The New Zealand Productivity Commission Te Kōmihana Whai Hua o Aotearoa (the Commission) will release the final report on its inquiry, A Fair Chance for All: Breaking the cycle of persistent disadvantage on Tuesday 20 June 2023.

The Government asked the Commission to conduct an inquiry into economic inclusion and social mobility, to generate new insights about the dynamics and drivers of persistent disadvantage and develop recommendations for system changes to give all New Zealanders a fair chance to live better lives.

Quantitative analysis undertaken by the Commission has found that one in five New Zealanders (697,000) experienced persistent disadvantage in both 2013 and 2018, with around one in twenty New Zealanders (172,000) experiencing complex and multiple forms of persistent disadvantage.

Productivity Commission Chair, Dr Ganesh Nana says, "too many New Zealanders experience persistent disadvantage. The cycle of persistent disadvantage cannot be ignored, or tolerated as inevitable, or accepted as too difficult to change.

"The costs are borne by all - individuals, families, whānau, businesses, communities, government and our entire nation. We all stand to gain when this cycle is broken," says Dr Nana.

The Commission published its preliminary findings and recommendations in an interim report in September 2022. There was considerable interest and feedback representing a range of views in the interim report, which have guided the findings and recommendations in the final report.

The inquiry heard from over 1,000 people on the terms of reference, received 69 written submissions on the interim report, and held over 140 hui / meetings, wānanga and talanoa sessions with individuals, communities, government, and non-government organisations throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.

Dr Nana says, "the terms of reference for the inquiry set a challenging scope which prompted the Commission to do things differently. Our approach to engagement was more inclusive than previous inquiries, with public input shaping the terms of reference right from the start.

"We also used systems mapping to synthesise information from multiple sources to identify the drivers of disadvantage and barriers preventing systems change. In our quantitative research we have undertaken novel longitudinal (time-series) analysis to estimate persistent disadvantage and to examine how people move into and out of disadvantage over time.

"We look forward to releasing the report and sharing our findings with the Government, agencies and the public.

"A fair chance for all, means all New Zealanders, present and future, feel proud of their cultural identities, are supported to achieve their aspirations, and have genuine choices and access to opportunities to live better lives," says Dr Nana.

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