Poverty
About Poverty
How we treat those who are struggling is one of the key markers of a compassionate society. We’re committed to investigating the reality of poverty and deprivation in New Zealand, with the purpose of contributing well-researched policy recommendations that have the potential to transform and redeem the lives of our neighbours who need help.
Most Recent Activity
Investing in people, regardless of return
By Julian Wood
Like the proverbial frog in the slowly heating pot, many of us are blissfully unaware of the change currently going…
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The State must serve
By Kieran Madden
Is the government’s flagship Social Investment approach simply the “incremental privatisation of social services?” When journalist Richard Harman posed this…
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The trust trade-off
By Kieran Madden
The Government is going all in on its Social Investment strategy for fixing social ills, but the big data it…
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Creating opportunities to contribute
By Danielle van Dalen
Last week New Zealander Robert Martin took up his position in Geneva as Spokesperson for Disabled People on the United…
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Valuing access to work
By Danielle van Dalen
Unemployment is costly. It costs the unemployed person and it costs society. For plenty of people with disabilities this cost…
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Poverty in New Zealand – The Heart of Poverty research series
By Kieran Madden
Every society tells a story about the good life, getting a fair go, or what it takes to live well. Sadly,…
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Welfare to work?
By Kieran Madden
Just where do people go when they move off a benefit? It’s a serious question that demands an answer. Why?…
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Removing the barriers
By Danielle van Dalen
I was 12 when my grandfather lost his eye and was declared officially blind. In the following months and years…
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The true cost of getting “Ready for Work”
By Julian Wood
Labour’s “Ready For Work” policy is a great idea. Unveiled at the party’s conference, the plan offers on the job…
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Not helping harms us
By Julian Wood
Last week the Hamilton Central Business Association enacted the “Your Help May Harm” campaign, aiming “to educate the public on the…
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Posturing doesn’t help those facing poverty
By Alex Penk
“I know that’s not PC, but you know, that’s me,” said Judith Collins last week as she commented on child…
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Between risk and reality
By Kieran Madden
We use statistics to inform policy development and public discourse—it is a tool to better society. But like most tools,…
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Working hard, still struggling
By Danielle van Dalen
In New Zealand’s poverty debate, work is often touted as the silver bullet solution, the one thing that will solve…
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Social insecurity
By Kieran Madden
Humans deeply yearn for security. Safety, in both its physical and economic forms, is solidly perched just above physical survival…
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“Hopeless” Kiwis
“A lot of the Kiwis that are meant to be available [for farm work] are pretty damned hopeless. They won’t…
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Connecting communities with help
By Jeremy Vargo
Last week I had a fascinating conversation. I was talking with Lisa Woolley in her office at VisionWest: a large…
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Pathways to poverty report in the news
Maxim Institute’s third report in the Heart of Poverty series received sustained attention on the day of release, with our…
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The Heart of Poverty Series #3: Uncovering the pathways in to and out of disadvantage in New Zealand
By Kieran Madden
Around 10 to 15 percent of New Zealand families are stuck in persistent poverty that will keep them trapped there…
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The Heart of Poverty Series #2: Defining and measuring what it means to be poor in New Zealand
By Kieran Madden
Who is poor? How did they get there, and how has poverty damaged their lives? This set of recommendations on…
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Living Wage disputes
By Kieran Madden
Last week, the Government announced that the minimum wage will soon rise by 50 cents to $15.25/hour, higher than the…
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