National, Labour, ACT, the Greens, The
Opportunities Party and Te Pāti Māori back a long-term
vision for children, joining a collective call from close to
60 leaders across Aotearoa.
Six political
parties have backed the vision of a Generational
Plan for Children to 2050 and committed to working
alongside the nation to develop it.
National, Labour,
ACT, the Green Party, The Opportunities Party and Te Pāti
Māori have backed the vision of an Aotearoa where, by 2050,
every child can thrive, regardless of where they start in
life. They have committed to working alongside children and
young people, whānau, iwi, communities, government,
business, philanthropy and the wider community to shape the
plan’s direction and priorities in 2027.
Their
support follows a collective call from close to 60 leaders
across Aotearoa, spanning children’s services, youth
organisations, iwi, philanthropy, business, academia and the
wider community.
The initiative grew from a shared
belief that improving outcomes for children requires a
long-term, whole-of-country approach that extends beyond
individual policies and election cycles. Barnardos Aotearoa
helped bring these leaders together and is advancing the
development of the plan.
Barnardos CEO Matt Reid said
the commitment from six political parties was an important
step towards building a shared vision for the future of our
tamariki.
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
“Children’s lives don’t fit neatly
into three-year election cycles. The decisions we make now
will shape the Aotearoa our children grow up in, and the
country they will one day build for their own
children.
“What makes this initiative important is
that it has come from people and organisations across
different sectors who share a belief that we can do better
for children. No single organisation, political party or
sector has all the answers.
“We welcome these
parties’ commitment to not only support the vision, but to
work alongside the nation to develop the plan. The challenge
now is to turn that shared ambition into a lasting
commitment to children that endures across successive
governments.”
The Generational Plan was launched
at Parliament on 16 September, bringing together over
100 tamariki and supporters from across Aotearoa. Following
the launch, a letter was sent to political party leaders
asking them to support the vision and commit to
participating in the plan’s development in 2027.
The
proposal is not for parties to agree now on every policy,
priority or solution. Instead, it seeks agreement on the
destination and a commitment to work together to determine
the best path forward.
The next phase will bring
together in 2027 children and young people, whānau, iwi,
communities, political leaders, government, business,
philanthropy and the wider community to help shape the
plan’s direction and priorities.
Barnardos says the
goal is to establish a long-term framework that can guide
decisions across successive governments, helping ensure
children’s wellbeing and opportunities remain a national
priority.
“If we want different outcomes for
children, we need to think differently about the decisions
we make today.
“A Generational Plan will help us do
that. One possibility is a child-focused lens for
decision-making, so when we make big decisions as a country,
we consider how they will affect children, not just today
but over the generations to come.
“It’s about
making sure children are at the heart of the decisions that
shape their lives and the Aotearoa they will
inherit.”
Notes:
About
Barnardos Aotearoa
Barnardos
Aotearoa exists because every tamaiti (child) deserves a
chance to thrive, no matter their circumstances. For too
many families in Aotearoa, hardship creates barriers that
make it harder for children to have the futures they deserve
– poverty, housing instability, family harm,
intergenerational trauma, and barriers to education and
essential services.
Barnardos works to break down
those barriers, provides wraparound support, and ensures
every child gets the best possible start in
life.
Every year, we work with more than 30,000
tamariki, rangatahi and whānau across the motu. Our work
spans across early learning, social and community services,
care services, counselling, and advocacy, ensuring that
tamariki and whānau receive the right support, at the right
time.
About the Generational
Plan
The Generational Plan is a proposed
long-term, cross-sector, cross-party commitment to systemic
change for children in Aotearoa New Zealand. Unlike
traditional 3-5 year strategies, it would commit to
sustained action across housing, education, care, income,
health, and whānau wellbeing through to 2050, ensuring
today’s children and the children they raise can
thrive.
Read more on our website https://barnardos.org.nz/generational-plan.
The
vision: to build an Aotearoa New Zealand all our
children deserve.
Imagine an Aotearoa New Zealand
where all children thrive because we’ve built a country
that puts children first.
By
2050,
- Every child is safe, loved, and valued –
with their basic needs met and their potential fully
supported, no matter where they start in life. - Every
child has a strong sense of belonging – connected to
whānau, culture and whenua, with their identity celebrated,
their voice heard and their mana upheld. - Every child
grows up with whānau and communities who have the agency,
resources, and support to shape the decisions and systems
that affect them. - Every child can be happy, have
fun, and feel connected – with friends they trust,
opportunities to learn, play and explore their interests,
and support for their mental health and
wellbeing. - Every child is surrounded by systems that
work together – investing early, preventing harm, and
thinking long-term, so today’s children and the children
they raise can flourish. - Every child is treasured as
taonga – by whānau, by communities who share the joy and
responsibility of raising them, and by a nation that takes
collective pride and responsibility for their wellbeing and
future.
This is the Aotearoa New Zealand
we’re building with our children. For our children. For
their children. For all of
us.
