Police are urging sports and community clubs across Hawke’s Bay to be vigilant following a number of burglaries targeting club premises.
Since February, Police have investigated nine burglaries at clubs across the region, with offenders causing damage and stealing items including cash, alcohol, and equipment.
While enquiries into these incidents are ongoing, Police are reminding clubs and community organisations to take proactive steps to reduce the risk of becoming a target.
Here are some ways to keep your premises safe:
Ensure CCTV systems are installed and fully operational, with cameras clearly visible and recording images of good quality.
Regularly check existing CCTV systems to ensure they are working and footage can be easily accessed.
Improve lighting around entrances, carparks, and storage areas.
Secure alcohol, tills, and valuable equipment, and avoid leaving cash on site overnight.
Ensure doors, windows, and storage areas are well secured.
Police are also asking the public and club members to report any suspicious activity, particularly around clubs after hours. This includes noting:
Suspicious behaviour
Vehicles seen near club premises at unusual times
Vehicle descriptions or registration numbers, where safe to do so.
Any suspicious activity should be reported to Police as soon as possible.
If a burglary occurs, Police are urging clubs to report it immediately and avoid touching or disturbing the scene so Scenes of Crime Officers (SOCO) can attend and preserve forensic evidence where possible, says Detective Sergeant Andrew Boyd, supervisor of the Hawke’s Bay Tactical Crime Unit.
“Clubs play a vital role in our communities, and we’re working closely with them to prevent further offending,” he says.
“Timely reporting and simple security measures can make a real difference.”
Anyone with information about these burglaries, or any suspicious activity, is encouraged to contact Police via 105, either by phone or online. Information can also be provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
An offender who fled Northland Police in a stolen vehicle was located drenched, defiant and in possession of methamphetamine yesterday.
At around 1pm, an officer in Kaeo sighted a vehicle reported stolen following a burglary.
Mid/Far North Area Prevention Manager, Senior Sergeant Clem Armstrong, says the driver saw Police and took off.
“The driver fled but was not pursued.”
A short time later, the vehicle was sighted on Waiare Road, Kaeo. The vehicle was then abandoned, and a man was seen running into the bush.
Contending with bad weather, Police established cordons to locate the alleged offender.
Around 2.15pm, a car heading north on Waiare Road was stopped by Police.
“An officer approached the vehicle and noted the passenger was soaking wet and agitated.
“Both the driver and passenger were non-compliant with officers,” Senior Sergeant Armstrong says.
The eagle-eyed officer sighted drug paraphernalia in the vehicle, and a search was invoked. Drug utensils, cannabis and methamphetamine were located.
The keys to the stolen vehicle were found in the passenger’s bag.
The driver and the passenger were arrested.
A 34-year-old man will appear in Kaikohe District Court today, charged with receiving stolen property, possession of a Class A controlled drug, and possession of drug utensils.
A 31-year-old woman has been charged with possession of methamphetamine and failing to carry out obligations in relation to a computer search. She will appear in Kaikohe District Court on 7 April.
Police are investigating an unexplained death following the discovery of a deceased person on Wainuiomata Road around 9am.
Emergency services remain at the scene, and cordons are in place along Wainuiomata Road inclusive of Reading Street and The Strand.
Members of the public are advised to avoid the area at this time.
Police investigators are currently undertaking enquiries to establish the circumstances around what has occurred, but at this stage the death is being treated as unexplained.
Further information will be provided when appropriate.
Fast-track approval has been granted for New Zealand’s largest wind farm project.
Contact Energy lodged a substantive application for the Southland Windfarm in August 2025. The proposed wind farm will be developed across 58km² of privately owned land in eastern Southland, about 30km southeast of Gore.
“Approval has taken around 5 months following the commencement of an expert panel,” Mr Bishop says.
“This project, with national benefits, will significantly increase the amount of power supplied to the national grid.
“The wind farm will generate up to 380 megawatts (MW) and provide power for up to 150,000 households and includes 55 wind turbines, each up to approximately 7MW in capacity.
