Dear John: We can't fail on child poverty policy

Raniera (Sonny) Tau chairman of Te Runanga a Iwi o Ngapuhi.

On his first day back in office John Key asked for fresh ideas to tackle child poverty. As an advocate for the Northland region we want to help deliver these fresh ideas.

This is the sixth in a series of letters from Northland leaders with their ideas on how the Government should be addressing child poverty. Raniera (Sonny) Tau is chairman of Te Runanga a Iwi o Ngapuhi sees the impact poverty has on Northland tamariki.

Dear John,

E Te Pirimia Tena Koe.

Many in Aotearoa cheered with relief on election night when you announced tackling child poverty a priority for the coming parliamentary term. We applaud your courage for taking leadership of this most complex social challenge, which shames us as a supposedly prosperous first-world nation.

The snapshot of Ngapuhi from Census 2013 shows why our tamariki are at risk: 30 per cent aged 15 to 24 have no work, 35.5 per cent of our children are in one-parent families, 33.5 per cent rely on benefits as part of their income, 47.5 per cent of Ngapuhi 15 and over have an annual income of $20,000 or less.

Most concerning is that we are going in the wrong direction - these statistics have generally worsened since the 2006 Census.

How can this be turned around? There are no easy answers, or it would have been fixed already.

Here are some high-level strategic suggestions, and some practical ones:

1. Take the politics out of child poverty: Make this a whole of Parliament approach, for the good of all the nation's children. If some parties do not want to work with you, shame on them.

2. Do NOT seek more evidence to confirm what we already know: In December 2012 the Children's Commission published a report "Solutions to Child Poverty in New Zealand, Evidence for Action". This report covers all spectrums of child poverty with solutions, some short-term, some long-term. We urge you to consider these.

3. Involve the Children's Commissioner: Dr Russell Wills - your own appointment - has proved a fearless advocate for the vulnerable children of Aotearoa. He is at the coalface, and must be part of policy development.

4. Prioritise regional development: The growing disparity between our cities and regions is alarming.

5. Long-term commitment to Whanau Ora: The Whanau Ora programme brings together the whanau and all relevant government agencies under one umbrella. Over time it will build greater self-reliance among Maori. And it has the full support of iwi leaders, who are influential among our communities nationwide.

6. Fast-track remaining Treaty settlements: The Ngapuhi settlement will be the biggest of all Treaty settlements, and will bring significant social, economic and cultural advancement to our people and Northland.

On a practical note, reducing child poverty could be as easy as every childcare centre, kohanga, Kura Kaupapa and primary schools having a GP or public health nurse visiting once a week, and a dental nurse/technician visiting three times a year.

The bottom line for all the above will be vision, budget, political will and determination. And again that word, courage.

Lastly, I pledge the commitment of Te Runanga a Iwi o Ngapuhi and our subsidiaries, including Ngapuhi Iwi Social Services, to work with you, your government and agencies.

For the sake of our precious tamariki and our great nation, this kaupapa cannot be allowed to fail.

Mauri Ora

Raniera (Sonny) Tau

Chairman of Te Runanga a Iwi o Ngapuhi

• We want your help: Leave us a comment on Facebook or on our website, send us a message or email reporters@northernadvocate.co.nz with your ideas on how child poverty should be tackled. All feedback will be submitted via Whangarei MP Shane Reti to the Prime Minister's office.