GOING GREY: By 2041 there will be fewer than two working-age New Zealanders for every superannuitant. NZH File Picture.

GOING GREY: By 2041 there will be fewer than two working-age New Zealanders for every superannuitant. NZH File Picture.

Our poorest families need urgent help, says a social policy briefing for the new Government. ANDREW LAXON outlines its findings.

Question: What is the biggest social challenge facing our politicians in the new century?

Official answer: Rescuing about 25,000 New Zealand families from a long-term poverty trap.

The assessment comes from the Ministry of Social Policy, which says about 5 per cent of families remain seriously disadvantaged and excluded from society.

"Without attention, this could lead to the long-term disengagement of part of our society and threaten social cohesion," the ministry warns in a pre-election briefing paper for the new Government.

"It is also a source of fiscal vulnerability and could jeopardise economic growth."

The ministry suggests more early intervention to help these families, along with better childcare and financial incentives to encourage the parents off benefits and back to work.

Its other big concern is that state-funded superannuation at present levels will become unaffordable within 30 to 40 years unless New Zealanders accept at least partial means testing.

The main points of the briefing are:

Families under pressure

Many families are under considerable social and economic pressure. Many now have two parents working, but almost one in four have no parent with a job.

The gap between rich and poor is growing faster than in other developed countries, and most people's real incomes have stagnated or declined in the past decade.

"The top 10 per cent of households are now considerably better off in absolute terms," the report says.

"The next 20 per cent are just holding their own, and the bottom 70 per cent are generally worse off than their counterparts 10 years ago."

Pressures on families include violence, child neglect, parental separation, increasing drug and alcohol problems and more parents struggling with personal problems "as a result of greater economic and social insecurity."

Research suggests that about 5 per cent of families are caught up in a cycle of multiple disadvantage, cutting them off from society.

A further 45 per cent are coping, but only just.