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You may have heard last week that 62 individuals have the same wealth as the bottom half of humanity. That is, there are 62 people with the combined total wealth as the poorest 3.6 billion people in the world. Read more

Oxfam does fantastic work in the developing world. It is one of the relatively few charities endorsed by The Life You Can Save: the Peter Singer-inspired NGO that ranks charities by their effectiveness. Read more

There is no poverty in New Zealand because the poor are not living in slums. Some people in so-called poverty even have cars and ovens. Whether you agree or disagree with the above statement, you are right. Read more

Parenting books are full of advice about how to raise your kids. Much of it is obvious: You should love them, instil in them a love of learning, let them take risks, and teach them to be resilient over adversity. Read more

We do not yet know how the courts will rule on whether Wellington City Council can force its contractors to pay their employees a minimum of $18.55 an hour. But I think we can come to a verdict on the policy's economic merits, and I do not think council would much like it. Read more

Child abuse is a shameful thing. It occurs to a disquieting degree. Read more

It’s a rare day I do not pass by one of Wellington’s many bucket collectors. On my morning walk from the train station through to Lambton Quay, it’s more common to see at least three or four of them than to see none. Read more

After the recent review of Child, Youth and Family (CYF), the Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC) has come to the conclusion that the system is failing children on far too many fronts. In fact, the Children’s Commissioner goes as far as to doubt that children are better off in state care at all. Read more