Child Poverty Monitor 2018: Technical Report

Abstract

Each and every child has the right to grow up to be healthy, strong, well-educated and capable of contributing to their community and wider society, as demonstrated in every international agreement to recognise and protect children’s rights. Poverty interferes with the capacity of children to enjoy this right. For children in rich countries, relative poverty also perpetuates cycles of disadvantage and inequity so that some children miss out on the opportunities to be educated, healthy or nourished compared with their peers. New Zealand ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 25 years ago, recognizing, among other things, the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child's physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. New Zealand is also a signatory to the United Nations Agenda 2030 for sustainable development that came into effect in January 2016. The sustainable development goals (SDGs) apply to all countries and recognise that ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing at all ages is essential to sustainable development.

The 2018 Child Poverty Monitor Technical Report provides the sixth consecutive annual report on implications of child poverty in New Zealand, and progress toward achieving selected SDGs that are relevant to children. The first group of indicators tracks progress toward goals to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing, ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all, and promote peaceful and inclusive societies. The second group of indicators provides information about the context in which the specific child-related issues arise, and is particularly relevant to goals to promote full and productive employment and decent work for all, and to reduce inequality within and between countries.

Previous reports in this series have featured data on children in households experiencing income poverty and material hardship. In 2018, issues relating to sample size led the Ministry of Social Development, with the support of StatsNZ, to decide not to report on low-income and material hardship rates for children. However, StatsNZ will be producing a Child Poverty Report in early 2019 which will use some data from the 2018 Household Economic Survey (HES). The Government has resourced StatsNZ to use enhanced statistical methods in reporting on child poverty from 2019, and the Child Poverty Monitor partners look forward to being able to use the upcoming data. While we acknowledge this gap in the 2018 Child Poverty Monitor, we are pleased to be able to provide greater focus on some of the ways child poverty affects children

The Child Poverty Monitor comprises a partnership between the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, the New Zealand Child and Youth Epidemiology Service (NZCYES) at the University of Otago, and the J R McKenzie Trust. The Child Poverty Monitor partners choose indicators each year, taking into consideration the recommendations of the Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty and the indicators previously included in the Children’s Social Health Monitor. These indicators contribute to a broad picture of the scale and impact of poverty on children’s lives in Aotearoa New Zealand.