On the one hand, the prime minister celebrates the removal of children from emergency housing, but on the other, doesn’t know whether those children are living in actual houses or cars now.
The government has apologised to children abused in state institutions, but has built new systems to put more children into unsafe state institutions.
The government wants to "get kids back into school" to improve attendance, but is happy that they get fed meals that at best are gross and at worst, physically injure them.
And now the government insists on increasing the road speed limit around schools from 30km to 50km (or 60km to 80km for some schools).
It justifies this retrograde step by saying that the 30km limit will remain in place during drop-off and pick-up times, but that makes no sense if you have children at school.
Our children may be going on trips with their classes that take them out on to the footpaths during the 50km times. They may have before- or after-school care and so are vulnerable to the 50km times.
They may have sports or music or other activities that mean they are moving in and out of the school during the 50km times.
They may be just playing in the school playground for a bit longer after the school day finishes.
This is all very normal for any parent and family. We spend a huge amount of time with and at our schools because they are such an important part of our children’s lives and our community.
Schools are community hubs, after all. There are about 50 formalised school community hubs where schools are the physical base for activities during and after school hours.
School community hubs provide early child education, health services and adult education.
Some have police and other government agencies based at the schools for families to access.
All of this means that schools are not siloed institutions where children arrive precisely on time in the morning and leave again precisely on time in the afternoon.
They are places that belong to communities.
So this idea of keeping reduced speed limits for only the "pick-up" and "drop-off" times is no protection for our children at all.
The policy is based on some imagined idea of schools as only ever used for inside instruction from 9am to 3pm. This is a false conception and a dangerous one.
Car crashes are one of the most common causes of death and injury for New Zealand children. About 300 children die or are injured in car crashes every year.
On average, between 2019 and 2023, about 70 of these accidents involved children on bicycles.
The risk of death for a child hit by a car more than doubles if the car is travelling at 40km rather than 30km. The risk more than doubles again if the car is travelling at 50km.
Evidence shows that a child hit by a car travelling at 60km will almost certainly not survive.
If you are a money person, you may want to know the Ministry of Transport estimates the average social cost of a fatal car crash at $4 million, and a bit less than $1m for a serious crash.
The government’s information shows us that its policy to increase speed limits around schools will lead to more injuries and likely more deaths of children.
What could possibly justify increasing the risk of injury and death of children going to school?
The minister has argued that increasing the speed limit will "help the economy". That’s about it.
People can drive faster — obviously — and that, in and of itself, is good for the economy, but at $4m a fatal crash this argument loses ground.
And at the much increased risk of child injury, permanent disability or death, the argument holds no moral authority whatsoever.
Knowingly putting up the speed limits around schools means knowingly putting children at risk of injury and death.
The government did not need to target schools in its drive to increase speed limits.
It has an ideological objection to "blanket" speed limits — fine, take an ideological approach, however foolish and small-minded.
But no responsible government can ever, nor should ever, argue that ideology should trump the safety and lives of children.
■Metiria Stanton Turei is a senior law lecturer at the University of Otago and a former Green Party MP and co-leader.
