Food in Schools push condones child neglect

My aim when I started this column, was to offer an alternative perspective on life and all its challenges and where possible to do so with humour.

I'm no celebrity, no politician and certainly no expert in anything, but I'm not afraid to say what I think. Admittedly, some of my thoughts are so bizarre I question my own sanity and in the wee small hours of the morning when everyone else is sleeping I am at home thinking up ways to relieve myself of the life forms and wondering if I am the only parent in the world who has these crazy thoughts. Sometimes, humour, though possible, is not always appropriate for a certain topic and this is one of those weeks. Offing the kids will have to wait for at least another week while I share my thoughts on the "Food in Schools" programme.

Bearing in mind that I am a beneficiary/ bludger/ state-funded strumpet ... call me what you will ... I found myself becoming increasingly agitated after last week's Budget when reporters were repeatedly hounding Key and English about the child poverty and food in schools issues.

The blatant expectation that a problem that begins in the home must be solved by the Government via the average New Zealand taxpayer. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the root problem isn't going to go away by funding food in schools. I agree hungry kids is not good and the children are suffering through no fault of their own, but their hunger is sadly just a bi-product of the real issue, which some will argue is poverty and others will say is down to better financial management or, in plain English, basic budgeting.

I live on the benefit and it really is a week-to-week battle, sometimes it even comes down to one day at a time, but it can be done.

We don't eat salmon or duck breast every week, I may not have been to the hairdresser for years and I certainly can't remember the last time I bought new clothes or a handbag, but I do have the reassurance in knowing that, through careful budgeting, the evil ones have a roof over their heads, three meals a day, and hot water for a shower or bath whenever they want.

All my bills are paid by AP or DD and it gives me a degree of comfort to know that, come what may, I am providing the necessities of life. To not do so would be child neglect at the very least, which is why as much as the kids don't deserve to suffer, nor do their caregivers and parents deserve a free ride to spend their government funded wage on anything but the necessities required to nurture a child. If the Government was to fully fund the initiative, you are basically condoning the behaviour of those who choose to prioritise their spending differently.

Most of my benefit is made up of family support. It equates to roughly $80-$90 a week per child and, while I am extremely grateful to receive this payment, it really does not come close to covering all the costs incurred by the kids. In turn, Inland Revenue then seek repayment of this money by the non-custodial parent, who perhaps in the meantime has gone off and started yet another family somewhere else, secure in the knowledge that the good old NZ Government will foot the bill for their kids and they get the luxury of paying it back at a much lower weekly rate, if at all. Again, I would have thought that would be as close to child neglect/ abuse as you can get, yet again the message we send by offering this taxpayer funded solution is one of condoning the actions of parents who think they can breed at will and someone else will pick up the tab. The outstanding child support payments are crippling our country.

The Government, whether it be National or Labour, is pretty much doomed. They are heartless bastards if they let the emotive stories or hungry kids continue, but then if they step in and do the job that the family should be doing we just become, or continue to be, this nation of people who are literally raised to become dependent on the state and every hard working, tax paying New Zealander will rightly feel resentful of having to bear the cost to pick up the pieces.

We have to get to the root cause, only then can we eliminate the roll-on effects. What does it say about us when it is commonly known that going on the DPB is actually what some sadly misguided girls aspire to?

If a child was being physically abused we'd expect them to be removed from the home and for the abusers to be held to account. Feed the kids at school, if we must, but somewhere there still has to be some accountability because in my book starving your kids and/ or not providing for them financially are crimes of abuse also. But by putting the onus on governments to fix the problem you are also handing their abusers a get out of jail card for free ... which is kind of ironic ... they expect nothing less and it's that kind of moronic entitlement that caused all the problems in the first place.

I know there is real poverty out there and every case is different but, as a beneficiary raising three teens, I also know it is possible to scrape by ... it might not be a party but it is do-able. The answer is in accountability and responsibility, not quick fixes that don't address the real underlying issues. These neglecters are not only abusing their own kids they are abusing the state, the problem starts with them. Expectations are good as long as you expect it from the right people, as opposed to the easy option.