On the first day of Christmas, let's guarantee our kids the essentials

The Green Party will tomorrow launch a ’Twelve Days of Christmas’ campaign urging New Zealanders to guarantee the essentials for every kiwi kid this Christmas.

“This Christmas, let’s give our kids the essentials, and guarantee them a fair go at a great future,” Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said.

“Every child needs a warm, dry, secure home, safe food to grow healthy and strong, quality public education, and a safe environment. If we can guarantee them these essentials, we guarantee their opportunities for life.

“Christmas is a great time to look around us and remember that a fair society is better for everyone. Together, we can build strong, resilient communities and families,” Mrs Turei said.

Each working day between now and Christmas, the Green Party will highlight a key issue related to inequality, and present Green solutions to those issues.

“We have a wish list for the twelve days of Christmas that would guarantee the essentials for our kids, narrow the gap between the haves and the have-nots, and help to build a strong community that’s better for everyone,” Mrs Turei said.

“On the ‘first day of Christmas’ tomorrow, we are asking New Zealanders to guarantee the essentials for every child in New Zealand.

“December the sixth is St Nicholas’ day, the traditional day for gift-giving to children in many cultures.
“This St Nicholas’ day, we’re asking New Zealanders to remember that every child deserves the essentials, and to support policies that deliver them.

“Policies like building 6,000 new state houses, extending Working for Families tax credits to the children of beneficiaries, making the first $10,000 of income tax-free, and introducing a progressive pricing system for electricity, which are outlined in the Greens’ ‘Mind the Gap’ package to reduce inequality.

“Every child deserves the best possible start in life, and Christmas is a great time to reflect on how well we’re providing this. New Zealand is a great place to be a kid, but there is a lot more we could do,” Mrs Turei said.