Child poverty in New Zealand

NZ: One in four children in poverty - report

A new report suggests a quarter of the country's children are living in poverty and 10% are in severe poverty.

Radio NZ,

9 December, 2013

The first Child Poverty Monitor, released on Monday, aims to measure the progress of poverty indicators annually to reduce hardship and raise awareness.

According to the report the percentage of children in poverty has nearly doubled in the past three decades; from 14% in 1982 to 25% percent today.

It found 265,000 of children are now in poverty, meaning their families live off less than 60% of the median household income.

Of those 180,000 are missing out on basic necessities like a good bed, doctors visits, heating, meat and fresh fruit and vegetables.

The report says 10% of children are in severe poverty, which means they are going without the things they need and their low family income means they don't have any opportunity of changing this.

Hospital admissions have risen to 40,000 children a year since 2007, with asthma, bronchiolitis and gastro the most common complaints.

Mother of six Rae Porter and her husband are unemployed and receive just over $600 in benefits. The 36-year-old says her biggest battle is making sure her children are fed and there are days when they go to school with no food.

The Child Poverty Monitor is a joint project by the JR McKenzie Trust, Otago University and the Children's Commissioner.

Children's Commissioner Russell Wills told Radio New Zealand's Morning Report programme the most effective way to reduce child poverty in this country is to having a plan enshrined in legislation.

"It needs to hold future ministers and chief executives accountable and we need to set targets. Then, what we'll see, like the road toll and drink driving, is that child poverty will decrease slowly over time."

Dr Wills, who is also a paediatrician, says he sees many examples of severe poverty, particularly in Maori and Pacific children, who are living in crowded cold and damp homes and end up sick in hospital.

Prime Minister John Key has defending his Government's policies on child poverty saying it has stepped up work on home insulation and rheumatic fever and maintained other programmes during the global financial crisis.

Mr Key told TVNZ's Breakfast programme that at a time when other countries were cutting spending on citizens the Government maintained programmes such as Working for Families and income-related rents,

He said child poverty was only slightly less under the previous Labour Government which had the biggest financial surplus in New Zealand's history