All children in Aotearoa New Zealand deserve the best possible start in life. Children should be prioritised in all relevant government actions Children and young people's rights, needs, and interests must be prioritised at all levels of political and government planning and policy-making. Children and young people from diverse ethnic groups and communities should be involved in the development of plans and strategies that affect them. The Minister for Children should be a senior Cabinet minister. High quality, accessible, and...

The Green Party is welcoming today’s announcement of a pilot programme to provide school lunches in 30 schools, expanding to 120 schools by 2021. “All kids deserve a full education and a full stomach. A guaranteed lunch every day will have a huge impact on learning for the students who need it the most,” said Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. “Too many children are going to school hungry on a daily basis. It affects their ability to concentrate, to learn,...

The latest Safety of Children in Care report shows the current processes of the state are not keeping tamariki safe, says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson.   “This affirms what people have been saying for a long time, that the state is not a suitable caregiver for tamariki. The current processes for keeping children are simply not working and are causing harm.   “The statistics for tamariki Māori in particular are appalling.   “I have spoken directly to children and...

The Green Party welcomes the Government’s move to provide a funding boost to kōhanga reo, said Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson. “We have seen huge progress revitalising te reo over recent decades, and we owe a lot to the kōhanga reo movement for their role in bringing te reo back from the brink to where we are today. “The government has a responsibility to ensure our indigenous language thrives in Aotearoa, and this begins with our tamariki. “Strengthening te reo...

The Green Party welcomes passage of the Government’s Child Poverty Reduction Bill, which lays the foundation for genuinely pulling New Zealand kids out of poverty.  

National’s parental leave policy is a last minute U-turn that still leaves tens of thousands of new parents and babies without support, the Green Party today. Today Bill English announced the Government’s support for 22 weeks paid parental leave, after vetoing Labour MP Sue Moroney’s bill proposing 26 weeks leave last year. “It’s high time that New Zealand families got better support to raise kids, but this new policy still leaves thousands of families without financial help when their children...

The Government needs to ensure that all new babies have access to a wahakura safe sleeping device, the Green Party said today.

The Government should offer safe sleeping devices such as wahakura and pepi-pods to all new parents, not just a targeted few, the Green Party said today. Today, the Government announced that safe sleeping devices will be provided to some families as part of a new plan to reduce deaths from Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI). The Green Party has campaigned for universal access to wahakura since 2014. “We welcome National’s baby steps to provide some babies with a safe...

A report released today shows that tackling child poverty is critical to improving the mental health outcomes of our young people, the Green Party said today. The Child Poverty Action Group has released its literature review into child poverty and mental health today in Auckland, with Green MP Julie Anne Genter attending. “There’s a clear link between child poverty and mental health issues.  Stress, inadequate nutrition, and insecure housing all impact on family function and children’s mental health. As soon as...