Government aims to reduce persistent child poverty.
The New Zealand Government has set a target to lift 15,000 children out of persistent child poverty by 2035, announced Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston. This is the first time a New Zealand government has set a target to reduce persistent poverty.
According to Stats NZ, approximately 98,900 children in New Zealand lived in households experiencing persistent poverty in June 2023, accounting for 9.4% of the population. The Government aims to decrease this figure to 8% within ten years, which would require meaningful interventions that create long-term change.
The focus will be on supporting parents into paid work, improving educational achievement, and addressing the cycles of benefit dependency that trap families in hardship. A social investment approach will be taken, focusing spending on data-driven interventions with significant impact.
The Government's target to reduce persistent poverty is part of its broader strategy to improve the lives of children and young people, including a goal to lift around 17,000 more children out of material hardship by 2027.