Recent Stats NZ findings have shown that there is likely an additional 36,300 children living in material hardship, compared to 2022.
In 2018, the Child Poverty Reduction Act passed, which received cross-party support, helped in creating a downward trend in these statistics. However, these Stats NZ findings show that there has not been any substantial changes to the nine poverty measures from June 2022 to June 2024.
Overall in Aotearoa, an estimated 156,600 children are living within these conditions, which is roughly 1/7th of the population.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the Executive Officer for Child Poverty Action Group, Sarita Divis, about what has caused this increase, and what the government should be doing to tackle these concerning findings.
Firstly, they started off by asking her about what reasons there might be for this upward trend in recent years.