“Children are a precious gift entrusted to us by the Lord of creation. Their care and nurture is the responsibility of the whole community.” New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, 2002
Catholic social teaching recognises the innate dignity of children, and speaks of the need to protect children among society’s most vulnerable members. And yet when we look at children in our own society, as well as throughout the world, we see that children are still among those that suffer the most through poverty, violence and through not being able to participate equally in society.
Unfortunately, homes are not always loving, safe places for children, even within our own community, and that some within the Church have been guilty of abusing positions of trust with children in their care.
Bringing this understanding that we can sometimes fail children when we do not consider their individual rights and do not listen to what they are telling us, gives us a wider understanding of how our society might be letting children down.
Pope John Paul said that concern for the child, even before birth, from the first moment of conception and then throughout the years of infancy and youth, is the primary and fundamental test of the relationship of one human being to another. (Familiaris Consortio, 1981)
Children’s Work
The Caritas children’s work survey in 2003 has provided some of the most important information that children are not adequately protected in New Zealand workplaces.
New Zealand has no minimum age of employment, or minimum wage for children under 16. In preparing a submission on the Review of the Minimum Age of Employment by the Department of Labour in 2003, Caritas prepared a simple questionnaire that was sent to all Catholic schools. We received 5,000 replies, which showed many serious concerns about children’s protection at work. In particular we are concerned about:
- Children working in age restricted employment, including those working with heavy machinery, with alcohol, or caring for other children.
- Health and safety of children, particularly those who reported injuries which had the potential to cause serious harm, including road accidents, broken bones and burns.
- Children working unsupervised, particularly the younger children aged 11-12 who were more likely to work without adult supervision than older age groups.
- The lack of contract and union coverage of children’s work.
- Children from low decile schools who were more likely to be working to supplement family income than those from higher decile schools.
In November 2007, Caritas published a further report on children delivery workers, based on in-depth interviews with 30 children who deliver newspapers or advertising circulars.
Read: Caritas Children’s Work Survey 2003 
Caritas childrens work survey.pdf (478.13 KB)
Delivering the Goods 2007 
Delivering the Goods.pdf (615.59 KB)
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC) reflects general human rights principles from the point of view of children. It has become one of the most widely accepted of international human rights agreements. The Vatican ratified the Convention in 1990 – three years before New Zealand ratified it in 1993.
Oversight of implementation of UNCROC is by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. New Zealand has three reservations to UNCROC which were discussed in the latest consideration by the committee.
Caritas has particularly focused on the reservation concerning the protection of children who work, through research on children’s work experiences in 2003. A second smaller research project on children’s work delivery experiences is being undertaken in 2006/07.
Read: New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference statement: The Protection of Children, 2002 Protection of Children.doc (26.00 KB)
Submissions on Children’s Issues
Crimes (Abolition of Force as a Justification for Child Discipline) Amendment Bill 2006
Caritas supported an amendment of this Bill, as we supported neither the status quo which had not adequately protected children, nor full repeal of the Bill, which did not define the threshold for prosecution by the police of parents using physical punishment.
While recognising that there are better means of discipline than physical punishment, Caritas does not believe that parents should be prosecuted for minor or intermittent acts of physical punishment of children, and that if that is the government’s intention, that the law should say so.
However, we similarly recognise that the status quo, which has allowed juries to acquit parents who have used implements against their children, has allowed parents to abuse their children in the name of discipline, and we support change.
Submission on Section 59 of the Crimes Act.doc (54.00 KB)
NZ Bishops Statement 'Children as Gifts':
Children as Gifts.doc (28.00 KB)