Investing in Families - what price?

Following the General Election in July the new government made it clear that they would move their emphasis on social assistance to "focus on better supporting families and children"

With this in mind, church leaders and advisers from the Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian Churches and the Salvation Army had a two-hour meeting with the Prime Minister and senior cabinet colleagues in late November last year.

Three areas of possible action were openly discussed from both sides of the table. The first was to challenge the government as it prepared for its 2003 Budget, to restore the level of family support to its 1998 level and then adjust it at appropriate intervals in line with Consumer Price Index. "We have singled out family support because it offers the most efficient way to make an effective intervention against child poverty", the church leaders reported. It was agreed on both sides that an investment of $300 million in this way would reduce child poverty by about one-third within three years.

The second was to call the government to undertake a major reform of the accommodation supplement and embark on a multi-faceted approach to offer home ownership as a viable option for low-income families. A number of possible options towards this end were included in the church submissions.

The third topic was to ask for a strengthening of the Responsible Gambling Bill in some areas, especially to provide more accountability for pokie profits and more community input into the extension of pokie sites.

And the response from both the church leaders and government ministers was that the time together had been a good meeting of minds and resulted in a joint commitment to continue cooperating in our mutual concern for the disadvantaged.

Right Rev Michael Thawley is the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand.

For more information on the Moderator go to the Moderators webpage