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Kia ora koutou katoa, and welcome to Child Poverty Action Group New Zealand's November newsletter.

In This Issue
Briefing paper to the incoming overnment
Beyond Social Investment summit proceedings 2017
Whakataukī and the four Pou
NEW donations page
End child poverty campaign & advocacy workshop
Wellington housing election forum
Tax submission
Round the Bays 2017
CPAG blog update
CPAG news update
Keeping up with the regional networks
Join the conversation on FB & Twitter

CPAG welcomed the new Labour-led coalition Government into Parliament during October and looks forward to seeing the outcomes for children in their first 100 days of action. 

CPAG has sent a  Briefing paper to the incoming Government 
to all 120 MPs. This briefing paper introduces  recommendations for changes in  five policy areas health, social investment, incomes, education and housing  which if implemented, would improve all outcomes for all children. 

If these policies  were adopted, all children and their parents would have access to the necessary resources, supports and services they need, and
Aotearoa-New Zealand would become 'a great place to bring up children', a country where all children can flourish.

The briefing paper also recommends a goal of reducing child hospital admissions for preventable diseases by half, from 40,000 per year to 20,000 by 2022, as a signal that real improvements have been made for children. 



 Beyond Social Investment  
Summit Proceedings 2017

On 8 September, CPAG held its  Beyond Social Investment summit to examine and critique the Government's view of welfare provision, and discuss what a welfare system that genuinely put "the wellbeing of children at the centre" should look like.  A wonderful line up of inspiring guest speakers  at the day-long summit explored in depth what changes to policies and budgets would make the difference required for all children to thrive.  The  proceedings for the summit have now been published.

Whakataukī and CPAG's four pou

Child Poverty Action Group has been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to develop and grow towards better understanding and incorporating Te Ao Māori into our kaupapa. CPAG's hope is that this journey strengthens our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and to the tamariki of Aotearoa-New Zealand.  We would like to acknowledge the guidance and support of Hirini Kaa and Michael Tamihere as central to this step in our organisation.

CPAG's kaupapa aligns with the following whakataukī: 

"He kai tahu me kikini, he kai tahu me tīhore, mā te tamaiti te iho"
"Pinch off a bit, peel off a bit, the inside is for the child" (said of the potted bird)

The four pou (underlying values) within CPAG's kaupapa:

Mana -   We acknowledge and uphold the mana of all children.

Manaakitanga - We believe that our society should show respect, generosity and care for all children as taonga.

KotahitangaWe work collectively to uphold the mana of all children and to ensure they flourish.

Mātauranga - We believe that child-centred knowledge is essential to upholding their mana and enabling them to thrive.
NEW donations page added to website

We are very excited to announce that our supporters and members are now able to donate via credit card on the CPAG website. You can also sign up as a member or set up an regular donation payment too. Check out the new payment method below and help support our work in making sure all children can flourish. 


Donations can also still be made through online banking, payroll giving, tax credit donations and cheques.   

Online banking
Account number: 38-9003-0066858-00
Reference: your name and DONATION

Cheque - post to:
Child Poverty Action Group (Inc). 
PO Box 56 11, Wellesley St, Auckland 1141.

End child poverty campaign and advocacy workshop

Following our i nformation evening on 23 August, Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) hosted a c ampaign and advocacy workshop on 
Saturday 7 October  at the Ellen Melville Centre in Auckland Central. 
The event was a half-day of inspiring guest speakers, as well as practical activities designed to develop attendees' campaigning and advocacy skills. The goal of this workshop was that attendees would use these new skills alongside us in the future, in our mahi for the tamariki of Aotearoa-New Zealand.

Speakers on the day were  Ryan Mearns - Digital Communications Manager at Human Rights Commission, Grace Gordon from JustSpeak, Alan Johnson - Housing Spokesperson at CPAG and Erica Finnie from 350.org.
Around fifteen passionate young people attended the workshop and have since convened to brainstorm  campaigning with CPAG in the future. Currently they have plans for a fundraiser movie event - more details to come! 
If becoming a part of this group or supporting CPAG's kaupapa in other ways is something you are interested in, please contact us at  admin@cpag.org.nz and we will be in touch with more details.  
Wellington Housing E lection Forum

Every Child Counts and the Child Poverty Action Group hosted a Housing Election Forum along with other organisations, to jointly call for urgen t action on housing to recognise every child's right to a safe, affordable and healthy home.

