Economist and child poverty expert Professor Susan St John says New Zealand First’s proposed Kiwi Kids Grant has sparked an important national conversation, but warns that meaningful reductions in child poverty will only come through long-term income security, affordable housing and sustained investment in families.
Speaking with Dale Husband on Radio Waatea, Professor St John said the proposal to provide financial support to encourage New Zealanders to have more children may attract attention, but questioned whether it addresses the deeper structural issues affecting whānau.
“I’m not sure this Government gets it,” she said, arguing that raising children is fundamentally about providing families with confidence that they can afford secure housing, nutritious food, education and healthcare over many years—not simply at the point a child is born.
The discussion comes as new child poverty figures continue to paint a concerning picture for Māori communities.
Recent data highlighted by Te Ao Māori News found that one in four Māori children are living in material hardship, reinforcing longstanding concerns about inequities in income, housing and access to essential services.
Professor St John said those figures demonstrate that while individual initiatives may help some families, New Zealand still lacks a comprehensive strategy capable of breaking intergenerational poverty.
She said reducing child poverty requires policies that provide certainty throughout childhood rather than isolated interventions.
Professor St John said financial insecurity remains one of the biggest barriers facing many families.
She argued that income support cannot be considered separately from housing policy, with rising rents and mortgage costs continuing to absorb a growing proportion of household budgets.
For many whānau, she said, stable housing is just as important as income support because children thrive when families have certainty about where they will live and can remain connected to schools, communities and wider whānau networks.
New Zealand First recently unveiled its proposed Kiwi Kids Grant, describing it as part of a broader strategy to encourage New Zealanders to have more children while responding to declining birth rates and demographic change.
Professor St John acknowledged that declining birth rates are a legitimate policy challenge, but said governments must also ask why many young New Zealanders feel unable to start or grow their families.
She said decisions about having children are increasingly shaped by housing affordability, employment security, childcare costs and confidence in the future economy.
With child poverty expected to remain a major election issue, Professor St John said political parties should avoid viewing children through the lens of short-term election commitments.
Instead, she believes New Zealand needs a sustained national commitment to lifting family incomes, improving housing affordability and ensuring all children—regardless of where they are born or their ethnicity—have the opportunity to thrive.
For Māori communities, she said, that means recognising the disproportionate impact of poverty while supporting Māori-led solutions that strengthen whānau and improve long-term wellbeing.
As political parties continue unveiling family-focused policies ahead of the 2026 General Election, Professor St John said the measure of success will not be the size of individual payments, but whether fewer children are growing up in hardship in the years ahead.
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