Salvation Army policy analyst Ana Ika (pictured) says the Government's approach is misguided.

"In theory, it sounds like it'll work, but it's a simple solution for a complex issue" she says.

But sanctioning beneficiaries to push them into employment will not resolve our worsening child poverty problem.

Many people receiving jobseeker support are in complex situations.

"It's not as straightforward as putting a job in front of them and telling them to go to work" she says.

Ika notes the Stats NZ report which found that in the year to June 2023, an additional 36,000 children were living below the poverty line.

Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston said in a statement that's why the Government wants to reduce the cost of living and get people working.

"Supporting parents into paid work instead of welfare dependency is important to the Government's strategy" Upston says.

But it's not that simple, Ika stresses. People need "meaningful employment".

She notes that, as the Salvation Army works with the most vulnerable communities, they understand the intricacies involved.

"It needs a progressive approach that addresses the individual needs of those on jobseeker support.

"The current proposal around sanctioning them and ensuring that they're constantly looking for employment in our view is a harsh treatment."

The Statistics

Stats NZ's report uses three primary measures to determine poverty.

The first two look at those with less than 50 per cent of the average household equivalised disposable income before and after housing costs.

These show that about twelve percent of children account for the former; 17.5 percent make up the latter.

The third measurement found 12.5 per cent of children live in material hardship. They live in households where costs mean they can't afford to buy at least six of 17 essential items.

They also found Maori, Pacific and disabled children were worse off on all three primary measures compared with the total population.

Disparities

Ika says the "significant" disparities the statistics reveal are not new and need a targeted response to resolve them.

Some child poverty targets for European and Asian children have been met, she notes.

Looking at the bigger picture impacting child poverty is essential.

Ika mentions education levels, social housing registers and welfare - and says high rents are taking their toll.

Families sacrifice groceries to buy school uniforms. School children work 20 to 50 hours on top of their studies to support their families.

Pacific followed by Maori households are on the bottom rung of average annual household equivalised disposable income before costs, Ika says.

Furthermore, rent for poorer communities - which predominantly house Maori and Pacific people - rises faster and beyond income levels.

After paying all expenses, these factors contribute to the reasons the families which the Salvation Army supports have little or no savings or financial buffers, she says.

That's why focusing on a single factor - like child poverty - can't work.

Their families must be included. Many are sole parents, dependent on welfare and living below the poverty line.

Source

• PMN

The past ten years has also seen a downward trend in abortions, according to the latest Abortion Services Aotearoa New Zealand annual report .

The stats

Newly released figures from Stats NZ on Tuesday show that in 2022 there were 1,719​ births registered to 13 to 19 year-olds. They accounted for about one in every 34​ births that year.

In 2012, there were 3,786​ births registered to teenage mothers: roughly one in 16​ births.

These are very different numbers from those recorded back in 1972.

That was the year teenage births in New Zealand peaked. Statistics report 9,150​ teenage women gave birth, accounting for about one in every seven​ births.

Two years later, in 1974, the Auckland Medical Aid Centre Abortion Clinic opened.​

Teenage births "generally dropped" post-1972 - save for a "small peak" in 2008​. That year, one in every 12​ births (5,223​ births) was registered to under-20 year old mothers.

Stats NZ estimates and projections manager Michael MacAskill​ says teen births had generally decreased since then.

Why the decrease?

For every 1,000 women in New Zealand aged 15-19, there were 11​ births in 2022 - down from 25​ in 2012, a decrease of 55 percent.

Family Planning chief executive Jackie Edmond​ says the drop in teenage births mirrored global trends. It can be attributed in part to an increase in education and access to contraceptives.

It is very clear people need multiple contraceptive options, she says.

Increasing the range and choice in Aotearoa seemed to have made a difference, she notes. Today there are more reliable, readily accessible forms of contraception which have a lower failure rate than other forms.

However, there are still barriers, including cost, limited awareness of the range of contraceptives and health literacy of patients and practitioners.

There will always be unplanned pregnancies because no-one and nothing is perfect, she says. At the same time though, "this shows things have changed - and hopefully it continues".

Improved education also made a difference, with schools offering a range of relationship and sexuality programmes in their curricula, Edmond says.

"But we also know this is patchy. The quality and amount [of such education] is patchy as well."

There are "lots of great teenage parents out there" and many young people did "an awesome job".

At the name time, pregnancy at a young age could have long-term impacts on people's lives, so the downturn was "good to see", she adds.

Source

• Stuff

Statistics New Zealand today released its year-on-year update on births and deaths between September 2021 and September 2022.

It showed a "sharp" 10 per cent increase in the mortality rate, with 38,052 registered deaths up from 34,578 in the previous 12 months.

Of these, 5 per cent - or 2025 deaths - were attributed to Covid, according to the Ministry of Health data. Read more