The Government has extended funding for community food providers.
The Government has extended funding for community food providers.
One in seven New Zealand children is going without the basics, with Māori, Pacific and disabled children disproportionately affected.
New figures from Stats NZ show material hardship and poverty rates remain persistently high, with no major change from the previous year. The survey was conducted between June 2024 and July2025.
Around 14% of Kiwi kids are living in material hardship, meaning they lack or cannot afford certain items or services from the specified list, taking action such as putting off a doctor’s visit or putting up with the cold to keep costs down.
A household is classed as facing material hardship if it lacks seven or more of the 18 items, and in severe material hardship if it lacks nine or more.
One in four – or one quarter – of Māori children, one third of Pacific kids and one in four disabled children are living in material hardship.
While Stats NZ has income-based measures of poverty, material hardship rates indicate the actual day-to-day living conditions of New Zealand households and their ability to afford things most people would regard as essential or near-essential, such as food and clothing.
Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston said the Government was taking action on the issue by “fixing the basics”.
“Reducing child material hardship is a particular focus of mine as minister, and it is a priority in our Government’s child and youth strategy,” she said.
“Today’s stats were expected and show there has been no statistically significant changes in the three primary child poverty measures compared to 2023/24.”
Unemployment was the last thing to come right after a recession, she said.
“That is why our Government is focused on growing the economy, reducing the number of people on the Jobseeker benefit and reducing the number of children in benefit-dependent households.”
Labour’s child poverty reduction spokeswoman, Jan Tinetti, said the figures were a “disgrace” and reflected the “real choices” families had to make to get by.
Jan Tinetti is Labour’s child poverty reduction spokeswoman.
“We’re seeing more families putting off doctor’s visits, more children putting up with feeling cold, and more children going without the basics.”
Addressing child poverty was a priority for former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who was the minister responsible during her term in office. Requirements for the Government to report and track child poverty were introduced in 2018.
Upston said last year that the Government’s efforts to reduce material hardship included lifting the threshold for the Working for Families tax credit.
She said the Government had also extended funding for community providers to source and distribute food through food hubs and food banks, and reprioritised funding to deliver additional social housing places and affordable rentals.
Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.