Mr Jones said the project would inject $13.5 million into the local economy and create up to 300 jobs during construction. Once commissioned, it would employ about 10 to 14 full-time equivalent staff to operate the wind farm.
“The real significance of this infrastructure lies in the ability to unlock further investment and attract new industry to the region.
“The Fast Track process is about cutting through unnecessary delays to unlock the projects that matter. It gives regions the certainty and momentum they need to create jobs and drive long-term economic growth.” Mr Jones said.
Energy Minister Simon Watts says the project will make a significant contribution to New Zealand’s energy future.
“As New Zealand’s biggest windfarm to date, the Southland project will play an important part in achieving this Government’s vision of reliable, affordable and abundant energy supply for New Zealanders,” Mr Watts says.
“More generation in the system will help keep downward pressure on prices and shore up security of supply.”
“In addition to the turbines, a wind farm substation, and access roads, the project’s second major component involved grid connection work – including constructing the transmission lines needed to connect the wind farm to the Transpower National Grid,” Mr Bishop says.
“It’s worth noting this project, in an earlier form, was previously declined resource consent after years of process, largely due to concerns about landscape and visual effects on the surrounding rural environment.
“That is exactly the kind of outcome New Zealanders have been frustrated with, where projects of clear national benefit get tied up or turned down after long, uncertain processes.
“Fast-track is changing that by providing a more balanced, timely, and effects-based pathway to get critical infrastructure like renewable energy projects built.”
Fast-track by the numbers: • 15 projects approved by expert panels. • 22 projects with expert panels appointed. • 43 projects currently progressing through the Fast-track process. • 39 projects have been referred to Fast-track by the Minister for Infrastructure. • 149 projects are listed in Schedule 2 of the Fast-track Approvals Act, meaning they can apply for Fast-track approval. • On average, it has taken 128 working days for decisions on substantive applications from when officials determine an application is complete and in-scope. Fast-track projects approved by expert panels: • Arataki [Housing/Land] • Bledisloe North Wharf and Fergusson North Berth Extension [Infrastructure] • Drury Metropolitan Centre – Consolidated Stages 1 and 2 [Housing/Land] • Drury Quarry Expansion – Sutton Block [Mining/Quarrying] • Green Steel [Infrastructure] • Homestead Bay [Housing/Land] • Kings Quarry Expansion – Stages 2 and 3 [Mining/Quarrying] • Maitahi Village [Housing/Land] • Milldale – Stages 4C and 10 to 13 [Housing/Land] • Rangitoopuni [Housing/Land] • Southland Wind Farm [Renewable energy] • Sunfield [Housing/Land] • Tekapo Power Scheme – Applications for Replacement Resource Consents [Renewable energy] • Takitimu North Link – Stage 2 [Infrastructure] • Waihi North [Mining/Quarrying]
Expert panels have been appointed for: • Ashbourne • Ayrburn Screen Hub • Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project • Bream Bay Sand Extraction Project • Central and Southern Block Mining Project • Delmore • Haldon Solar Farm • Hananui Aquaculture Project • Kaimai Hydro-Electric Power Scheme • Lake Pūkaki Hydro Storage and Dam Resilience Works • Mahinerangi Wind Farm • North West Rapid Transit • Pound Road Industrial Development • Ryans Road Industrial Development • State Highway 1 North Canterbury – Woodend Bypass Project (Belfast to Pegasus) • Stella Passage Development • The Downtown Carpark Redevelopment – Te Pūmanawa o Tāmaki Haldon Solar Farm • The Point Mission Bay • The Point Solar Farm • Waitaha Hydro • Waitākere District Court – New Courthouse Project • Wellington International Airport Southern Seawall Renewal
My first few days working on Maukahuka, I felt out of kilter. I walked confidently into the bush and found everything was a little bit off. The īnaka shrub was particularly spiky, and it had a penchant for eyes. When I got into the scrub, I found I was stuck in a net of thin, interlacing myrsine trunks that held up a thick, matted ceiling at chest height. I could only get through it by crawling, my pack snagging every time I pushed forward. I saw some tussock in the distance, and aimed for it, excited for the easy travel it promised, only to find it was thick with crown fern and stubby shrubs ready to trip me. As I fell slowly but inevitably into the mud, my hand grasped for any kind of stability and caught hold of a strand of cutty grass. It sliced. I whimpered.
