Fighting Hunger, Fighting for Happiness: Looking at the policy behind free school lunches
BY FIONA WU
Free school lunches have been a hot topic in the press lately. What is less well known is that it is part of something much, much bigger. The free lunch trial is one of 75 initiatives of the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy, launched on 29 August 2019 at Kaitao School in Rotorua.[1] Its goal? Nothing less ambitious than making Aotearoa the best place in the world for children and young people.
Where it Came From
Wellbeing has been a consistent centrepiece theme for the Coalition Government, and the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy follows the Prime Minister’s promise to cut child poverty and the Wellbeing Budget of 2019.
The Strategy made observations on some of the most significant hardships facing young people, including:[2]
Nearly a quarter of NZ’s children and youth are growing up in households of poverty and this is leading to lasting impacts in areas such as health, housing and education;
New Zealand has the highest suicide rate for young people aged 15-19 years in the OECD;
Nearly 300,000 children and young people are exposed to family and sexual violence every year; and
Significant health and educational inequities exist among children and young people of different abilities and ethnicities, especially for rangatahi Māori and Pacific children.[3]
The 2017 UNICEF report card, which assesses 41 high income countries against nine of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, was far from a glowing one for New Zealand. In particular, the UN ranked NZ in the bottom three for “promoting wellbeing at all ages”, and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child noted serious concerns regarding the prevalence of poverty and violence among children and the number of children in state care and the criminal justice system.[4]
The findings in the Strategy show how much New Zealand’s reputation as one of the best places to bring up children may have belied our true weaknesses and is a sharp awakening that entrenched problems do not solve themselves.
The Strategy was developed in consultation with over 10,000 New Zealanders, including over 6,000 young people. Online surveys was completed by 5,631 children and 423 children and young people were spoken with in person, through focus groups and individualised interviews, in order to ascertain their view of what constitutes the good life.[5] The survey reached a diverse mix of children of different socio-economic backgrounds, ethnicities and ages, including these who are living in poverty, state care and isolated areas, living with a disability, from refugee backgrounds or identify as LGBTIQ+.[6] These findings have then informed the outcomes of the Strategy.
The image below, taken from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner Report, illustrates the common themes in how children responded when asked “what makes a good life?”[7]
Goals
The Strategy’s framework is based around one vision, nine guiding principles and six wellbeing outcomes.
Vision
The vision is for New Zealand to be the best place in the world for children and young people.[8] The Strategy described the vision as “aspirational” and recognises we have a long way to go to get there.
Guiding Principles[9]
Children and young people are taonga: Recognising the intrinsic value and dignity of children and youth and ensuring their views are factored into solutions.
Māori are tangata whenua and the Māori-Crown Relationship is foundational: Ensuring practical commitment to Te Tiriti and recognizing the objectives of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the course of achieving wellbeing for Māori youth.
Children and young people's rights need to be respected and upheld.
All children and young people deserve to live a good life: This means greater equity of outcomes and ensuring more support are given where it is needed most.
Wellbeing needs holistic and comprehensive approaches: The Strategy approaches wellbeing as being multidimensional and incorporates concepts of hinengaro (mental), tinana (physical), wairua (spiritual), whānau (family), papa kainga (community), and taiao (environmental) wellbeing.
Children and young people's wellbeing is interwoven with family and whānau wellbeing: Recognizes that families need to have the right kind of support to provide the best care for their children.
Change requires action by all of us: This means individuals, organisations, iwi, communities and government need to work together and recognizes need for government to empower communities.
Actions must deliver better life outcomes: The Strategy will be informed by an evidence base of data, qualitative research and evaluation of initiatives.
Early support is needed: Recognising the impact of adverse experiences early in life and providing policies which increasingly focus on early support and prevention.
These guiding principles are established to reflect the values New Zealanders have said are most important, the requirements of the Children’s Act 2014, New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements and our international commitments.
Outcomes[10]
Six high level outcomes are set out in the Strategy, adopted by the Government as per requirements under the Children’s Act 2014.[11]
Children and young people are loved, safe and nurtured – this means safe, loving homes free from violence and time with families.
Children and young people have what they need – this includes material wellbeing, access to quality food and housing.
Children and young people are happy and healthy – this means both physical and mental health.
Children and young people are learning and developing – this means positive engagement with education and enabling choices around their future.
Children and young people are accepted, respected and connected – this includes a sense of belonging, having good relationships and living free from racism and bullying.
Children and young people are involved and empowered – this means having the ability to contribute at home, school and in their communities, having their views listened to and being supported to increase autonomy.
