Unions Proud To Have Campaigned To Make Poverty History

“Unions were proud to have played a key role in the campaign to Make Poverty History,” CTU vice president Maori Sharon Clair said today.

Make Poverty History Aotearoa this morning presented the over 120,000 individual actions of New Zealanders to Foreign Minister Winston Peters, since the Make Poverty History Campaign started in 2005.

“Unions were particularly proud to have led the charge with the petition sheets, and we collected most of the signatures on the petitions presented this morning.  At Koroneihana, Parihaka, union conferences, hui and stalls, we were collecting signatures everywhere we went.”

“Make Poverty History Aotearoa adopted the global goals of more overseas aid, cancelling debt and fair trade – and also called for a systematic plan and timetable from government to end child poverty in New Zealand."

“The 120,000 actions by kiwis who are calling on government to Make Poverty History couldn’t be ignored, and the Foreign Minister’s announcement yesterday of a significant increase to overseas aid, in particular in the Pacific region, is a very welcome start,” Sharon Clair said.