Office of the Childrens Commissioner

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Foreword

This report was commissioned by my office and Barnardos because of the importance of child poverty in shaping the life experiences and opportunities of children in New Zealand. The work for this report began in 2007, long before the release of Child Poverty Action’s Report, “Left Behind”, earlier this year, and before the report of the Christian Council of Social Services. There are mutually reinforcing themes in all of these, but this report includes the latest possible data.

The common conclusion of all of these reports was the urgency and importance of child poverty as a social and economic priority. Whatever views the New Zealand public may have of the impoverished, it is true that in our country the poorest are most often children. They are the ones who will bear the brunt of economic and social policies that do not take account of their effect on child poverty.

We must learn the lessons of the past. During the late 1980s and 1990s, New Zealand experienced a doubling in the rate of child poverty. This should never be repeated. Furthermore, we must redouble our efforts to ensure that children really do get the best possible start in life, irrespective of the social status of their parents. We live in a society committed to values of fairness and equality for our citizens, and nowhere should this be clearer than in the way we care for our children.

There have been substantial improvements in the rates of child poverty, especially for some particular groups of children. There have been almost no improvements, or minimal improvements, for others. Extension to the Working for Families scheme made in April 2007 will continue to improve the situation for our poor and most vulnerable children and their families, but we must also look at how improvements can continue to be made for them.

This report has included extensive involvement by the Reference Group, composed of people with knowledge in the areas of child health, housing, social policy, education and child welfare. I want to record my personal thanks for the contribution made by these very busy people, and also to a number of others who have made a massive difference to the quality of the report.

In tandem with the writing of this report, selected groups of children and young people from around New Zealand worked on defining poverty from their perspective. Then they put their thoughts into words and pictures. Some of their perspectives are reflected in quotes within this report. More of their comments and some of their photos and artworks will be released over time in other documents.

In particular, my thanks of course to the authors Michael Fletcher and Maire Dwyer, who have gone beyond the call of duty in their work for this report. Also, thanks to the other funders of the report, Barnardos who are its co-sponsors and the JR McKenzie Trust.

Finally, thanks to the two external peer reviewers Dr Simon Chapple, who is based with the OECD, and Rex Hewitt, working for Manukau City Council.

The report includes a series of proposals that constitute an action list for reducing child poverty. Some of these are ‘big ticket’ items and some are small. All of them will contribute to a positive trajectory for children’s development leading away from poverty and social exclusion, on to a more positive future not just for them, but for all of us.

Dr Cindy Kiro
Children’s Commissioner
August 2008

View the Executive summary and summary of proposals for action