KEY POINTS:
City Vision councillor Cathy Casey has resigned as Auckland City Council's child and family advocate in protest after her opponents voted against acting on a child poverty report.
Citizens & Ratepayers councillors on the community services committee used their numbers to defeat a motion requesting officers to report on ways the council could contribute to alleviating child poverty in the city.
Councillor Casey said she dikdn't need a title to "speak out for children".
"I'm not going to support a council that doesn't recognise child poverty in New Zealand," Councillor Casey said.
She said even basic things like where children lived in the city and the kind of council services near-by were not known.
The vote was put after the Child Poverty Action Group presented their report: "Left Behind: How Social & Income Inequalities Damage New Zealand Children".
The report, released last month, calls for free primary healthcare for children at after-hours medical centres and the 20 hour free childcare extended to kohanga reo and play centres.
"New Zealand children have higher rates of preventable illness and deaths from injuries than children in almost any other OECD country," the report said.
It continued: "Maori and Pasifika children are most at risk of poor health. Insufficient disposable income, substandard housing, inadequate nutritious food and unequal access to health care all contribute to the risk of poor health."
- NZHERALD STAFF
