This should be one of the defining issues of Election 2026.
Around 169,300 children — 14.3 percent, or approximately one in seven — are experiencing material hardship in Aotearoa. That’s around 47,500 more children than in 2022, and the rate is now at a ten-year high.
But the national number disguises an even harsher reality.
Around one in four tamariki Māori — 25.1 percent — are living in material hardship. For Pacific children it is around 31 percent, while disabled children are also disproportionately affected.
Material hardship isn’t an abstract economic indicator.
It means households going without things most of us regard as basic necessities — sufficient food, heating, clothing, healthcare and the ability for children to participate normally in everyday life.
The Child Poverty Action Group says New Zealand has moved in the wrong direction and has launched an election manifesto challenging political parties to act across income, housing, health, disability and education.
There is also an uncomfortable piece of political history here.
Parliament passed the Child Poverty Reduction Act in 2018 with broad political support and established targets for reducing poverty. CPAG says the country is now off track, with material hardship moving away from, rather than towards, the longer-term goal.
So perhaps Election 2026 needs a very simple test for every political party.
Tell us what you will do, tell us how much it will cost, tell us how many children it will lift out of hardship — and tell us when.
Because another election campaign filled with promises about economic growth means very little if tens of thousands of tamariki remain cold, hungry or unable to see a doctor.
