Greens plan gift packs for newborns

Metiria Turei (left) and Kena Duignan with baby Makara Milner and the welcome pack the Greens propose.

The Greens want every newborn child to get a "welcome pack" at birth including a bed, clothes and other essentials, says co-leader Metiria Turei.

She said the packages, worth about $300, would be universally available and would cost the Government around $15 million a year to provide.

Watch: target="_blank">Metiria Turei

She said the birth of a child was often a very stressful and expensive time for parents.

"By providing these basics, we are not only ensuring all children get a good start to life, we are also acknowledging the contribution that parents make to society and helping them out a little."

The policy is modelled on the Finnish Maternity Package, in which newborns are given a crib and other basic items.

If uptake in New Zealand was similar to Finland, the Greens expect around 40,000 babies, or two-thirds of newborns, to receive the welcome package each year.

It would include a flax-woven sleeping pod, known as a wahakura, which can stand alone or be placed in an adults' bed.

Ms Turei said: "There are so many benefits to providing this package for new babies. Not only does it provide financial relief, wahakura have also been linked to the decrease in Sudden Unexplained Death in Infants."

Poverty and bed-sharing were both contributors to New Zealand's relatively high rate among developed countries of infant deaths.

Items in the pack would also include bedding, a blanket, sheets, a towel, clothes, bibs, beanies, socks and reusable nappies.