Overall NZ poverty slightly down - report

Child poverty rates have remained largely static while overall poverty is slightly down, a new report released today shows.

The Social Development Ministry's household incomes report provides information on trends in the material wellbeing of New Zealanders based on their household incomes between 1982 and 2009 using data from Statistics New Zealand's Household Economic Survey.

Key findings included that:

* Population poverty rates fell from 2007 (18 per cent) to 2009 (15 per cent).

* Child poverty rates showed no change from 2007 to 2009 (22 per cent) - rising incomes were cancelled out by rising housing costs for many lower income households with dependent children.

* Child poverty rates for children in households where at least one adult was in full-time employment were much lower than for children in workless households (11 per cent and 74 per cent respectively in 2009).

* There were many more children in working households than in workless households, just over one in three poor children were from households where at least one adult was in full-time employment (2009), down from around one in two before working for families which started in 2004.

* In 2009, around half of poor children were from sole parent families, the highest proportion since the series began in 1988.

* Poverty rates for older New Zealanders (9 per cent) were lower than for any other age group (eg 14 per cent for 25 to 64-year-olds, and 22 per cent for dependent children, in 2009).

* The report also found little change in income inequality in recent years.

* Household incomes (after tax) rose 7 per cent - 9 per cent in real terms - across all income groups from 2007 to 2009, continuing a steady growth that began in 1994.

* Median household income grew 46 per cent in real terms from the low point in 1994 to 2009, with the growth for Maori being 56 per cent and for Pacific people 78 per cent.

* In 2009, just over two of every three two-parent families were dual earner families, up from one in two in the early 1980s - the rise being one of the main factors in driving up median incomes more rapidly then the average wage.

* In 2009, half of older New Zealanders (aged 65+) had less than $100 per week income from sources other than government transfers (super, disability allowance for example).

* In 2009, the super rate was around 48 per cent of median household income, down from 58 per cent in 2001. The decline reflects the rapid rise of the median income in real terms, while super has increased only a little in real terms in the period.

Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei said the report showed the gap between rich and poor had plateaued since National became Government.

"New Zealand has one of the biggest gaps between rich and poor in the developed world. Between 2004 and 2007 the gap was narrowing, but it has plateaued under National," she said.

Mrs Turei said she expected the gap between rich and poor to widen as government policies took effect.

"This report doesn't take this year's budget into account. It was noted at the time that tax cuts for the rich and an increase in GST are likely to widen the gap. We can expect to see evidence of this in future studies as the full impact of these policies kicks in.

"We shouldn't wait for this to happen. We need urgent action to start closing the gap now."

- NZPA