Proposed Poverty Reduction Bill Brilliant Step Forward – Salvation Army
The Salvation Army warmly welcomes the Prime Minister’s Jacinda Ardern’s announcement today on the Child Poverty Reduction Bill.
Over 10 years the child poverty numbers have remained stubbornly high and for too long Governments have not put sufficient effort and energy into reducing the number of children suffering said The Salvation Army Social Policy Director Ian Hutson.
The measure announced today will require Government to report in each annual Budget on how they will achieve the 10 year poverty reduction targets..
“The plans Prime Minister Ardern has outlined today have the potential to really focus New Zealand on eventually ending child poverty. The measures are meaningful and robust and will chart progress well.”
All political parties have expressed concern to see real action on child poverty and The Salvation Army will actively encourage every party leader to give their party’s support to the Bill and to work collectively through the select committee process to ensure New Zealand has the best child poverty reduction targets and strategy in the world.
This type of action should happen in all port-folios all Ministers need to be held fully accountable. So we need to know what they want to achieve and why, how they plan to achieve, what they did achieve and what they didn’t and why and what they can do differently or better in order to achieve. Its called accountability.