John Key, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, has asked officials to speed up an action plan that seeks to tackle child poverty in the country. Mr. Key asked the Treasury and his own ministries to draw up more plans and expedite the various proposals on mitigation of child poverty, News. Msn. Nz. reported.

The PM told reporters last Wednesday that it was "unfortunate that extremely poor children are missing out the official support." The PM's move was appreciated by the business and social sectors. Business NZ chief executive Phil O'Reilly said that Mr. Key has rightly prioritised the problem and child poverty cannot be solved without a crucial role for the private sector. He said the action plan should involve creating jobs, helping people find work and providing opportunities for workers to improve their skill sets.

Greens Party Stand

Among the political parties, Greens has a strongest advocate on child poverty and had pledged to allocate $1 billion to alleviate the problem, if they get power in the next government. Green's Co-leader Metiria Turei welcomed Mr. Key's statement and said that there is no need to re-invent the wheel. She said the cause of poverty is low income and it must be addressed first, if the PM is serious about making a lasting change. Ms. Turei said that the Greens are willing to work with the government on the basis of a cross-party accord to eliminate child poverty.

Serious Problem

According to Tick for Kids, the arm of UNICEF, nearly 260,000 children in New Zealand are missing out on good food, warm housing and adequate educational opportunities. The agency works with politicians to try and change policy around child poverty.

Its spokesperson Deborah Morris-Travers said, although a lot was done to tackle child poverty in New Zealand, the country still has lot of work to do. There is a crying need for coordinated action in helping families to meet the basic needs of children, Travers noted, according to a TVNz report.

Morris-Travers observed that by ignoring child poverty, a nation loses $6-8 billion in public expenditure, because the children will miss out on the milestones to achieve their potential. Travers expressed the readiness of Tick for Kids to work with the newly elected government in eradicating child poverty in New Zealand.