Model for including the best interests of the child in policy development.
The lack of assessment by the government on the impacts and effectiveness of the Working for Families package before its introduction in 2003, as well as little research untaken since into the success of the package in achieving it aims is a failing of the government and policy makers. It was also a central criticism made by the Child Poverty Action Group New Zealand in the court case Child Poverty Action Group vs. the Attorney General. This case was centred on the problems associated with the In Work Tax Credit but also served to reveal a failure to assess the impact that policies will have on the well-being of children. In 2009, Mason and Hannah proposed a model for this type of assessment to be included in policy development which was supported by CPAG in their most recent report in 2011, the core question in this model is whether the best interests of the child have been considered.