December 14, 2017
Families package to halve child poverty
The Government expects to halve child poverty rates by diverting National’s tax cuts into direct support for families.
The package unveiled yesterday will deliver on its election Best Start policy to give all families with a newborn baby by $60 a week up until the child’s first birthday.
Low and middle-income families can get the payments for up to three years.
Working for Families payments will increase and the Independent Earner Tax Credit will be restored.
There are also increases to the Accommodation Supplement and Accommodation Benefit and a new Winter Energy Payment to help the poorest families heat their homes.
Labour deputy leader Kelvin Davis says with about a third of tamariki in low-income households the package will make a real difference to Maori families and help give their children a better start in life.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the one of the best measures of a country and society is what it does for its most vulnerable, including kids.
"This is a Budget that will mean over 380,000 families will on average get over $70 a week more to support them as they raise their kids. Thus is a package that means by the time it is fully rolled out we will have reduced child poverty in New Zealand by 48 percent," she says.
Ms Ardern says she wants New Zealand to be a place where it is easier to bring up families and relieving financial stress is one way to do that.
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