New Zealand Socialists

New Zealand is now just as divided as the UK, the country that many of its citizens’ ancestors left in order to find a more equal society. In both countries, the top fifth get about 40% of after-tax income; the bottom fifth get just 8%.

One in four children in New Zealand  live in poverty - where their parents don't have enough money to pay bills and purchase everyday essentials - and one in 10 are in severe poverty. Children which "most New Zealanders would think are absolutely clearly materially poor" was identified at about 110,000. Māori are still the worst affected followed by our Pacific Islanders. Rates for deaths from medical conditions relating to socioeconomic status were more than three times higher for Maori and more than four times higher for Pacific compared to European children. About 17 per cent of children regularly go without what most New Zealanders would consider "essentials", such as fruit, vegetables, and good shoes. Three in five children in poverty will likely remain in poverty for most of their childhood.

"The proportion of New Zealand children who are sick with preventable diseases related to poverty remains very high, and should be a concern for all New Zealanders," Paediatrician Professor Innes Asher, of the Steering Group of the NZ Child and Youth Epidemiology Service said.

“ One in four New Zealand children aged up to 17 were still living in poverty," director of the University of Otago-based NZ Child and Youth Epidemiology Service Dr Jean Simpson said. "There is plenty of research that shows that living in poverty can be bad for children's health.”

Child Poverty Action Group health spokesperson Dr Nikki Turner said the study showed "far too many" children were living in poverty and bold action was needed. "This problem is too difficult to be addressed by piecemeal measures”

A small percentage of the population have the majority of the wealth because of the way the economic system is set up. Big business policies coupled with land-locking laws, ensuring that house prices are astronomical and rents are high, mean that the majority of people find their incomes disappear into the pockets of landlords, banks and councils before food and clothing can be a consideration. Cynical politicians are happy to see a high unemployment because it means there is a large labour pool and wages can be kept to a minimum. At a time when families with two working parents are forced to fall back on food banks and social services to survive, you can know that despite what people are being told by those in power, there something is something seriously, systemically wrong.

The solution? Break free of the paralysed state that most New Zealanders currently endure and demand an alternative. SOYMB takes this opportunity to remind visitors from New Zealand that there exists a small but active socialist party, the World Socialist Party of New Zealand. Go to:

http://www.worldsocialism.org/nz/