"It's appalling that a quarter of a million children now need an income from the state to feed, clothe and house them. ...
"More than a third of all Maori children were dependent (36.5 percent) ...
"Over two thirds of the children rely on a single parent. Half of the children depending on Sole Parent Support are Maori. ...
"[S]since December 2017 (when Jacinda Ardern made herself Minister for Child Poverty Reduction) the ... number of under 18-year-olds dependent on a main benefit has risen by 31.2 percent.
"Jacinda's prescription for solving child poverty [of raising benefit incomes and reducing the margin between work and welfare] was wrong.
"New Zealand's 'child poverty' problem will not be solved while high numbers of children [still] live in unemployed households. ... [N]ormalis[e] benefit dependency for children and the habit becomes inter-generational. ...
"This country's approach has to change."
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