'Every child deserves the best start in life and the opportunity to achieve their full potential,' National's children's spokesman Alfred Ngaro said this morning. Photo / Mark Mitchell
National has re-confirmed its policy to send people who fail to disclose child abuse to prison for up to three years – a policy first mooted earlier this year.
It also plans to redraw the lines in terms of how New Zealand measures child poverty, as well as introducing a policy to provide parents with $3000 to spend on services they believe best meet the needs of their child.
National this morning unveiled its families and children policy in Hamilton.
"Every child deserves the best start in life and the opportunity to achieve their full potential," the party's children's spokesman Alfred Ngaro said this morning.
"We are willing to legislate to ensure that children are better off."
A key pillar of National's plan involves making the non-disclosure of child abuse an offence which carries a maximum three-year sentence in jail.
This policy was first proposed when Simon Bridges led the party.
"New Zealand has one of the highest rates of child abuse in the developed world and one of the worst rates of child death by maltreatment within the family," the party's policy states.
National's policy, Ngaro said, will help turn this statistic around.
The party has also promised to implement regular reporting and a clear reduction target for the number of children experiencing physical and sexual abuse.
This would help reveal the full extent of the problem in New Zealand and focus the public sector on stamping out abuse, National said.
National also plans to make changes to how the Government measures child poverty.
Instead of using nine measures to measure this statistic in New Zealand – as is the current law – National would just use the material hardship measure.
A child is considered to be in material hardship if they are going without at least six of 17 basic necessities, such as access to fresh fruit and vegetables, going to the doctor and ability to pay bills on time.
"Counting the number of children living in material hardship measures the actual day-to-day living conditions of households and their ability to afford basic items that most people would regard as essential," the policy said.
Speaking in the leaders' debate on Monday, National leader Judith Collins said this was the most important measure of the nine the Government uses.
According to the numbers released earlier this year, there has been an increase in the number of New Zealand children living in material hardship.
But Labour leader Jacinda Ardern, who is along with being the Prime Minister is the Minister of Child Poverty reduction, said in the debate that seven of the nine indicators of child poverty in New Zealand have gone down during her tenure as Prime Minister.
'He has disregarded our voice and continued with this divisive kaupapa.'