Govt pay to poor 'breaches human rights'

Government payments to low income families will come under sustained attack next week when the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) alleges they breach human rights.

The case has taken six years to get a hearing before the Human Rights Review Tribunal with the Government trying to knock it back at every step.

During that period the policy CPAG has a problem with, the Child Tax Credit, has changed to In Work Payment and In Work Tax Credit.

The payments are to poor families not receiving a benefit. The CPAG argues the policy to reward only those children with parents in work is unacceptable. The complaint alleges discrimination on the basis of the source of parent's income.

CPAG first laid a complaint with the Human Rights Commission in 2002 and the case has been through a number of legal hoops since then.

The case is being bought by CPAG as a public interest group and not on behalf of specific affected people.

CPAG said today that the hearing will run for several weeks and it is the first of its kind challenging government policy under the Human Rights Act.

- NZPA