Findings of child poverty report a ‘national shame’

The Ministry of Social Development published its Child Poverty in New Zealand report on July 23. It revealed a growing percentage of children in material hardship, reaching 13 per cent between 2023 and 2024, up from 11 per cent three years prior.

Children’s Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad said the Government was failing to protect the rights of the 170,000 children living in poverty right now, up by 47,500. She said the report “shines a light on what has become a national shame in our country”.

New Zealand did better than the European Union average of 14 per cent, but it was overtaken by several other countries – Lithuania, Latvia, Italy, Portugal and Cyprus – it had previously done better than.

“New Zealand is a small, relatively rich country. It’s inexcusable for us not to be at the right end of these rankings internationally,” Dr Achmad said.

“What material hardship means, for example, is that we see children who are going hungry. They are cold because they are in severe housing deprivation. They’re also experiencing preventable respiratory illnesses, which can actually lead to death and can have a lifetime impact on their health.”

She said childhood poverty could have a lifelong impact on health, education and justice outcomes.

“Preventing child poverty is absolutely urgent, because to not do so means that children are missing out on their basic rights in childhood,” she said.

“We are simply not going to move forward as a country if we keep leaving thousands of children behind.”

Dr Achmad finishes as Children’s Commissioner on July 31.

FULL STORY

Report on child poverty reveals ‘national shame’, Children’s Comissioner says (By Anya Fielding/Radio New Zealand)

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