Society's Death Wish: How New Zealand's Failure to Enforce Children's Rights Exacerbates Child Poverty

Abstract

New Zealand’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC) plainly lifted expectations for improvement of the rights of New Zealand children. However, the state has failed to live up to these aspirations and the pressing issue of child poverty is overshadowed and undermined when it comes to economic policy and allocation of resources. Childhood only happens once and it is crucial that it is a time filled with every opportunity expected for New Zealand children. Poverty, especially child poverty, is an international problem that social security systems continue to struggle with. Firstly, this paper will argue that the failure of the New Zealand Government to incorporate its international obligations has resulted in a dearth of protections for children’s rights which, in turn, has contributed to an environment in which child poverty is allowed to flourish. It will establish that the nation’s current rate of child poverty is not an accident but the logical outcome of decades of systematic deficiency in prioritizing the rights and interests of the poorest children. Even when children are the focus of policy, such as the Working for Families welfare reforms, the most vulnerable children are left behind. Secondly, the paper will contend that New Zealand limits its recognition of citizenship rights citizenship to those in paid employment. Work-focussed welfare policy means resources are directed more readily towards families in work and beneficiary families suffer as a result. There is even less incentive for the government to meet its international rights obligations for the children in these families. This paper will explore how significant changes to the purpose of, and the social attitudes behind, the welfare system have contributed to the desperate situation of children in families that are dependent on state financial assistance. The Child Poverty Action Group v Attorney General case (CPAG case) will be canvassed as an apt example of how these two factors conspire to create such an intolerable state of affairs for children in poverty. In the CPAG case the Human Rights Review Tribunal found that section MD 8(a) of the ITA constitutes prima facie discrimination based on employment status but concluded that the discrimination was justified by the legislation’s purpose of ‘making work pay’. CPAG believe the Tribunal overlooked the disadvantages to children in beneficiary families and they have appealed the decision. Beginning with a description of New Zealand’s child poverty situation, this paper will then discuss the importance of prioritising children’s rights to overcome their political invisibility and protect society’s future. It will examine the scope and sources of New Zealand’s international human rights obligations, particularly UNCROC, and analyze the inherent difficulties in upholding economic, social and political rights. The paper will go on to explore legislative and procedural measures that exist to protect children’s rights and assess their adequacy. It will explain that New Zealand is not fulfilling its obligations under UNCROC because it fails to ensure that children are the primary consideration in actions concerning them. Finally, the paper will suggest ways in which New Zealand can address the plight of its children in poverty and enhance recognition of their human rights, such as the setting of specific poverty reduction goals and the establishment of a Ministry for Children.