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
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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Changing the Story – Poverty panel discussion
By Maxim Institute
Every society tells a story about the good life, getting a fair go, or what it takes to live well….
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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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Inspiring Sustainable Development Goals
By Jane Silloway Smith
Since the UN announced their new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—17 broad goals with 169 specific sub-targets for the world to…
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An unrealistic opportunity for equality
By Kieran Madden
If we were looking for a value that everyone could get behind, surely equality of opportunity would be a hot…
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“Skyrocketing” rhetoric no good for struggling families
By Kieran Madden
Strong words were exchanged in Parliament and in the media following the release of MSD’s annual Household Incomes Report and…
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Making work pay in the UK
By Kieran Madden
The freshly-elected UK Conservative Government unveiled their first budget last week. Pointedly reminding those in the House of the sluggish…
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Is education the great equaliser?
By Kieran Madden
Last week, New Zealand got a glowing report card from the OECD for our economic performance and the policies set…
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The making of resilient families
By Keiran Madden
While most of the stories behind families in poverty are tinged with despair, many are gilded with hope. Because poverty…
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Inequality expert features Maxim Institute’s poverty definition
Max Rashbrooke, a prominent voice on inequality in New Zealand, blogs about Maxim Institute’s most recent poverty research paper. He…
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What makes you poor?
By Kieran Madden
What does poverty look like in New Zealand? Who is poor? How did they get there? What’s keeping them there?…
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Poverty work featured on Newstalk ZB, NZ Herald, and Kiwiblog
Maxim Institute’s policy paper The Heart of Poverty – defining and measuring what it means to be poor in New…
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Food in schools: focus on real outcomes
Some Kiwi kids are going to school hungry. Learning is hard when you’re hungry, and getting ahead in life is…
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Family at the heart of social policy
By Kieran Madden
It takes a family to raise a child. While the short-hand term “child poverty” is much easier to express than…
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