Stats NZ this week said rising rent prices were the biggest contributor to the annual inflation rate and almost 20% of the 2.2% annual increase in the consumer price index (CPI) was due to rent prices.

NZ Property Investors Federation spokesman Matt Ball said rates alone made up 16% of the overall 2.2% increase.

"Don't forget that rates are a very important contributor into rent," Mr Ball said.

"It's one of the costs, one of the big costs that landlords and property investors face." Read more

The Government should focus Maori-led research on the causes of high poverty among tamariki instead of dismantling former Maori leaders' work, he says.

"What we know from Maori led research projects is that the data that reveals itself ... is incredibly accurate ... because our people have very good levels of access to our communities and to our whanau ...

"I would strongly encourage that approach..." he says.

The statistics

Stats NZ's newly-released child poverty data for the year ended June 2023 provides some sorry reading.

It is the fifth reporting year since the Child Poverty Act came into force in 2018.

The latest data show that, despite the push over the past few years to address poverty, there's been no improvement.

Instead, the data show an annual increase (12 months from end June 2022) in two of the three primary measures of child poverty for the country's total population.

Stats NZ data is based on nine measures set out in the Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018. It is gathered through a mixture of interviews with households and data.

Like tamariki Maori, Pasifika children and disabled children experience some of the highest rates of poverty in New Zealand. For them, Stats NZ found there was no significant change in the 2021 to 2023 years.

Durie says there are concerning signs in the data, which does not show the full picture.

What we're seeing "probably only tells us a small part of the bigger story and the bigger narrative in terms of the things that are really contributing to abject poverty" he says.

It doesn't show that Pacific children experience a higher incidence of a range of health conditions than other children for example.

These include respiratory conditions, skin infections, dental problems, ear disease and hearing difficulties.

Unacceptable and concerning

Chief Children's Commissioner Claire Achmad also finds the data concerning.

The most commonly referred to measure - children living in material hardship - jumped from 10.5 to 12.5 percent overall.

That's one in eight children, or 143,700, compared to 120,300 in June 2022.

"For the first time since 2018, we have actually seen poverty rates increasing particularly around material hardships" she says.

She defines material hardship as doing without at least six essentials including fresh fruit and vegetables, heating and regular doctors visits.

"It's unacceptable that 21.5 percent of mokopuna Maori are experiencing material hardship, for 28.9 percent of Pacific children this is their every day reality, and for 22.3 percent of children with disabilities" she says.

Achmad wants the Government to invest in children and implement evidence-based policy to help the children reach their potential.

She urged it to support Pacific-led initiatives within communities already tackling the issue of poverty.

"We need to maintain the momentum on Pasifika-led solutions for Pasifika families" she says.

Government response

The Government is introducing a FamilyBoost childcare tax rebate. It is expected to help 130,000 low- and-middle-income families keep more of what they earn, with up to $75 more in their after-tax pay each week.

Next year it aims to increase the Working for Families In-Work Tax Credit.

Source

• Otago Daily Times
• Stuff

A brewers association said broader economic and living cost pressures were impacting consumption and the hospitality sector.

Stats NZ data released today showed a 4.3 per cent decline last year compared to 2022.

The last year was challenging for domestic producers Read more

The latest child poverty statistics show there was no statistically significant improvement in the year to June 2022, and campaigners fear the situation has only got worse since then.

Stats NZ on Thursday reported no little change between 2021 and 2022, though eight of the nine measures remained better than they were in 2018, when the data was first published. Read more

Stats NZ said there was a provisional net migration gain of 15,800 people in 2022, compared to the net migration loss of 15,000 in 2021.

However, it remained below pre-pandemic net migration gains, which averaged 57,600 a year between 2014 to 2019.

"[Last year] was a year of two halves, with monthly net migration losses in the first half of the year more than offset by monthly net migration gains in the second half of the year," Stats NZ population indicators manager Tehseen Islam said. Read more

Stats NZ says food price inflation in New Zealand jumped 8.3 percent year-on-year in August 2022.

All food categories gained annually: fruit and vegetables (16 percent), grocery food (7.7 percent), meat, poultry & fish (6.7 percent), restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food (6.9 percent) and non-alcoholic beverages (4.8 percent).

Increasing prices for yogurt, two-minute noodles and tomato-based pasta sauce were the largest drivers within grocery food.

The second-largest contributor to the annual movement was fruit & vegetables; the items within this group that influenced this movement the most were capsicums, tomatoes, and broccoli. Month-on-month food prices increased by 0.4%.

Food charities

A new survey of 43 food charities from around the country has revealed that the demand for food support continues to skyrocket, as a result of the long-lasting impacts of Covid-19 and the ever increasing cost of living.

The New Zealand Food Network (NZFN) ran the survey to ask the food hubs it works with about their experience with food support between January and June 2022.

The results found that the top three reasons for requesting food support were low household income due to low paying jobs (79%), unemployment (70%), and Covid-19 isolation (60%).

International impact

International reports show food inflation is a problem stretching from the UK to New Zealand.

In the UK, for instance, a senior economist is warning "daunting" food inflation in the UK could soar to between 17 and 19 percent next year.

According to the Office for National Statistics, food inflation in the 12 months to September hit 14.6 percent.

That increase is significantly higher than overall consumer price index inflation, which was 10.1 percent.

James Walton, chief economist at the Institute of Grocery Distribution, has warned MPs that the worst is yet to come.

