John Key: Let us target and focus more on those who are in need.

Answer to question asked this morning: New Zealand, Sweden and the Johanssons

METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green) to the Prime Minister: When he said “we don’t want to see any New Zealand child suffer … children don’t get to make choices, they’re often the victim of circumstance” does that mean he will take tangible steps to ensure children don’t suffer because of circumstances beyond their control?

Answer found here: Child Poverty—Government Measures to Address

In this answer was:

Metiria Turei: Does he think that the 36,000 children admitted to hospital in the past year for poverty-related medical conditions got there because of choices that they made; if not, will he now commit to extending free doctors’ visits to all children?

Rt Hon JOHN KEY: We are not in a position to extend free doctors’ visits to all children, but we have been in a position to extend free doctors’ visits to under-sixes, and I think if you look at the financial conditions that this Government has faced, that has been an important step. Secondly, I am not sure that it would be in the best interests of the very children she is talking about that we extend that policy on a universal basis, because children coming from very well-to-do homes actually can afford to have their parents pay. Let us target and focus more on those who are in need.

Now I want to apply this statement from John Key to the Social Obligations in the Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill

We were told that the Social Obligations were there to help the children in Poverty. Yet many mothers manage on the benefit. Their children are not in poverty. The mother is spending her money wisely and often going without herself to provide for her children.

Why are these mothers all being treated the same? There are a lot of mothers who do not want to send their 3 and 4 year olds to an ECE. There are a lot of mothers on the benefit who want to home school their children and not work for 15 or 30 hours a week. Home schooling and raising a family is a full time job for a mother.

Social Obligations

attend 15 hours a week Early Childhood Education (ECE) from age 3

attend school from age five or six

enrol with a General Practitioner

complete core WellChild/Tamariki Ora checks

Plus work obligations of 15 hours work if youngest child is 5 and 30 hours work if youngest is 14.

John Key said “What made me Prime Minister was that my mother, who was a solo mother, had the foresight to ensure that I got a decent education.”

This is all that the mothers on the benefit who do not want to send their children to an ECE and want to home educate them want to do. They want to ensure that their children get a decent education.

So Select Committe Members please note that I am not sure that it would be in the best interests of the very children she is talking about that we extend that policy (the Social Obligations above) on a universal basis (everyone on a benefit), because children coming from ~~very well-to-do~~ (caring/loving/educational beneficiary) homes actually can (be educated by their parents/mother) ~~afford to have their parents pay~~. Let us target and focus more on those who are in need. This is what many of us said in our submissions.

Please continue to fight this Social Security Bill by writing/ringing/visiting the Social Select Committee members.

More here:

Contacting the Select Committee (How to make supplementary submissions if you put in an original written submission.)

International Human Rights Day 10 December 2012

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