The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) is launching a
manifesto calling on all political parties to take real
action to reduce child poverty in New Zealand.
“We
love all kiwi kids. We know what we need to do. Let’s get
on with it,” says CPAG executive officer Lyn Amos.
New
Zealand has 169,300 children living in material hardship and
more than 350,000 in financially insecure households – and
the country is now officially off track to meet the child
poverty targets it set itself in law.
Today CPAG
launched its Manifesto to Reduce Child Poverty, challenging
every political party to commit to solutions this election
year in the five priority areas of: incomes, housing,
health, disability and education.
The Budget 2026
Child Poverty Report confirmed that material hardship is
heading in the wrong direction with 47,500 more children
falling into hardship in the past three years, said CPAG
executive officer Lyn Amos.
“Child poverty is a
political choice, not an inevitability,” she said.
The
Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018 was a landmark New Zealand
law made with cross-party support in 2018 – and reaffirmed
by the leaders of Labour and National in 2023 – aimed at
halving child poverty by 2028, with material hardship down
to 6%.
“Instead, it now stands at 14.3%, which means
one child in every seven suffers from material hardship. For
tamariki Māori it is one in four; for Pacific children, one
in three; for disabled children, one in four,” said Ms Amos.
“This cannot go on.”
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Cross-party accountability to end
child poverty needs to be much stronger, she
said.
“Child poverty persists because of failures in
the labour market, housing, health and disability,
education, welfare and tax settings. These are political
choices. Lifting children out of poverty is also a matter of
priorities. We are calling on all parties to clearly commit
to taking urgent action on this.”
The Manifesto,
written by a group of 11 leading researchers and advocates
on child wellbeing, sets out solutions across five priority
areas. It calls for action on:
–
Incomes: lift the minimum wage to the
Living Wage; raise benefits and index them to wages; replace
“Working for Families” with one simple, non-discriminatory
Child Tax Credit for every child in a low- or middle-income
family; dismantle poverty traps where families can lose up
to 96 cents of every extra dollar earned.
–
Housing: build 3,500-4,000 social homes a
year; keep income-related rents at 25%; end no-fault
evictions; restore accommodation supplement asset
thresholds.
– Health: free GP and
after-hours care for all children up to 18, free GP care in
pregnancy, and more health and mental health support in
schools.
– Disability: raise the
Child Disability Allowance to $98 a week and remove the
partner income test and abatements from the Supported Living
Payment.
– Education: fees-free
community-based early childhood education and Equity Index
funding at 10% of school funding, as the Tomorrow’s
Schools Taskforce recommended.
The lead author,
Auckland University Professor Emeritus Innes Asher, said the
solutions for child poverty were clear.
“We know what
can work. During the years 2019-2022 there were reductions
in child poverty rates because of policy changes. It’s
proven. What’s missing is sustained political
will.”
The first object of good government was the
promotion of the welfare of its most vulnerable subjects,
said Professor Asher. “Without a doubt the most vulnerable
subjects are a nation’s children. Without further doubt
the most vulnerable within that group are those precious,
but faultless, children exposed to a life of poverty and
life-compromising consequences.”
It wasn’t a
question of whether New Zealand could afford to take action
on these policies, said Professor Asher.
“Let’s be
clear – we are already paying for child poverty. Fiscal
restraint doesn’t save money; it just shifts the costs on
to hospitals, emergency housing, mental health services and
the justice system – this amounts to billions of dollars a
year. The real question is whether we pay early, through
prevention of poverty, or pay far more later, through crisis
intervention.”
Every child deserved decent stable
housing, food, health care, and education, said Ms
Amos.
“Of course every politician would agree with
that. But there are some policies which help and some which
inadvertently create more poverty,” she
said.
“Children can’t vote and can’t lobby. Our
kids deserve politicians who are mature enough to come
together across the House and focus on what works – not
ideology or political point-scoring. Our children need
funding, they need focused attention, and they need
love.
“This election year, our message to every party
is simple: We love all kiwi kids. We know what we need to
do. Let’s get on with it.”
Notes:
– CPAG is an
independent charity that has researched and advocated on
child poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand for 32 years.
–
The Manifesto for Child Poverty Reduction (August 2026) and
an executive summary will be available on our website from
11am tomorrow morning. The executive summary is attached in
confidence.
– Key figures: 169,300 children (14.3%) in
material hardship in the year ended June 2025 (StatsNZ), up
47,500 since 2022; the legislated 2028 target is 6%. Child
poverty is estimated to cost 3-4% of GDP a year ($14-17.7
billion).
– Manifesto authors: Innes Asher, Gerard
Cotterell, Rebekah Graham, Frank Hogan, Alan Johnson,
Michael O’Brien, John O’Neill, Jenny Ritchie, Susan St
John, Nikki Turner, Janfrie Wakim. Five authors are
available for interview at our launch event on Thursday, 27
September at 10am at Te Tāpui Atawhai | Auckland City
Mission.
