Child poverty rises since lockdown: report

An estimated 18,000 children have been pushed into poverty since the first lockdown, Maori and Pasifika bearing the brunt.

That is according to modelling in a report from Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), which argues children did not get the attention needed from Government through 2020.

"This increase in child poverty of around 10% comes at a time when property owners have seen their wealth rise at an accelerated rate," report co-author and CPAG researcher Janet McAllister said.

"Loss of income related to job loss was probably inevitable for many families; but loss of income to the point of inadequacy or further inadequacy was due to political decision-making.

"The Government avoided one massive health and economic crisis but it enabled another one, that of poverty, homelessness and inequality, to grow rapidly.

"It is thanks to the collective efforts of iwi, hapu, community organisations, schools, whanau and families and low-income children themselves that the crisis of poverty was not even worse."

The increase in child poverty of 18,000 is based on the "50% of Before Housing Costs median income moving" indicator, one of the Government’s three primary target indicators.

The modelling also suggests Maori and Pasifika children were about 2.5 to 3 times more likely than Pakeha children to have been pushed into poverty in the 12 months after the initial lockdown, which started in March 2020.

Changes in youth homelessness and chronic absences for low-income students were also worse for Maori and Pacific people than for Pakeha.

Ms McAllister said whanau Maori and Pasifika families bore many of the heaviest burdens in hard times and it was the responsibility of decision-makers to deliberately and actively avoid that.

Maori and Pasifika applicants were much less likely than Pakeha to be awarded the relatively generous Covid-19 Income Relief Payment, partially due to its design, Ms McAllister said.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, also Minister for Child Poverty Reduction, has been approached for comment.

The Government’s annual child poverty statistics showed while the Government was on track to meet two out of three of its child poverty reduction targets, those gains were being unequally felt across ethnicities.

The figures also did not include the Covid-19 lockdown months because the Ministry of Health did not want officials undertaking face-to-face interviews, given the Covid-19 risks.

Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft said the reports findings did not come as a surprise.

"We already knew Maori, Pasifika and disabled children were disproportionately affected by poverty. We were concerned and suspected it would be worse for Maori, Pasifika and disabled children during Covid. This report appears to confirm those suspicions."

He said he recognised what the Government had done at the time of Covid in providing specific support to families doing it tough, but said Covid-19 could not be an excuse for doing less.

He wanted to see the Government do more in housing, including introducing mechanisms to constrain rent increases, and to ensure, as an urgent priority, there was more social housing available.

More support for wrap-around community services was needed to connect those who were struggling with those in local communities who were helping, he said.

"I want the Government to do more of what they were doing prior to Covid and treat Covid as the rationale or reason for doing more, not an excuse for taking the foot off the accelerator."