Fewer Kiwi children in poverty but disparity between Māori and Pākehā increasing

Child poverty in New Zealand is slowly declining but not for Māori and Pasifika. Photo / NZME

By RNZ

At just 22, Walter has weathered enough trauma to fill several lifetimes.

He has lived on the streets, been in and out of prison, and has attempted suicide multiple times.

“I was on the streets for years,” he said.

“Stealing, fighting, and smoking drugs every day.”

Poverty, what he calls a “generational curse”, gave him nowhere else to turn.

Now, he hopes to save others from the path he struggled to escape from.

Walter is one of many kids left behind, Children’s Commissioner Judge Frances Eivers says.

Children's Commissioner Judge Frances Eivers. Photo / RNZ

Judge Eivers welcomes progress on child poverty, but says more must be done.

“Good work has been done, but we cannot afford to take our foot off the accelerator,” she said, reflecting on the results of her office’s 2022 Child Poverty Monitor, released yesterday in Māngere, south Auckland.

About 187,300 Kiwi children live in poverty, 16 per cent of the population. That was well below the 2021 target of 18.8 per cent, a clear achievement - on paper.

But a demographic breakdown raises questions. Just 14 per cent of Pākehā children were living in poverty, compared to 17.8 per cent of Māori children. That gap isn’t new, Judge Eivers said, but that does not make it any less alarming.

“The data shows [the gap] is increasing.”

Although poverty continued to decline, the disparity between Māori and Pākehā children kept growing.

“That’s going to impact the whole of society,” she said.

“It’ll cost more in the health system, more in the education system, and those young ones will, as they grow into adults, be disenfranchised and won’t be able to live their best lives.”

Māhera Maihi, founder of youth-focused charity Mā Te Huruhuru and a member of Manaaki Rangatahi, witnessed first-hand the struggles of living below the poverty line.

“[My dad] was part of a gang, called the Storm Troopers, and that was the reality for us growing up,” she said.

“We were gang-life kids. I really did think that, when I was younger, I was going to be a gang member’s wife.”

Maihi said she and her 11 siblings were rarely a priority for her parents.

“I played saxophone in high school, music was my therapy,” she said.

“When I came home one day, the saxophone was gone and I looked at my mum and she was smoking something ... I won’t say what.

“Slowly our house, the material things went down and down and down, until eventually we were living on bread and milk crates.”

Lead co-ordinator of Manaaki Rangatahi Bianca Johanson. Photo: Felix Walton/RNZ

Bianca Johanson, from Manaaki Rangatahi, said New Zealand was failing to provide the basics to its children.

“We asked the children: what makes you happy, and what gives you a good quality of life? And [the answers] were really basic things.

“It’s sad to see that in Aotearoa we’re still not able to live up to giving the basics to our children.”

Judge Eivers said those experiences had serious implications for children.

“The impact is often underestimated.

“Insecurity and stress, hunger and lack of heating, stigma and shame, difficulty accessing education and health services can all affect a child’s development, emotional resilience, and the ability to navigate relationships and build trust.”

The most significant inequities were in food insecurity.

Eleven per cent of Pākehā children lived in homes that would “sometimes or often” run out of food, but that experience was true for 26 per cent of Māori children.

For Pasifika households, the statistic jumped to 37 per cent - more than a third.

Right now, the foodbank has 60 volunteers who work one shift a week. Photo / Mead Norton

Judge Eivers said change had to happen.

“We need to look at how we can better support all whānau because currently services aren’t reaching them.

“Without making significant change, we are currently forcing the next generation to pick up the pieces left by our policy choices.

“This is not fair and New Zealand must do better.”