Down and out in Hamilton
For the country’s poorest streets, look no further than Fairfield in Hamilton.
Even parts of Tokoroa, Huntly and Nga¯ ruawa¯ hia fare better.
A local government report has revealed that Waikato residents are living in one of the most deprived regions in the country.
‘‘The report showed that education was a big issue in the Waikato, as was income, crime and health. Housing is better, but everything else is worse than the New Zealand median,’’ the report’s author said.
The data, using 2013 Census statistics, revealed 61 per cent of Hamilton residents live in areas of high deprivation.
The top five deprived areas are all in Fairfield, not far from the city centre.
In 2013, the population was 141,612, meaning 86,383 people lived in areas of high deprivation.
Life is comfortable for those in the Waipa District, particularly in Cambridge, but there are deep pockets of poverty in Hamilton.
The report – called Socioeconomic Deprivation in the Waikato Region: Using the Index of Multiple Deprivation to Understand the Drivers of Deprivation – was presented to Waikato Regional Council.
Auckland researchers introduced a new tool to measure deprivation to better identify what drives poverty.
The tool – the New Zealand Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) – was developed using data from government departments and 2013 Census statistics.
It identified drivers such as employment, income, crime, health and education across nearly 6000 areas (also known as data zones) in New Zealand.
‘‘This report shows us that the mix of drivers for deprivation across the territorial authorities are totally different – you can’t do a blanket policy across everything,’’ Waikato report writer Rachael McMillan said.
‘‘The report has thrown up some surprising statistics that just go to show that even districtlevel deprivation can mask real local issues.’’
The report defines socioeconomic deprivation as falling below the adequate standard of living when compared with the majority of New Zealanders.
Those who are identified as deprived have insufficient access to food, education, health care and other resources.
The Waikato is the 11th most deprived of the 16 regions in New Zealand.
Canterbury is the least deprived and Gisborne is the worst.
However, Hamilton has the second most deprived data zone in New Zealand for income and crime and the third most deprived for heath.
Waharoa, in the MatamataPiako District, has the secondmost deprived zone for education, but the district overall has low deprivation.
McMillan hoped the report would help local governments.
‘‘The key element is the localised response options for localised issues – the benefit of more detailed information.
‘‘The IMD is part of building an understanding of our communities and what their needs are.
‘‘We need a grounded approach to guide decisionmaking and this tool adds to the building blocks of our knowledge,’’ she said.
‘‘The IMD helps to show where we should focus our efforts.’’
Of the 61 per cent of the 141,612 Hamilton residents living in high deprivation areas, half were in the most deprived zones.
Other Hamilton suburbs that contained areas of high deprivation were Bader, Dinsdale, Enderley, Frankton, Melville and Nawton.
‘‘The report we’ve produced has more detailed data than we’ve seen before on social challenges across Waikato.
‘‘Some of the data compiled is completely new through the measures used – crime and health indicators, to give two examples.
‘‘The intention here has been to make this a usable and informative detailed document.
‘‘And that’s what we’ve produced.
Professionals and volunteers working in communities where there are social challenges will not be surprised by the themes and findings in this report.’’