Catriona MacLennan writes: "The Government will be making a serious mistake and missing a major opportunity if it disregards one of the key recommendations of the Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty."
The recent small surge in reports recounting child poverty in New Zealand make grim reading, writes Paul Moon, especially as so many of the conditions blighting children's lives can easily be remedied.
Editorial: When the Children's Commissioner set up an "expert advisory group on solutions to child poverty" this year, many New Zealanders will have cheered.
The noticeboards in the public area at the Hobson St headquarters of the Auckland City Mission make grim reading.
More than 80,000 sole parents, caring for 133,000 children, would get an extra $10 a week under a proposal to tackle child poverty.
Government-backed low-interest loans to undercut "loan sharks" could be on the cards in the wake of a pragmatic final report of an expert group on child poverty.
The Government is being urged to act now on child poverty rather than waiting for the economy to improve.
The number of children admitted to hospital with conditions that can be related to poverty has declined, but experts warn about problems with children's health.
Northland has the highest rates of rheumatic fever in the country and last week visiting US expert Dr Stanford Shulman met health professionals to help with solutions.
Two important points appear to be missing from the debate about child poverty.
Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says she left a meeting with hunger striker Sam Kuha with respect for the man and his passion for the problem of child poverty.
Here's a quick quiz. You are a child. Who is most likely to kill you. Your mum? Your dad? Stepdad? Rodney Hide says police have the answer.
The respected policy expert charged with finding solutions to child poverty has challenged men to take responsibility for children's well-being - it's not enough to leave it to the womenfolk.
Newborns and unborn babies in later pregnancy have been dying in South Auckland at a higher rate than the national average for most of the past decade.
A medical leader has hit out at New Zealand's "shameful and intolerable" rate of rheumatic fever, a Third World disease associated with child poverty and overcrowding.
Good policies require good information, not prejudices and ill-informed judgments expressed from the sideline, writes Michael O'Brien.
"Paula Bennett is right when she says poverty isn't an excuse for child abuse," writes Tapu Misa. "There is no excuse for child abuse."
Successive governments have failed utterly to deal with child poverty but now is the perfect time for local Auckland communities to work together, writes Catriona MacLennan.
If child-support payments were made directly to the household, not the state, non-custodial parents would be more likely to meet their responsibilities.