Dear Sirs,

Submission: Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus)Amendment Bill.

I am strongly opposed to the above bill. It discriminates against a particular segment of NZ society and removes their right to choose a particular path for their own situation. The Human Rights Act of 1993 states that “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.” Do single parents or widows have less of a right to choose than couples? The Education Act does not require children under six to attend Early Childhood Education, why is the Minister expecting a certain sector of society to provide a mode of Education that is not compulsory for other sectors or even required by the Education Act? Well Child Health checks are not compulsory, parents are able to choose if they would like to participate in the programme or not. Are single parents and widows less able to make that choice? This is discrimination.

I am a parent of nine children who are all different. I started my parenting journey following the usual pattern. Children involved in ECE. My experience follows what research has proven. ECE is not beneficial and is not and can not be a substitute for a caring, loving home environment. I personally would not like to be in a position of being forced to submit my preschoolers to ECE when I knew I could love, care, nurture, and teach them in an environment which would cater to their needs better than any other environment on offer. This is what this bill will be doing to many parents – forcing them to submit their children to an environment that has been proven to be less beneficial for children of that age.

Single parents and widows should have the choice of whether to send their child/children to Early Childhood Education and should not have their income halved and be subject to further investigations if they choose to exercise their prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children. Human Rights Act of 1993. Please throw out this Bill.