Child abuse - a product of 23 years of neoliberalism

Amongst all the outrage of the moment about child abuse, there's at least two voices putting some sort of decent leftwing explanation forward: John Minto and Chris Trotter. Both columnists argue that child abuse in this country is an affect of 20+ years or Labour and National's neoliberalism. Minto's column in today's Christchurch Press calmly and rationally explains how prior to Labour's economic reforms 'Child-abuse deaths for Maori were on a par with the rest of New Zealand... [But] A few years later it spiralled out of control. For the period 1991 to 2000 the figures were 0.67 [per 100,000] for non-Maori but 2.40 for Maori' when Maori unemployment peaked at 26%. Unsurprisingly, the dysfunctional families that resulted produced dysfunctional behaviour such as child abuse. Trotter also discusses the anomie and alienation that resulted from a New Zealand that now lacks social solidarity. He says 'Locate on a map of New Zealand those communities where "Rogernomics" and "Ruthanasia" bit hardest, and you will discover an alarming correspondence with the communities experiencing domestic violence, child abuse, gang affiliations and crime at their worst.' Both Trotter and Minto advocate a change in economic priorities. Minto goes further, and suggests 'The statistics relating to child abuse should be carved into slabs of granite along with the names of those who drove these families into poverty' - namely Labour, National and all their fellow travellers.