The Strategy is not an isolated policy instrument, but one aligned with broader government action plans which, when implemented, aim to support achievement of the outcomes. Some examples include the Oranga Tamariki Action Plan, Disability Action Plan, transforming mental health and addiction care and the welfare system overhaul.[12]
Under the provisions of the Children’s Act 2014, the Strategy must provide indicators to measure its outcomes and the responsible Minister is required to prepare an annual report on how well the outcomes have been achieved.[13] The first report will be due in 2021 and measurement will be based on a range of wellbeing ‘Indicators’ and survey outcomes. There is concern around the currently limited data availability but work is underway to improve this.[14]
Reviews
The Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy is the first one of its kind in New Zealand. Although clearly too early for any effects to be seen, there has been no lack of feedback from politicians and these who work with young people.
The principal Youth Court Judge and Children’s Commissioner, Andrew Becroft, calls the strategy “world-leading” and that “it is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to get things right.”[15] In previous interviews, Mr Becroft noted that while the majority of Kiwi children are doing very well and may in fact be world-leading, the challenge is great as most New Zealanders don’t know how bad it is at the bad end.[16]
The late Ian Shirley, who was Emeritus Professor of Public Policy at AUT, noted that this focus on children represents “the most fundamental shift in social policy in over four decades”.[17] He broadly endorsed the establishment of such a Strategy however highlighted a number of challenges, namely difficulties with analysing and monitoring outcomes, the need to distinguish between children and youth and drawing distinctions between the government’s responsibility and these of parents, caregivers and schools.[18]
Charity organisations such as Child Poverty Action Group and Barnardos have also welcomed the Strategy, with Barnardos Chief Executive Mike Munnelly echoing the comments of Mr Becroft that while most children are doing well, a significant proportion are impacted by problems like poverty, violence and abuse, poor mental health and a lack of basic material needs.[19]
On the other hand, the Strategy received resounding criticisms from the National Party, who say that while the Strategy contains many platitudes, it provides few concrete ways to make a real difference for the most vulnerable Kiwi kids.[20] Meanwhile, the free lunch initiative, one of the first initiatives implemented, has copped flak from commentators such as Duncan Garner, who criticised it as “giving bad parents an out”, a welfare scheme that encourages poor parental responsibility.[21]
Conclusion
It is evident that the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy is aspirational and focuses on a lot more than the bottom line. It is also true that change cannot result from strategy alone but requires the work and commitment of both the Government and the families, schools and community groups which understand the reality of life as children.
‘Wellbeing’ is a complex and abstract concept. While it is arguably encouraging that the Strategy takes such a holistic approach, this inevitably increases the complexity in measuring outcomes.
It is far too early to predict if the Strategy can deliver on its very ambitious goals. The commentary from experts, so far, have leaned towards optimism. We sincerely hope the Strategy can live up to expectations and be truly transformational, so that one day New Zealand really might be the best place in the world to be a child.
The views expressed in the posts and comments of this blog do not necessarily reflect those of the Equal Justice Project. They should be understood as the personal opinions of the author. No information on this blog will be understood as official. The Equal Justice Project makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The Equal Justice Project will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information.
Featured image source: pixabay.com
[1] Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet ”Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy launched” (29 August 2019) <www.dpmc.govt.nz>.
[2] Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy (August 2019) at 12.
[3] Claire Achmad “Free school lunches is just part of something much, much bigger” (4 September 2019) The Spinoff <www.thespinoff.co.nz>.
[4] Above n 2, at 12.
[5] Office of the Children’s Commissioner and Oranga Tamariki What makes a Good Life – Children and Young People’s Views on Wellbeing (February 2019) at 3.
[6] Above n 5, at 3.
[7] Above n 5, at 5.
[8] Above n 2, at 27.
[9] Above n 2, at 27-29
[10] Above n 2, at 30
[11] Children’s Act 2014, s 7.
[12] Above n 2, at 70.
[13] Children’s Act, above n 11, s 7B.
[14] Above n 2, at 79.
[15] Office of the Children’s Commissioner “Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy - A 'once-in-a-generation' opportunity to get things right” (29 August 2019) <www.occ.org.nz>.
[16] The Nation “Lisa Owen interviews Andrew Becroft” (press release, 8 July 2017).
[17] Ian Shirley “Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy – Submission by Emeritus Professor Ian Shirley 2018” at 1.
[18] Above n 16, at 7-8.
[19] Barnardos “Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy an essential platform” (press release, 29 August 2019).
[20] Louise Upton “Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy light on detail” (30 August 2019) NZ National Party <www.national.org.nz>.
[21] Duncan Garner “Free lunches gives bad parents an out” (30 August 2019) Newshub <www.newshub.co.nz>.