Getting to the tussock was like recognising a good friend across the street, running after them, and then realising they were a complete stranger. A stranger who definitely doesn’t like being accosted by random passersby. This land wasn’t the one I knew, intimately, from all my time spent working in Te Waipounamu.
I got up, because that is what you have to do when you work in the bush. You fall over all the time, but you keep getting up. I got up, but with a new understanding wedged into my being: This place is a stranger to me. I don’t know it. It doesn’t know me. And I felt very far away.
The author on one of the few cut tracks on Auckland Island, with Masked Island (small) and pest-free Adams Island in the background. 📷: Kristen Clements │ DOC
Maukahuka isn’t completely unknown to me. You could say the island is an old family acquaintance, one I’ve never met but have heard a lot about. My Kāi Tahu whānau are mana whenua here. And my Pākehā conservation roots have got to know Maukahuka in the past, too. When I was little, my dad did several long trips to the Subantarctic, researching pakake, New Zealand sea lions. My parents have a map of the Aukland Islands on their bathroom wall. I’ve spent cumulative hours looking at the shape of these hills, and such features as “a cirque lake damned behind a rock threshold” and “Fairchilds Garden — famous for spectacular and colourful megaherbs.”
The 1988 topographic map of the Auckland Islands, replete with informative captions about the geology, flora, fauna and shipwrecks. Sourced from LINZ 26/3/2026. Crown Copyright reserved.
I’ve heard the stories about the many shipwrecks here. During the 2019 COVID lockdown, my family read ‘Island of the Lost’ by Jane Druett aloud to each other, comparing the very different fates of the survivors of the Grafton, who shipwrecked in calm Carnley Harbour, to those of the Invercauld, who shipwrecked on the steep western cliffs. Then there were Neville Peat’s books about the Subantarctic, full of photos and stories of wildlife, which captured my imagination almost to the same extent that dragons and castles did. This was a real-life fantasy land, full of strange beasts and wilderness.
But perhaps my prior knowledge did me no favours when I arrived. Is it really the best way to get to know someone, to run up to a stranger and say, ‘Hi! You don’t know me, but I know all about you!’? You know nothing about me, Maukahuka seemed to say.
Looking towards the castle-like cliffs of pest-free Adams Island, rātā flowering in the foreground. Maukahuka often feels like a fantasy land, but it also provides challenges of fantastical proportions. 📷: Tōrea Scott-Fyfe│ DOC
“He meroiti te ika i rāoa ai a Tama Rereti.”
This is a whakatauki about Tama Rereti, a Kāi Tahu rakatira who journeyed into Te Moana Tāpokopoko a Tāwhaki (the Engulfing Ocean of Tāwhaki; the Southern Ocean). He travelled down in his waka Te Rua o Maahu with seventy young chiefs and two tōhuka, to find the source of the Aurora Australis. They found giant walls of ice. Then Tama Rereriti choked on a shrimp and died. It was a small fish that choked Tama Rereti, the whakatauki says. A small thing can bring down the mighty.
I keep thinking about this whakatauki as I stumble about on unfamiliar land. It’s true. If something goes wrong here, we’re a long way from help. And if we’ve forgotten anything, then that’s it, we don’t have it. All the small details are important, both for our trip and for the bigger context of the Maukahuka restoration. That’s why we’re here, after all. DOC and Ngāi Tahu are working to restore the 46,000ha of Auckland Island by removing feral pigs, feral cats, and mice, which were all introduced onto the island about 200 years ago. We’re here in the planning phase to learn everything we can, so no small fish is missed that might compromise future restoration efforts.
