The Government's approach to child poverty
The Government's focus is on changing the circumstances that trap people in poverty, by providing them with opportunities to make changes and choices. It therefore aims to address the long-term drivers of child poverty to achieve reductions in poverty rates. Reducing child material hardship is a priority in the Government's Child and Youth Strategy.
A key driver of child poverty is living in a benefit-dependent home. The Government is committed to supporting parents who are receiving a benefit into work, including as part of the target to reduce the number of Jobseeker Support recipients by 50,000. An important element of this is making work pay. The Government will also continue to focus on factors in childhood that increase the risk of long-term disadvantage, including school attendance and achievement, avoidable hospitalisations, and housing affordability.
The principles of social investment - intervening earlier and more effectively - will guide decisions on where to invest and what to do differently to improve outcomes for New Zealand's children and young people.
A stronger economy will also help facilitate an improvement in child poverty measures - both directly, by providing more opportunities and higher incomes, and indirectly, through the Government's ability to fund high-quality public services and programmes.