17 December 2024

Today’s fiscal update highlights the importance of a renewed commitment to addressing persistent child poverty, says Chief Children’s Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad.

Latest Stats NZ data estimates that around 100,000 children (9.4%) are experiencing persistent poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand, a measure defined as children living in households with less than 60% of the median household income for at least three of the last four years.

The Government has recently set its three-year persistent poverty reduction target at 10%, and a ten-year reduction target at 8%, and the Chief Children’s Commissioner is raising concerns about tens of thousands of children remaining stuck in entrenched poverty around the country.

“The depth of need in our communities amongst families and whānau remains immense, with the cost of living continuing to put significant strain on households and as a result, on mokopuna. Today’s fiscal update highlights further the need for more support for families and whānau who are living in persistent poverty. I’m calling for a strong and enduring focus on child poverty reduction as an essential part of a social investment approach. There’s an urgent need for practical policies and interventions focused on addressing persistent poverty.

“Evidence is clear that the experience of poverty, especially when it is persistent, adds a heavy burden of stress on families and whānau. The impacts are cumulative and can negatively affect children’s development, health and opportunities as they grow. Persistent poverty can have negative ripple effects for their whole lives.

“We also know that the impact of poverty is unevenly distributed, with mokopuna Māori, Pacific and disabled children disproportionately affected,” says Dr Achmad.

The Child Poverty Reduction Act, supported widely across Parliament in 2018, came with a commitment to halving child poverty by 2028. This is still achievable, but will require a clear plan and sustained cross-party commitment, she says.

“Children only get one chance at childhood. Bold, collective action, and sustained courageous leadership on this issue by our current and successive governments is essential, to prevent another generation of mokopuna suffering the consequences of poverty.

“We need ambitious child poverty reduction targets that match the scale of the challenge and sustain the commitments made under the Sustainable Development Goals to halving child poverty by 2030. This requires urgent, practical action to improve the wellbeing of our children – especially those who are most disadvantaged. The Government has set ambitious Public Service Targets, and I call for the same level of ambition to be applied to child poverty reduction.

“As stated in the Government’s own recently launched Child and Youth Strategy, childhood represents a huge opportunity to set people on a positive path so that they lead healthy, productive and fulfilling lives, contributing to their communities and the economy, and achieving their full potential.

”From a cost-benefit perspective, the case for making significant shifts on both material hardship and poverty persistence in the lives of children and whānau is clear. Now is the time for bold leadership and an enduring cross-party, long-term commitment to lifting the weight of poverty off mokopuna and their families and whānau.

“Ending child poverty needs to be an enduring project of national significance. Let’s collectively decide to build a country where all our children grow up with the resources and opportunities they need to thrive. Halving child poverty is still within our grasp - but we need to have high ambition and commit to it, together,” she says.

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