Exhausted, covered in mud, scratched and bruised, and having achieved much less in the day than I thought I would, I arrived back at camp feeling dejected. I have to get to know this place, I thought, as I mooched past silly sea lion pups to the comfort of my tent. The mooing of the mothers kept waking me up through the night. How do you get to know a land? I wondered, trying to reposition my bruised limbs on my thin (but surprisingly comfortable) sleeping mat. I guess the same way as you get to know anyone, I realised, woken in the early hours by the calls of an unknown seabird flapping across the sky. Time. Time, and whakawhanaukataka, and some considerately asked questions
Saying karakia for the ata and mihi to the island on a strangely calm morning walk around the coast. Auckland Island shags sit on the rocks, unbothered by the passing human. 📷: Tōrea Scott-Fyfe│ DOC
We are here for six weeks. We have time; hours of it every day. Every day, we head out to get to know Maukahuka.
I start the next day with a karakia. Walking around the coast, I introduce myself to the motu and the tai, to the manu and the pakeke, the rimurapa and the rātā. I feel better for it. Then I begin the job of getting to know this place in another way — using science and technology.
On this trip, we’re trying to get to know more about the feral cats and the mice. We get to know the feral cats through a grid of trail cameras that we’ve placed across the wider area of Camp Cove and Coleridge Bay. These cameras are our eyes in the landscape. We put different meat sausage baits in front of each camera. Our questions are: What type of meat will the feral cats eat? Will they eat the bait at all? Also, how many feral cats are there around here, and what habitats do they live in? We have our ideas, but by using this grid of trail cameras, we can come up with evidence-based answers. We can prove our assumptions wrong or find evidence that supports our hypotheses.
A feral cat caught on a trail camera. Our grid of over 70 trail cameras gives us amazing insights into the island’s feral cat population. 📷: DOC
For mice, we use the age-old method of putting out mousetraps. But we do it in a very organised way, with three lines of mouse traps in three different habitat types, checked daily for three nights. By doing this, we can estimate their abundance in those different habitats. After putting our traps out, we come back with our human assumptions. ‘The ground is so wet in the tussock, no way they’ll be there,’ we say, and ‘that scrub is so horrible, nothing’s going to be living in that.’ We’re all convinced that the coastal lines will have the most mice, snuggled up under the shelter of the rātā trees. The next three days of trapping proves us wrong. We catch the most mice in the tussock and the scrub, and the least mice along the coast. We don’t know how to think like mice — yet. That’s why we need to be here, gathering the evidence.
We take eDNA samples from the mice’s stomachs. This way we’ll be able to work out what they’re eating. We can take a guess — tussock seeds in the tops, coprosma berries in the scrub, probably invertebrates from everywhere. But with eDNA technology, we can know more details, and we can know which species the mice are having the biggest impact on. Those are the species that will be able to flourish once the mice are gone.
Blake and Kristen preparing to extract eDNA samples for a mouse diet study, making the best research lab we can out of the resources available to us. 📷: Tōrea Scott-Fyfe│ DOC
Slowly but surely, we are getting to know Maukahuka. The more time we spend here, the more evidence we collect, the more we can be sure that the removal of pests will succeed, and that it really will have a huge benefit on the native flora and fauna.
As we do this work, it feels like Maukahuka is getting to know us too. We are rewarded, daily, by small but important things. Pakake pups play together, learning social skills in the pool near our base camp. Giant petrels take off from the beach, and a black cat runs away along the coast from where it was stalking them. Korimako watch what I’m doing, full of puffed up, chiming song. A kārearea swoops me as I walk through its territory. Curious pipits on the coast run along just ahead of me, turning to watch every step I take. On a lucky day on the tops, calm and clear, I hear albatross cutting through the air before I see them, majestic and otherworldly as dragons.
And one night as we head towards bed, the sky is full of the Aurora Australis, flickering above us. Like Tama Rereti, we have journeyed to the source of the aurora. Using all the ways we can, we will do our best to leave no small fish ignored.
