NZ behind Ethiopa for children’s rights – yea right

The Herald reports:

A European advocacy group has ranked New Zealand 158th out of 165 countries on children’s rights.

Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft said the ranking was “a wake-up call” for New Zealand to protect children better from abuse and neglect and to give children a say on new laws and policies.

“There is a startlingly weak commitment in New Zealand to factoring in children’s voices into our policymaking,” he said.

But Canterbury University political scientist Professor Bronwyn Hayward, who specialises in child and youth politics, said the new index was “the most bonkers ranking I’ve ever seen”.

“There is no way we could compare the situation facing children in Ethiopia, where I have just been, it’s a completely different context from the situation facing children in South Auckland, for example,” she said.

Ethiopia is ranked 137th on child rights, ahead of New Zealand. The rankings are topped by Portugal, Norway and Switzerland.

The list, published yesterday by the Amsterdam-based Kids Rights Foundation, measures 23 indicators in five fields.

Bonkers is a good word for it. The rankings fail the common sense test.

According to this index NZ dropped from 45th last year to 158th. Well as nothing really changed in NZ, that again just shows how bonkers the index is.

Almost as bad as New Zealand is the UK in 156th place. If it is such a hell hole, why do so many people try to move there with their kids?

You’ll be pleased to know that countries that ranked higher than NZ were Venezuela in 71th place where the kids are starving.

Also higher than NZ is Iran at 100th, Zimbabwe at 126th and Iraq at 148th.