Statistics New Zealand’s data shows Māori and Pacific children are more likely to be living in hardship than the national average.

In response to the latest child poverty statistics, Mana Mokopuna is urging swift action to tackle the issue.

“Behind these numbers are children going without the basics of life. Children are going hungry and sick because of poverty, growing up without the security every child needs,” says Children’s Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad.

“We’re talking about 169,300 children living in material hardship - that’s enough to fill Eden Park more than three times.”

The data, released through Stats NZ’s Household Income and Living Survey, shows child poverty levels have stalled despite ongoing cost-of-living pressures.

The Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018 uses a multi-measure approach, including low income, material hardship and persistent poverty.

Low-income measures track households earning less than 50 % of the median income, both before and after housing costs.

Material hardship measures whether children live in households that cannot afford basic essentials such as food, heating, or doctor’s visits.

Ngā taimahatanga

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says this is an incredibly tough time for whānau.

“We wanna see a reduction in child poverty,” he says.

“If you care about low and middle-income working New Zealanders, you have to run this economy well because when you don’t, and you create high inflation, incredibly, this is the consequence.”

Labour spokesperson for Child Poverty Reduction Jan Tinetti says Luxon promised to make life better for Kiwis, but instead he’s made things harder for whānau, and tamariki are paying the price.

“The figures reflect the real choices families have to make just to get by. We’re seeing more families putting off doctor’s visits, more children putting up with feeling cold, and more children going without the basics,” she says.

He rite tonu ngā tatauranga

Earlier this month, the Salvation Army released its State of the Nation 2026 report, which showed 23.9% of tamariki Māori remain in poverty, an increase of 4,400 since 2019.

Child Poverty Action Group spokesperson Isaac Gunson noted slight differences in the Salvation Army report and the Stats NZ report that was released today.

“The material hardship rate is higher in this report compared with the Salvation Army State of the Nation report, which is obviously very concerning for our tamariki who are living in households that are being forced to make impossible decisions just to get by from week to week,” he says.

“These are decisions like turning off the heater when it’s cold because there isn’t enough money to pay the power bill. It’s not having access to a computer or internet - real key essentials that their whānau are having to juggle.”