Aurora Australis above our camp, with Te Putea Iti a Tama Rereti (the Southern Cross) and Te Taura o te Punga (the Pointers) visible behind. According to the pūrākau, Tama Rereti’s waka capsized on their way home. The remains of the waka were burnt, and the embers floated up into the night sky to become these constellations. 📷: Blake Hornblow│ DOC
What questions do you want to ask to get to know Maukahuka a bit better? What small details do you think might be vital to our success? To hear more from the field follow DOC’s Conservation Blog over the next five weeks.
Getting to know Maukahuka is the first step toward its recovery—you can be part of this ambitious endeavour by supporting the project through the NZ Nature Fund, you can help turn every trail camera checked and every mouse trap set into a future Auckland Island free of introduced pests and full of thriving native wildlife.
I would like to acknowledge Neville Peat, conservationist, author and photographer, who passed away on the first of March this year.
A member’s bill reforming alcohol laws comes into force at midnight tonight, providing much-needed regulatory relief and clarity for the hospitality sector just in time for the Easter long weekend, says Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee.
The Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Sales on Anzac Day Morning, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Christmas Day) Amendment Bill, put forward by Hon. Kieran McAnulty, received Royal Assent today.
“As the Minister responsible for the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act, I want to provide clear guidance to hospitality businesses about what this change means in practice,” says Mrs McKee.
The Ministry of Justice has published guidance on their website for the benefit of those involved in the alcohol regulatory system.
“Thanks to this law, and a common-sense amendment from ACT MP Cameron Luxton, bars and pubs will no longer be forced to close at midnight tonight, or wait until 12.01am on Saturday morning to open.
“This is a practical fix that removes confusion and inconsistency between alcohol laws and shop trading restrictions.
“It also removes outdated requirements at restaurants and cafes for customers to order a ‘substantial meal’, and restrictions preventing alcohol from being served more than an hour before or after eating.
“Businesses that hold an on-licence can now operate under their normal licence conditions across Good Friday and Easter Sunday, as well as Anzac Day morning and Christmas Day.
“We are aware of some businesses that have been planning to open or host events this weekend, but have had concerns raised about whether doing so would be lawful, or whether they can even promote events that are conditional on the law being passed.
“This change makes it clear: those businesses can now proceed with confidence that they can operate under their normal licence conditions, without fear of falling foul of the law.
“Regulatory agencies are aware of the changes and will apply the new law from midnight tonight.
“Any business experiencing difficulties or being advised otherwise is encouraged to contact my office directly via my emailN.McKee@ministers.govt.nzwhich will be monitored over the weekend.”
Mrs McKee says the change provides long-overdue certainty for the sector.
“This is huge for hospitality, especially after a rough few years, and something I’ve been keen to see fixed for some time.
“In practical terms, it means treating Kiwis like adults. These days are important to many New Zealanders, but people should be free to recognise them in their own way.
“No business will be forced to open, and no one will be required to drink. This is about restoring choice.”
ACT MP Cameron Luxton was responsible for the amendment ensuring bars and pubs can continue trading past midnight.
“I put forward this amendment after realising that the opening night of Christchurch’s new Te Kaha Stadium would have been cut short by outdated alcohol laws on Anzac weekend,” says Mr Luxton.
“This change will also benefit hospitality businesses on other restricted trading days, including Good Friday and Easter Sunday this weekend.
“Taxpayers and Christchurch ratepayers have invested hundreds of millions of dollars into this stadium, in part to drive economic activity and showcase the city.
“It would have made no sense to undermine that opportunity during the opening weekend, when 10 Super Rugby teams and tens of thousands of supporters will be in town, simply because the day after opening falls on Anzac Day.”
Mrs McKee says the change will also improve public safety.
“The last thing we want is large numbers of people being pushed out onto the streets all at once at midnight. That creates unnecessary risk, particularly with large crowds and international visitors who may not understand what’s going on.
“Allowing venues to operate under their normal trading hours means people can leave gradually and safely, rather than all at once.
“This is a good example of MPs across Parliament working together to fix what matters and solve practical problems for New Zealanders. I hope to see more of this.”
