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Manurewa MP Louisa Wall says the high percentage of Maori and Pacific families in her electorate means she sees the reality of child poverty every day and action is needed.
A new e-book by poverty researchers Jonathan Boston and Simon Chapple says more than one in five New Zealand children are now living in poverty, a disproportionate number of them Maori or Pacific.
In The Child Poverty Debate published by Bridget Williams Books, they put the case for linking welfare benefits and tax credits not only to changes in prices but also movements in wages.
They also argue for more emphasis on getting parents into employment once their children reach a certain age.
Ms Wall says jobs alone aren’t enough, as many poor families find.
" Forty percent of those children come from families where mum and dad are working. So actually the panacea isnt just getting a job, it then becomes about the quality of the job and ensuring that job pays for the basics, which is a roof over your head, food in your tummy " she says.
Louisa Wall says a sign of the problem is the number of Manurewa schools which now feed pupils.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH LOUISA WALL CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MjcwNDY=
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