Government mulls database of children

The Government is considering setting up a database of every New Zealand child, enabling authorities to be alerted to any problems.

Personal details, including welfare and health concerns, would be entered into the database, which would be shared by health authorities, schools, and social agencies, The Dominion Post reported today.

Social Development Minister David Benson-Pope told the newspaper he had sought advice in setting up the scheme to ensure children do not fall through gaps and monitoring of young people is as coordinated as possible.

The programme has been welcomed by Families Commission chief commissioner Rajen Prasad, New Zealand Principals Federation president Pat Newman, and Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro.

"We've got to get to a point where we stop picking up the pieces when everything goes wrong and start putting things in place to stop it from happening," Ms Kiro said.

But the chairman of New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties Michael Bott said attempts by the Government to gather information about issues such as abuse would be an invasion of privacy.

- NZPA