M¯aori, Pacific poverty rates ‘profoundly disturbing’

Child poverty has improved overall since 2018 according to annual figures released yesterday, but the statistics for Ma¯ori and Pasifika are ‘‘profoundly disturbing for New Zealand’’, says Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft.

‘‘To read that one in four Pasifika children and one in five Ma¯ ori children meet the criteria for material hardship ought to shock all New Zealanders,’’ Becroft said after the statistics release. It was ‘‘plainly unacceptable in a civilised community’’.

Child poverty is officially measured in a number of ways, and they all showed downward trends, Stats NZ said.

The statistics only covered the nine months to March 2020 due to

Covid-19 disruption, but Stats NZ said it was confident in the data.

For the year ended June 2020,

14.6 per cent of children – 167,100 – lived in households with income less than 50 per cent of the median before housing costs. That was down from 16.5 per cent in 2018, but up on the 13.5 per cent of children in 2019. However, it was 18.5 per cent (52,900) for Ma¯ ori children, and 20 per cent

(28,800) for Pacific children. Against the second measure,

18.2 per cent of children – 208,400 – lived in households with income less than 50 per cent of the median after housing costs. That was down from 22.8 per cent in the year ended June 2018, and very slightly lower than the 18.3 per cent in 2019. It was 20.8 per cent for Ma¯ ori children and 19.8 per cent for Pacific children.

Becroft said before the arrival of Covid-19 last year it appeared the Government was on track to meet its child poverty targets.

The Government’s $5.5 billion Families Package kicked off in July 2018, and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern set a three-year, 70,000 child poverty target in 2019 – shrinking the 16.5 per cent of children in poverty to 10 per cent.

‘‘But of course Covid was the game changer, and everyone is guessing a little bit as to the degree of the negative effect,’’ Becroft said. Post-Covid-19 the burden of its impacts was ‘‘disproportionately shared’’.

The number of children living in material hardship – defined through a series of indicators such as children living in homes that lacked shoes, the ability to see a doctor, or the ability to pay power bills – fell to 125,200 children (11 per cent) from 147,600 (13.3 per cent) in 2018. It was down also from the 2019 survey, showing 149,400 children (13.2 per cent) living in material hardship.

However, it was 19.0 per cent for Ma¯ ori children, and 25.4 per cent for Pacific children.