The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) is urging the government to put child poverty back on the agenda after official data showed an increase of children living in hardship over the past two years.

It’s likely an extra 36,300 children are living in material hardship compared to 2022, according to official child poverty statistics from StatsNZ released today.

"Child poverty data was trending down from 2018 but in the past two years we have seen an increase in material hardship rates which is a concerning trend," CPAG executive officer Sarita Divis said.

Stats NZ figures showed a likely 156,600 New Zealand children - 1 in 7 or 13.4 percent - are living in material hardship where their families cannot afford the basics.

Those numbers were significantly higher for Māori (23.9 percent), Pacific (28.7 percent) and disabled (21 percent) children.

"Colonisation and discrimination are at the root of these disproportionate rates for marginalised groups. The government needs to reverse the cuts made to community-led approaches."

"We know the broad brush stroke of economic growth benefits those already doing well and doesn’t help raise incomes of those struggling," Ms Divis said.

"We need to see a concerted effort with policies that we know will help. The government has ignored official advice on introducing measures to help improve child poverty rates and instead has focused on cruel actions that we know hurt children such as benefit sanctions."

CPAG urged the government to address urgent matters like food insecurity.

"For a long time now, as a country, we have lived with low wages and inadequate welfare, an unfair tax system, high housing costs, and ongoing underinvestment in key services that help the lowest-income families," Ms Divis said.

"And as our cost of living has increased substantially over recent times, along with increased unemployment, it is no wonder that parents, despite their best efforts, struggle to provide the basics for their children."

The aim of the Child Poverty Reduction Act (2018) is to address a significant and sustained reduction in child poverty.

While in opposition National supported the implementation of the act. At the time current child poverty reduction Minister Louise Upston said then the targets were not ambitious enough.

The Prime Minister also talked about child poverty in his maiden speech to parliament in 2021 and we urge both to go back to their commitments.

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