Welcome to Poverty watch, a weekly update on the National government’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. A lot of background issues and links are set out in Poverty Watch one two and three.
In news this week, Live Below the Line is over, I hope we’ll be hearing the stories of some of those who participated.
Right-wingers really don’t like the issue of poverty being in the spotlight. If you have a strong stomach you can read Rodney Hide for a view form the dark ages (Rodney shares his wisdom on how all kids are poor because none of them have money, and the wonders of bone broth soup for lunch). John Roughan has a whinge about the excellent John Campbell / 3 News focus on poverty, pleading “Save us from one-sided TV” (John would rather watch his hero Paul Holmes than see poor people messing up his telly).
I have been very impressed with 3 News. On this issue at least, they are trying to rise above the drivel of commercial “news” and use the power of their pulpit for real journalism – journalism to comment on important issues and effect social change. From the screening of Inside Child Poverty last year, to their current focus on school lunches and Kidscan, it has all been good work. “Television blogger” Paul Casserly responds to Roughan’s attack:
The Herald’s John Roughan took Campbell Live to task for pushing the poor barrow […] worrying that the show’s much talked about school-lunch story was the beginning of a slippery socialistic slope. “If school meals become a new entitlement, very hard to contain, it will be a costly triumph for one-sided television.”
Undeterred, Campbell Live kept up the one-sided attacks on poverty throughout the week. They wheeled out experts who droned on but made good sense. They even made financial sense. Spend money on kids now, and we’ll save big-time on health and crime in the future.
On Tuesday’s show, they featured two women from the Manawatu who were hell-bent on making lunches for their local down-at-heel school. Their venison shepherd’s pie wouldn’t have been put of place on My Kitchen Rules.
Tonight (Friday), the leftie running dogs of Campbell Live are running a campaign to raise money for the Kidscan charity. They reckon that they can feed 15,000 hungry kids for $1.8 million a year.
As the champagne socialist in chief said on the show on Tuesday: “It’s a start and it’s better than doing nothing.”
Speaking of Kidscan, you can go to their website to sign up and help out – check out the Campbell Live Lunchbox Day here, here, or here. Text Lunch to 8595 to make a $3 donation, or donate via KidsCan Charitable Trust: ASB BANK 12 3026 0348180 03.
Poverty Watch always ends with the following list, the National government’s response to rising poverty in NZ:
• National has not yet set any target for reducing poverty
• ?
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