Teddy bears were given to every member of Parliament yesterday, as a reminder of the hundreds of thousands of Australians children living in poverty.

In fact, the End Child Poverty campaign, part of the Valuing Children initiative, predicts that by the end of this year, there will be a million Australian children living in poverty.

A million.

Tony Pietropiccolo AM, Chair of the End Child Poverty Leadership Committee:

“We are calling on all members of this 48th Federal Parliament to come together and enact legislation to end child poverty by 2030.”

Campaigners say the legislation should include a child-centred definition of poverty with measurable targets and actions.

When children are denied the basic conditions for growth, it is not only their immediate comfort that suffers—it is their dreams for the future, their sense of belonging, and the strength of our entire society.