As regular readers will know, Monday on my Susbstack is Hope day, and for over 30 years Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) has been bringing hope to children living in our most deprived homes, by fighting for their rights to food, housing, health and education.

They are an independent, registered charity, that since its inception has been working to eliminate child poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand through research, education and advocacy

Here’s their website.

https://www.cpag.org.nz

As their name suggests CPAG has been a driving force in getting the idea that there is such a thing as child poverty accepted, to the point where in 2018 The Child Poverty Reduction Act was passed, which set up a framework for measuring and reporting on it.

So when CPAG’s Executive Officer Sarita Divis received an invitation to a Child Poverty Reduction Summit, hosted by Ministry Of Social Development at Parliament Buildings. she was looking forward to hearing what initiatives the National/ACT/NZ First coalition government were going to announce.

In this episode of Head2Head Sarita not only describes her disappointment after attending the event - in which the assembled charities were told the onus would be on communities to look after the vulnerable - but points up some solutions we need to put in place at government level to ensure the well-being of all our children.

Recording interviews like this one is made possible by the generosity of my paid subscribers. If you are receiving this post for free, please consider supporting my public journalism by upgrading to paid status.

For $9 a month (less than a cup of coffee each week) will not only give you access to my documentaries and premium posts, you will also get to join a group of New Zealanders in our chatroom who comment on posts and discuss the issues that are important to all us who want to live in a fairer,more democratic society.

All subscriptions go to meet production costs.

Please share and restack posts you find useful as it all helps to build readership.

Thank you.