"Consumer food price inflation is currently around 15 percent," Walton said.

"This is as bad as it's been to date - but we do think it will go further.

"Today, we've issued a new forecast... [we expect it] will probably peak in the first part of next year, between 17 percent and 19 percent ... that is a fairly daunting prospect.

"We think that inflation will start to dissipate over the course of 2023, but it will still be above zero by the end of the year."

Walton also warned "food stress" is no longer an issue which is primarily facing those on lower incomes.

"Food stress is becoming increasingly prevalent in the UK," he told MPs.

"Not just amongst the least well off households, but actually amongst households further up the income ladder."

Last week, a YouGov poll revealed that one in six Britons are not confident they can afford to feed their families.

Young people are the age group struggling most the rising cost of groceries. Twenty-six percent of 18-24 year olds say they are borrowing money to afford food bills.

The news is on a sorry downward slope.

In September, the Food Foundation warned one in five families are facing food poverty.

New prime minister Rishi Sunak and chancellor Jeremy Hunt are coming under pressure amid the rising prices.

They are expected to provide more cost of living support when they deliver their autumn statement next week.

"Food stress is becoming increasingly prevalent in the UK.

"Not just amongst the least well off households, but actually amongst households further up the income ladder," Walton says.

Source

• Yahoo News
• NZ Food Network

In fact, the 2021 stats show New Zealand's marriage and divorce numbers are the lowest since the 1970s.

Marriages and Civil Unions

Stats NZ says last year 15,657 marriages and civil unions were registered to New Zealand residents. Of these, 312 were same-sex marriages or civil unions.

These figures show a noticeable drop from previous years (16,779 in 2020 and 19,071 in 2019).

A closer look at last year's marriages and civil unions shows 1,505 were first marriages or civil unions and 4,146 were remarriages or civil unions.

In addition, six couples (both same-sex and opposite-sex) transferred between a civil union and a marriage.

Besides these, an additional 231 marriages and civil unions were registered to overseas residents. Nine of them were same-sex marriages or civil unions.

Stats NZ says the number of marriages and civil unions has dropped significantly since its peak in 1971.

The general marriage rate was 7.7 marriages and civil unions per 1,000 people aged 16 years and over who are not married or in a civil union. (Transfers between a marriage and civil union are excluded.)

Stats NZ says this rate is below the average of 10.1 over the previous five years. It continues a long downward trend.

Even though the number of marriages is continuing to decrease, Stats NZ suggests it is likely that the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in even fewer marriages in 2021 than expected otherwise.

Divorces

Stats NZ data shows in 2021 6,372 couples were granted divorces in New Zealand.

This is the lowest annual number of divorces since 1979.

"Divorces have been generally decreasing since the early 2000s, as has the divorce rate," Stats NZ population estimates and projections manager Hamish Slack says.

"The divorce rate, which shows the number of divorces per 1,000 estimated existing marriages, has also dropped back to mid-1970s levels."

In 1974 there were 6.4 divorces per 1,000 marriages.

Last year there were 6.2 divorces for every 1,000 estimated existing marriages and civil unions, down from 9.7 in 2011.

Stats NZ also reports that 4,842 children under 17 years of age had parents who were granted a divorce last year. This number is down from 6,909 in 2011, and 8,748 in 2001.

In 1981 a change in law made it easier for couples to divorce.

Source

• Stats NZ
• Scoop
• Image: 1 News

It says the ratio of births to the number of women of child-bearing age is now 1.63. This is well below the 2.1 ratio needed for a woman to replace herself, and her partner.

Without migration, the New Zealand population will join others around the world that are shrinking.

As a comparison, in the year to September 2019, there were over 59,000 babies born in New Zealand. At the same time this year, there were 1300 fewer born over the year.

The downward trend is not a blip on the radar, says Stats NZ senior demographer Kim Dunstan.

It has been a trend over the past decade, Dunstan explains.

"They've shown a steady decline since about 2010, when the total fertility rate was about 2.2 births per woman."

Dunstan says the reasons for the declining birthrate were less about biology than social and economic factors.

It is likely to be influenced by the rising cost and shortage of housing, which is reflected in the data that shows the decline was greatest among those aged under 35.

"Fertility rates among older women though - 35 to 50 years remain relatively the same as they were a decade ago," Dunstan says.

Involuntary infertility - that included men - could also be a factor.

"But generally, the trend we're seeing in New Zealand and in other countries around the world is around voluntary choice to have children, or not, and for those having children it's about the number they have over their lifetime."

The National Institute of Demographic and Economic Analysis says the latest figures were a big drop on the same time last year.

Research Associate Natalie Jackson said there was a technical explanation.

Firstly there are currently more people in the country than there were in the September quarter last year. In addition, the data covered the period since "Covid came into our lives and played havoc with overseas travel.

"The fertility rate is essentially a ratio of births to the number of women aged 15-49 years, and there will have been a lot of women in that age group unable to leave the country, and a reasonable number at those ages returning."

Jackson says those figures combined would have increased the number of women, against which the number of births was measured.

"At the same time there have been fewer births, so - fewer births and more women, means the rate will have dropped along the lines it has."

Dunstan says while the latest data was influenced by Covid-19, it won't be clear until next year what direct impact the pandemic has had on couple's childbearing decisions."

He thinks the drop could continue if the labour market and economic conditions continue to deter people from having children.

Source

• RNZ
• Source: Te Ara