradford says she is not impressed with Labour’s lack of urgency over child poverty.
“For years organisations working with children have been challenging Labour over its refusal to extend Working for Families to cover beneficiary children,” she says.
“When they were in Government, Labour absolutely refused to listen because they saw it as their moral responsibility to punish beneficiary parents for not having a job, even if it was the children who suffered.
“Suddenly, they have discovered a conscience. Now they announce they will start to put this right, but it will take them until 2018.
“Nor am I aware of Labour coming out with any policy to lift basic benefit levels, or to reverse National’s attacks on sole parents on the DPB.
“Labour are certainly not treating the present appalling rate of child poverty with any sense of urgency.
“I might sound like a bit of a cynic but a promise to fund something in 2018 is really no commitment at all because so much can happen in the intervening period.”
‘I do congratulate Labour on a number of the positive steps taken with today’s childrens’ policy announcement, but they still have a long way to go.
‘Beneficiaries and their children do not deserve to be treated as second class citizens under either Labour or National-lead Governments.
‘Mana knows money is tight in the current economic situation, but our priority is on creating jobs and lifting incomes for everyone who is living in poverty, not just some of them.
Madalene Frost says:
Post Author November 8, 2011 at 1:03 pmLabour’s crocodile tears over child poverty are hard to take seriously, when Annette King has never been prepared to apologise for her police force illegally imprisoning several children in a garage without food, drink or toilet facilities for four hours, during the so-called terror raid and lock down of Ruatoria in 2008. Shame on Labour – they only remember their roots when they want another chance to stuff the country!
Jasneet says:
Post Author November 28, 2012 at 12:33 amChill The AEC will not declare the polls until next Friday. Last time I lokoed only 80% of vote had been counted and no seats had been declared. As I understand it, no Pre-poll or postal votes have been counted yet. The pre-poll and postal votes have to be in by Wednesday, then they will all be counted and the results will be very clear by Friday. We really can\’t expect the Independents to chose who they will support until all or most of the seats are declared.