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Leader's LetterJune 2003
Crumbs for Children and the ElderlyIt was very noticeable that this year’s Budget was very light on any increases in the Social Welfare area - we can be certain that these areas will receive considerable attention by the Labour Government leading up to the next Election. We can already see this happening in the area of asset testing for the elderly in long term care. As you are aware, the Labour minority Government promised that it would remove asset testing for two consecutive Elections. Both of these pledges failed to eventuate. The latest date for asset testing for the elderly in long term care to be incrementally removed is now 2005. New Zealand First will be monitoring progress in this area closely. Despite another record surplus, New Zealand’s crisis in child poverty was not addressed in the budget. Last year, the Ministry of Social Development produced research showing that 30% of all children live in hardship - many in severe hardship. Of course this affects the learning ability and the health of our future citizens. We are now seeing many health problems already in this group of people ranging from obesity and diabetes to poor oral health. Dental visits by children occur now only every 12 - 18 months with many high school pupils unable to access a dentist willing to carry out any work due to the very low subsidy paid by the Health Board making it uneconomical for the dentist to carry out any work. School dental clinics are also steadily running down as schools are unable to afford to carry out the required basic building maintenance. This also affects the ability of the Health Board to carry out the required regular checks. All in all, there is much to be done in this vitally important area. Barbara Stewart MP
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