December 11, 2018
Poor whānau hungry for change
Prejudice within government agencies is making things worse for Māori whānau on struggle street.
That’s the view of Kathlene Paraha from Auckland Action Against Poverty, who says the new Child Poverty Monitor points to the failure of government agencies to address the problem.
The report found no improvement in child poverty levels despite mounting concern, with one in five children living in food-deprived households, 30 percent of them Māori.
Ms Paraha says many end up in the offices of Auckland Action after they have been put through the wringer by Work and Income.
"We have the right to be able to feed our children because so many of the hardship applications people make to receive assistance for food are based on arbitrary choices by case managers. They haven't got the right to make our decisions for us. We have the right to bring up our children the best we can. Feeding them is an emergency thing," she says.
Ms Paraha says while the Government talks welfare reform, there is no evidence of it on the ground.
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