Special guest speakers included Lisa Woods from
Every Child Counts, Debbie Leyland from UCAN NZ, and David Pierce from Sustainability Trust.
MPs then spoke about what they would do to improve access to safe, healthy, affordable housing. Representatives included Grant Robertson (Labour), Marama Davidson (Greens) and  Euon Marrell (National).

Attendees of the event learnt about what different parties will do to  im

prove access to safe, affordable, healthy housing for all children in Aotearoa New Zealand. There was also time afterwards for questions and sharing concerns. 

As a feature of the successful event, the venue was kept under wraps until guests arrived by bus at the address. The secret location was a tenanted state ho use that had experienced quality issues, and guests heard from the whānau there about their lived experience of sickness as a result of substandard housing, and the import ance of access to healthy affordable housing. The family asked all those present with the power to do something to urg ently take action.
Submission on Making Tax Simpler

O n 15 September CPAG made a submission to the Deputy Commissioner Policy and Strategy Inland Revenue entitled ' Making Tax Simpler Better Administration of Social Policy: Working for families (WFF)'.

The submission explained that while CPAG supports simplification of administration of entitlements and obligations of WFF by Inland Revenue, there are inadequacies that must be addressed.  For more information read the submission in full here.

Round the bays in 2018
We would like to invite you to join Child Poverty Action Group at Auckland Round the Bays on Sunday March 4th 2018. 

We would love you to sign up and help raise awareness about child poverty and raise funds towards our ongoing work in 2018.  It will be a fun day and a great way to combine exercise and support for CPAG. 

All running/walking levels welcome.

Earlybird entry for the fun run is open until December 15. Plus, the earlier you start, the more people you can reach for fundraising!   

We recommend starting up an everyday hero fundraising page to share with your family and friends. 

Instructions for everyday hero:
  • Then register with everyday hero and start a Fundraising page here.
  • Choose Child Poverty Action Group as the charity to create a fundraising page for.
  • Share your page on social media, or by email with your friends, family and colleagues.
  • CPAG will be automatically notified when you choose us as your charity, and will send you a beautiful orange CPAG t-shirt if you are among the first 10 to do so :)
Now you can start training for the day! 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at  admin@cpag.org.nz. 
CPAG Blog Update
Latest blog posts September - November


When Wendy Shoebridge died in 2011 after a benefit fraud investigator issued her an ill-advised prosecution notice for being in an undeclared relationship - probably in o rder to fill his quota - the results of the subsequent coro ner's inquiry has the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) attempting to improve its processes What we have in New Zealand is a system that punishes sole parents - most often the mothers - and harshly.  Things have got to change, or we will see more Wendys, and more  children suffering the worst of poverty, and its long-term effects.
Keeping up with CPAG Regional Networks

Currently CPAG has networks in Whangarei, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Nelson.  If you're interested in attending CPAG events in your local region please sign up to your closest network  mailing list.
 
If your organisation or event is looking for support from a local CPAG on issues that relate to our  kaupapa, please don't hesitate to get in touch.                           
Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

F or the latest news, blogs and policy updates related to child poverty, check out our Facebook page. 

We are working hard at ensuring we highlight items of significance and relevance to child poverty in New Zealand, and take note of what is going on in other countries so that we can find out what works for children and what doesn't. We also aim to keep you up-to-date on local seminars that are useful and informative, as well as events that will be entertaining, and links to campaigns by other organisations in the child well-being network.

We need your help to spread the word, and we care about what you think. So join us on  Facebook,   Twitter  and Instagram @cpagnz. Contribute to the discussion, like and share our posts if you find them meaningful. We value your feedback, and invite you to private message us or email us should you have a query or would like to share something with us. Our  blog posts online also invite you to comment and share via social media. 

With your help, we can change the narrative about poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand and make it a better place for whānau and tamariki, for generations to come.

Ngā mihi nui