Labour wants to pour millions of dollars into eradicating child poverty, in a policy announced yesterday that bears striking similarities to one already released by the Green Party.
Labour deputy leader Annette King launched the policy in which 150,000 of New Zealand's poorest families with children would receive an extra $70 to $80 a week.
That would come through Labour's $5000 tax-free zone and by extending in three steps full Working for Families eligibility to people who now did not meet the criteria for the "In Work Tax Credit" component.
Figures provided by Labour showed the cost of eradicating child poverty would be $22 million in 2013, $88 million in $2014 and $109 million in 2015.
The policy would be introduced in three tranches based on the age of the youngest child in the family, Mrs King said.
In April 2013, a $6 a week tax-free zone would be introduced - applying to beneficiary families as well as others - and Working for Families would be increased by $60 a week for a quarter of families. In 2014, the tax-free zone would be increased to $10 a week per adult.
In 2015, Working for Families would be increased by $60 a week for another quarter of families which Labour estimated would extend coverage to those whose youngest child was under 5.
Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei told the Otago Daily Times it was great to see Labour would extend Working for Families to the people who needed it most.
"We have been campaigning on this issue for years and it is good to see Labour are now moving in the right direction to address child policy."
It was a mistake not to extend the work tax credit to the most vulnerable families when the scheme was first created. Too many children had been living in poverty because of that, she said.
Labour would scrap the Families Commission and establish a Ministry for Children and a Minister for Children. The funding for the new ministry would come from the $7.7 million saved by scrapping the commission. About $4.5 million would be spent on the new ministry, with the rest of the money invested into other policy for children.
Mrs King said children were the most vulnerable members of society and were the first to feel the effects of a recession and the last to benefit from a recovery.
Other parts of the policy included ensuring every 3 and 4-year-old had access to a free 20 hours of early childhood education a week, maintaining fees control and working with the sector to reinstate 100% qualified teachers.
Labour would also provide around-the-clock free access to primary healthcare for all under 6s - from new funding not cuts to other services.
Parental leave would be extended to 26 weeks in two steps and the party would set up a ministerial taskforce to explore ways for parents to be able to take up to one year of parental leave and investigate how New Zealand could afford that.
Mrs King said Labour's child policy framework would be established under a new Children's Charter and a subsequent Children's Act.
The total cost of implementing Labour's policy was set at $51 million in 2013, $152 million in 2014 and $259 in 2015 and rising to $713 million in 2019.