The Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) notes the release of the latest figures on child poverty
by Statistics New Zealand (SNZ), which provide greater clarity on the severity of one of our most urgent national
challenges.
The statistics indicate that one in five children / tamariki and youth / rangatahi in Aotearoa New Zealand are
experiencing deprivation, half of which are in circumstances of severe poverty.
We welcome the use of measures that have improved the data collected by SNZ on this issue,
including the factoring in of household costs and the impact of these on spending power.
By including certain living costs in the analysis, the Association believes that the reality of the issue has been
better represented; past estimations were based on data collected in the Household Economic Survey (HES), which was more
narrowly focused on income and general trends.
The figures released this week represent a stark reminder of the need to provide greater support to struggling families
/ whānau. The insights provided by the new statistics demonstrate clearly that the problem of unaffordable housing- and
the wider issue of the cost of living in Aotearoa New Zealand- is having a major impact on an already acute child
poverty crisis.
It also shows that in order to improve the wellbeing of our children / tamariki and youth / rangatahi we need to make
use of multi-factorial analysis that looks at the interconnected nature of social problems. .
Social workers bear witness on a regular basis to the long-term consequences of deprivation in households across
Aotearoa New Zealand, in particular on those in key developmental stages of life.
Accordingly, the social work profession, including the Association, has for many years been advocating for greater
efforts to reduce inequity, pay disparity and the cost of living, alongside our calls for heightened action on child
poverty. We do so again now, while looking forward to future data which will indicate the first effects of the Child
Poverty Bill.
Given their greater accuracy, it is fitting that these updated figures will be used as a baseline against which
improvements can be measured and we welcome the fact that SNZ will release data using expanded samples in the future.