Barnardos Wants All Parties to Agree on a Long-Term Plan for Kids
Barnardos stood on the steps of Parliament on 16 September to back its Generational Plan for Children.
Chief executive Matt Reid spoke there. He called for parties to work together long-term so all children can thrive by 2050, according to RNZ. The plan looks ahead to 2050.
Reid told MPs that doing nothing will cost Aotearoa New Zealand $450 billion by 2050. He put that figure to MPs as the cost of failing to act.
He asked for a permanent children's cabinet to look after all children, like one team keeping an eye on the whole job. He also called for the Government to act on the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.
Most parties turned up. Labour's children spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime came and said she welcomed parties working together for a better future for children. Green MP Julie Anne Genter came and backed the plan. ACT's Karen Chhour is the minister for children. NZ First did not come to the steps event.
Barnardos says its work is about lifting the mana of tamariki and whānau through relationship and connection. In the last year it supported 27,423 tamariki, rangatahi and caregivers through its Early Learning and Child and Family Services, not counting 0800 What’s Up. It enrolled 2,074 tamariki in Early Learning. It answered 12,164 calls and chats on its 0800 What’s Up helpline.
Advocates have warned more children will end up in care after Oranga Tamariki cut early help services in the community, according to earlier RNZ reporting.
The broader context here is staying power. A photo on the steps is easy. Holding to a promise through changes of government is hard. The test is clear words, regular checks and funding to match.
Looking at what this means in practice, the two main asks raise different questions. A children's cabinet would need a clear job, clear members and a clear link to current Cabinet groups and budgets. It would need to join up health, education, social development, justice and housing without doubling up. Acting on the Royal Commission means decisions on what comes first, how redress works and what law changes are needed. Both would need the prime minister's backing to move.
Cross-party language also means something specific under MMP, our proportional system. It can mean a written deal with check-ins. It can mean matching promises in party manifestos. It can mean leaving the plan out of coalition talks. Until Barnardos and the parties say which one they mean, officials will read the 2050 pledge as an idea rather than a detailed plan. The next sign is who starts writing it.
