86. The Special Rapporteur has accordingly recommended, as her primary preliminary recommendation, that New Zealand develop a comprehensive, human rights based national housing strategy.108 Standard of living – child poverty legislation and welfare reform 87. In December 2018, the Child Poverty Reduction Act passed into law. The Act is the first of its kind in New Zealand. It establishes a framework which requires the government to set both income and non-income related child poverty reduction targets over both short-term (three year) and long-term (ten year) periods. The long-term target set under the legislation seeks to reduce income poverty rates by over 50% by 2028, in line with the 2030 SDG target requirement.109 As noted in paragraph 20, the Act also implements a budgetary mechanism which enables prospective and retrospective evaluations of the impact of appropriations targeted at child poverty reduction. 88. It is too early to evaluate the impact of the legislation in reducing child poverty rates, which have remained static in recent years. The 2019 Child Poverty Monitor reported that around 23% of New Zealand children (approximately 250,000) lived in households with less than 50% of the median disposable equivalised income after housing costs for the 2018 financial year. It also reported that in 2018 around 13% of children lived in households that were unable to afford six or more essentials for a decent standard of living, while 6% lived in households experiencing severe material hardship, defined as a lack of nine or more essentials for a decent standard of living. 89. In 2018 the government established a Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) to comprehensively review New Zealand’s social security system. In its concluding report, Whakamana Tāngata Restoring dignity to social security in New Zealand, the WEAG recommended extensive, fundamental amendments to the current system. This included a comprehensive set of measures to improve levels of income support to meet an adequate standard of living and to maintain this support over time in line with wages. The WEAG considered that implementing their recommendations would likely reduce child poverty rates by 50%, in line with the Child Poverty Reduction Act’s 2028 targets.110 The WEAG also included among its key recommendations that the interests of children be paramount in the design and operation of a new social security system.111 90. In May 2019 the government announced some measures that respond to the WEAGs findings, including removing the current sanction that cuts income to women and their children if the name of the child’s father is not declared.112 However, to date, the fundamental legislative changes recommended by the WEAG are yet to be introduced. Disability, health and welfare: Recommendations The Commission recommends that the Committee seek the following information from the New Zealand government: (a) Any additional measures intended to support young people aged 16 and 17 years old who are eligible to receive care or provide care as a caregiver under the new Funded Family Care policy. (b) Information regarding the Ministry of Health’s position on inclusion of FASD within its disability support services funding framework. 108 At para 63, p 13 https://www.childpoverty.org.nz/measures/income 110 http://www.weag.govt.nz/assets/documents/WEAG-report/aed960c3ce/WEAG-Report.pdf, p 9 111 http://www.weag.govt.nz/assets/documents/WEAG-report/aed960c3ce/WEAG-Report.pdf, p 18 112 https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/supporting-people-work-and-income-security-%E2%80%93-prioritieswelfare-reforms 21 109