| Kia ora koutou katoa, and welcome to Child Poverty Action Group New Zealand’s May newsletter .
In this issue
Post Budget Breakfast Events
Child Poverty and Mental health Launch
A New Zealand where children can flourish
Poverty Action Waikato Community Korero and Budget 2017 analysis
Fundraisers
CPAG news update
CPAG blog update
Save the date AGM & political forum & Summit
Join the conversation on FB & Twitter
Keeping up with the regional networks |
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Post Budget Breakfast Events
Please join us for our nationwide post budget breakfast events to learn how the Government’s 2017 budget affects children and young people, especially those in the most precarious social and economic situations. CPAG will provide child-focused analysis and commentary on the budget which is being announced on May 25.
This year CPAG are holding post budget events in Auckland, Wellington (joint event with PHA) (breakfast), Whangarei and Dunedin (lunch) on May 26. In Nelson the post budget breakfast will be held on May 31. Christchurch will host a post-budget podcast which will be available to download on the night of the 26th.
Auckland -26 May, 7:15am
Mt Albert War Memorial Hall (new venue)
RSVP here, find out more EVENT info
Wellington – 26 May, 7:15am
The Boat Shed, Taranaki Street Wharf (new venue)
RSVP here by 24th May, find out more EVENT info
Whangarei – 26 May, 12:30pm-
Manaia Health PHO
RSVP here find out more EVENT info
Dunedin – 26 May, 12:00pm
Presbyterian Support Otago
RSVP here, find out more EVENT info
Nelson – 31 May, 9:30-11:30am
Stoke Primary School Hall
RSVP to cpag2016nnby 24th May. Download flier here.
Christchurch – A podcast will be available on the night of 26th May
More info here |
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| Report Launch of Child Poverty and Mental Health: A literature Review
On 18 May, Child Poverty Action Group and the New Zealand Psychological Society will be launching a new report Child Poverty and Mental Health:A Literature Review at the Auckland City Mission.
The report discusses the relationship between poverty experienced during childhood and the impact it can have on the mental health of a child or young person, affecting their outcomes, as well as the significance of this issue for Māori and Pasifika children.
Speakers at the launch event include Professor Angus Hikairo Macfarlane, Quentin Abraham, Associate Professor Kerry Gibson and Professor Innes Asher.
See more info on the EVENT PAGE.
The report will be available for download on our website from 18 May. |
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| A New Zealand where children can flourish
Over the next few months CPAG will be releasing five background policy documents on five key policy areas that will discuss how evidence based policy changes can reduce child poverty if implemented after the next election.
As a measure of the impact of these policy changes in real life terms we would see a 50% reduction in the annual number of child hospital admissions due to preventable illnesses linked to poverty and unhealthy housing from 40,000 to 20,000 by 2022. The five key policy documents focus on on health, social investment, incomes, housing and education.
The first in the series Health priorities for a New Zealand where children can flourish was released on 17 May which focuses on addressing three key areas that desperately require remedial attention including Inadequate basic healthcare services and education, Income poverty and material hardship; and a lack of affordable, healthy housing.
Sign up to our media release and resource mailing list for the latest updates on the next releases.
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| PAW Community Korero and Budget analysis
"Markets can fail us, but sharing never does." If you’re in Hamilton you won’t miss out on CPAG’s Budget Analysis as Poverty Action Waikato are hosting a ‘Community Korero’ with guest speaker Alan Johnson of CPAG to give an analysis of the budget, from 1pm Friday 26 May. This will be a unique event of community connection also featuring swap tables and kai. Community members are invited
to bring along things to swap and trade.
When: 26th May from 1pm
Where: Fairfield Hall, 235 Clarkin Road, Hamilton
1pm – Swap gathering
2pm – Alan Johnson, Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) : Post-budget analysis
2.30pm – Community Panel: Facilitated conversations and budget responses. |
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| Fundraising for CPAG!
Some very kind CPAG supporters are running a wonderful fundraiser to support CPAG’s work. Tanisha and Hugh together with some talented children created Kids
Art by Kids.
The cards are created using art made by four children. The greeting cards are currently available on trade me.
For more information about the fundraiser you can visit info. |
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CPAG Blog update
Latest blog posts March – May 2017
28 February – Children deserve the best education, all the time
Dr Vicki Carpenter talks about challenges of low-decile-school-based initiatives. Despite those initiatives that sometimes offer glimpses of hope, the education system has failed the students in New Zealand’s economically poorer communities. Dr Carpenter argues that education system that educates some children well all the time and other groups well only part of the time is not good enough. All children deserve the very best education, all of the time. How is that achieved?
10 March – Supporting "hard-working families"?
Dr Emily Keddell discusses her reactions to tweets of PM Bill English in which he aimed to show support for ‘hard working families’. In her blog Dr Keddell is wondering who are the hard working families that the PM is talking to in his tweets. She also speculates the nature of support. How are hard working families supported? Is that enough?
24 March – Wild west in the suburbs
M. Dale writes about the high cost of credit for low income people and the ‘wild west’ of loan markets. When crisis occurs, people with no option of mainstream banking may end up being forced to choose the only other available option: easy-access, high cost loan sharks or mobile traders. In New Zealand there is no legal limit on interest rates or on the total cost of credit. What are the consequences of the ‘wild west’ environment? What kind of solutions are there for the problem?
04 April – Poverty and debt: a family in crisis
The blog post tells a fictional story of Joanna M and her family. Despite being a fictional example, this type of scenario is not uncommon. Sole parents are a stigmatised ‘other’, and commentators speak of ‘welfare dependency’ and ‘a drain on our society’. Other pressures, such as the high-priced rental market, make it nearly impossible for a sole-parent family to survive on the benefit. What has been happening to the safety net, the welfare system?
18 April – Will the real Home Truths please stand up?
Bex Rillstone writes about the real home truths of New Zealand’s housing crisis in response to New Zealand Herald’s recent "Home Truths" series. With articles like ‘from nothing to two homes in two years’ or ‘how to buy a home before you turn 30’ the media continues to mislead the public with their too good to be true stories. What are the real home truths? |
| Save the Date
Annual General Meeting 19th July in Auckland
Please save the date for CPAG’s AGM on the 19th July. We’ll be reporting back on the past year and looking forward to the next with the election of our Management Committee for the 2017-2018 year. The general meeting will be followed by political forum.
When: Wednesday 19th July
6.30pm: AGM
7.30pm: Political Forum
Where: St Columba Centre, 40 Vermont St, Ponsonby, Auckland
Invitations with more information and a chance to reserve your place will be sent out in the next couple of weeks.
Political forum ‘Tick for Kids’ on 26th July in Wellington
When: Wednesday 26th July, 6pm
Where: University of Otago, Wellington.
More details to come
Summit on 8th September in Auckland
When: Friday 8th September, 9am
Where: Auckland University Business school
More details to come |
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| Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter!
For 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 wellbeing network.
We need your help to spread the word, and we care about what you think. So join us on Facebook and Twitter, 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.
  
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| 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. |
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