The shift to the bottom of the world for our care of children and youth has been a steady process for at least three decades, as neoliberal policies have replaced the welfare state vision of the first Labour Government. The " applied Christianity " ethos of Michael Savage, and the idea of the Government leading a caring society, has been replaced by viewing the support for the vulnerable as a cost to be avoided and doing as little as possible. Under this National Government, over the last nine years, the word "crisis" is being increasingly used and most could have been avoided with proper planning and investment









We need a change of government and



Our failing prisons, struggling hospitals and social services, extreme housing crisis and low wage economy is forcing more and more families into lifestyles and living conditions that are rapidly becoming third world. New Zealand should be the best country in the world to bring up children and youth. We have a relatively small population, abundant resources and were once a world leader in education, child health and family support. We are now ranked near the bottom because of poor governance, neoliberal austerity measures and a lack of compassion.We need a change of government and the strongest policies to address poverty come from the Green Party. Party vote Green to ensure that there is a strong coalition partner for Labour and real progressive change can be achieved . The future of around 295,000 children, currently suffering in various degrees of poverty, is dependent on who we vote for over the coming week!

The latest Unicef report has us languishing at the bottom of the developed world in relation to the health and welfare our children and youth. This report was based on the data our government collects and concerningly, with regards to child poverty, a ranking wasn't provided because of a refusal to follow standard practice (an admission of failure?). In many documented areas we are seriously neglecting our young people (ranking numbers are determined by the data provided from a maximum of 41 developed countries ):