Improving the schooling chances of New Zealand's poorest children: policy and community challenges

I was delighted to be asked to speak to you tonight as while I take the point that it is a difficult political environment in which to get much traction on child poverty issues, I think that over the years CPAG has been a very effective advocacy group for many of the most vulnerable children and families in our society. In particular, it has had a strong media presence despite its limited means. To my mind CPAG’s strength lies in what Gerald Grace (who used to be Professor of Education at Victoria University) has called ‘complex hope’ (Grace 2004). Complex hope is an optimism of the will in relation to social inequality but one, which unlike naive hope, recognises the very real historical and structural difficulties which need to be overcome. It begins from a realistic and sophisticated assessment of the structural pressures against social inequality and the possibilities of human action in relation to those pressures. So I think it is ‘complex hope’ in relation to the life-chances of New Zealand’s poorest children that brings us all here tonight and whether you are one of those who is often in the media in relation to child poverty or you work more behind the scenes, I’d like to sincerely thank you for your efforts to improve the lot of low income families in Aotearoa.