A "warrant of fitness" scheme for all rental housing may be on the agenda whoever wins the election in September, a new survey has found.
Documentary maker Bryan Bruce, who first raised the idea in a controversial TV3 programme just before the 2011 election, said his survey of 12 politicalparties last week showed "a remarkable shift in political attitudes towards child wellbeing issues since the last election".
Only Act and the Conservative Party told him they still opposed a general warrant of fitness scheme for all rentals.
National deputy leader Bill English declined to answer the survey but pointed Bruce to the Government's decision to trial a warrant of fitness on 500 state houses this year with a view to rolling out three-yearly warrants for all state houses.
Housing Minister Nick Smith said at the time: "The Government has not made any decisions about the wider application of the warrant of fitness to other social housing providers or the private rental market. Our first duty is to ensure our own house is in order."
National has so far committed only to increasing paid leave from 14 weeks to 18 weeks by 2016, and Labour has promised to increase it to six months by 2017.
There was less support for free lunches in schools.
The National Government subsidises charities run by Fonterra, Sanitarium and KidsCan, and Labour has promised to work with community groups to ensure free food in low-decile schools, but neither major party supports extending free lunches to all schools.