Subj : Child poverty: Numbers show marginal change, but more children in mate
To   : All
From : Major Queen
Date : Tue Feb 25 2020 02:11 pm

Despite the Government's efforts to lift tens of thousands of children above
the poverty line, only a marginal difference in child poverty has been
realised.

The latest child poverty statistics, released by Statistics NZ on Tuesday,
are the first to show measurable change since the Government legislated child
poverty targets in 2017. 

The figures show up to 14,900 were lifted above one poverty measure in the
year to June 2019. It meant a 1.6 per cent reduction of those below the
measure, from 183,400 to 168,500 children. 

But if material hardship is measured, one in eight children now live below
the line. This was a 4100 or 0.2 per cent increase, from 147,600 to 151,700
children

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been confident that 50,000 and 70,000
children will be lifted from poverty, and the Government has set a three-year
target for reducing child poverty numbers by 70,000 children - shrinking a 16
per cent figure to 10 per cent. 

But Ardern's government has been at pains to point out its welfare efforts
will not be fully visible in the numbers for years to come. 

The figures released on Tuesday show little change in the number of children
living in poverty over recent years. 

Child poverty is measured in three ways. In 2017, there were 16.5 per cent or
183,500 children measured as living in homes with income is less than 50 per
cent of the median, currently $1016 a week, before housing costs.

By this measure, there are now 14.9 per cent or 168,500 children living in
impoverished homes. 

A second measure showed, in 2017, 23 per cent or 253,800 of children were
living in homes where income is less than 50 per cent of the median income
after housing costs - meaning the amount of money left on the table after
rent or mortgages are paid. 

There were 20.8 per cent or 235,400 children living below this line at the
end of June 2019, a 2 per cent or 18,400 child reduction. Ardern welcomed
this figure, saying it shows her government is on track to meet its child
poverty targets.

But a third measure had 13 per cent of children living in material poverty,
defined through a series of indicators such as lacking two good pairs of
shoes, and the ability to see a doctor when needed.

The latest figures show one in eight children, or 13.4 per cent, are living
in material hardship. 

Maori and Pacific children were heavily represented in the figures, one in
five children living below the median income before housing costs line. This
compares to one in nine European children. 

Similarly, nearly one in four Maori children lived in material hardship. 

The margin of error for each of the results were greater than the adjustments
measured.

Stats NZ principal statistician Diane Ramsay said she could not be confident
there was a downward trend in the figures due to margin, and results in the
coming years would clarify this. 

The survey was taken between July 2018 and June 2019, meaning the impact of
the Government's Families Package launched in July 2018 will not be visible
in the numbers for up to 18 months.

Treasury has estimated the number of children in poverty would reduce between
10 per cent and 12 per cent due to the Government's package of welfare
changes.

"Child poverty is a long term challenge that will take time to fix, but
today's figures show that we've made a great start and are moving in the
right direction," Ardern said. 

"Lifting children out of poverty is an important issue to me and to New
Zealanders and while there are no silver bullets I will keep pushing for
progress.

 "Today we see the evidence that our $5.5 billion Families Package, which
lifts the incomes of 384,000 families by an average of $65 a week, is
starting to work to lift children out of poverty - but we know too that
income is only part of the solution and that free lunches in schools are also
helping kids to learn and easing pressure on families."

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