As originally drafted, Kieran McAnulty’s member’s bill would allow businesses to sell alcohol under their normal licence conditions every day of the year – but only if their principal business is selling food (i.e. restaurants and cafes). Many bars and pubs don’t fit this requirement and therefore would be forced to remain closed under separate Shop Trading Hours Act restrictions relating to alcohol. Cameron Luxton’s amendment overrides the Shop Trading Hours Act restrictions in this narrow situation.
Home and community support workers will receive a temporary 30 per cent increase to their mileage rates to help offset rising fuel costs, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.
30 per cent boost to mileage rates for home and community support workers
Timely, temporary, and targeted support
Supporting continuity of essential healthcare services
“Home and community support workers play a critical role in delivering essential services to some of our most vulnerable New Zealanders, and we deeply value the meaningful work they carry out in communities across the country,” Mr Brown says.
“Their role requires frequent daily travel to provide care in people’s homes, and we are acting quickly to ease the pressure of rising fuel costs caused by conflict in the Middle East while they carry out this vital work.
“From today, mileage rates for home and community support workers will increase by 30 per cent, from 63.5 cents to 82.5 cents per kilometre, to help offset the cost of rising fuel prices.”
The increase will remain in place for up to 12 months, or until the price of 91 octane petrol falls below $3 per litre for four consecutive weeks. It will apply to home and community support workers who work for providers contracted to Health New Zealand, Ministry of Social Development, and ACC.
“This is timely, targeted, and temporary support to address the immediate cost pressures facing frontline workers and the services they deliver.
“We can’t control global fuel prices, but we can make sure workers delivering essential care are supported to keep services running.”
Mr Brown says this is a practical, common-sense step to ensure continuity of care for New Zealanders who rely on these services every day.
“Temporarily increasing the mileage rate for these workers recognises the vital role they play in our health system and helps ensure they can continue delivering quality care to those who need it most.
“We are committed to supporting the workforces who keep essential services running and making sure New Zealanders continue to receive the care and support they need,” Mr Brown says.
Police is still taking a firm approach to unsafe driving behaviour from travellers going anywhere on our roads this Easter holiday weekend.
Over Easter weekend in 2025, four lives were lost on roads – down from seven deaths recorded for the same period the year before.
Superintendent Steve Greally, Director of Road Policing, says we can all do much better. We still need drivers and road users to make smart decisions to keep themselves and others safe or they can expect to be ticketed, he says.
“Our staff will be out patrolling roads at any time and any where over Easter weekend and we will use the appropriate enforcement action if motorists are thought to be risking the safety of themselves and others on the roads.
“We are taking a serious stance to ensure we don’t see more lives lost on our roads.”
Police will maintain a high level of visibility on our roads in order to prevent unsafe behaviours and enforce the law with a clear focus on reducing road trauma.
Superintendent Greally urges drivers to consider the safety of others and their own when getting behind the wheel and consider how your actions, can change the lives of people in an instant.
“Decisions when driving can put a life in the balance that’s why it’s important not to overlook them whenever or wherever you’re travelling.
“Make good choices. Put that seatbelt on – both your own and your kids. You don’t need to drink and drive – get a taxi or a ride-share like Uber or Didi or have a sober driver get you home. Never use your phone while driving, that distraction could cost a life, and slow down, plan your holiday journey so you don’t have to hurry anywhere.
“Any of these will improve the chances of you arriving at your destination safely.”
The Government will enter into an agreement to support an additional 90 million litres of storage for diesel at Marsden Point in Northland to boost New Zealand’s fuel resilience as the Middle East conflict continues to impact global fuel supplies, Regional Development and Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones says.
Senior Ministers yesterday signed off on up to $21.6 million from the Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) to Channel Infrastructure NZ Ltd.
“This financial arrangement will allow Channel Infrastructure, which owns and operates the former refinery site at Marsden Point, to increase its diesel storage by recommissioning storage tanks with a combined 90 million-litre capacity,” Mr Jones says.
“Channel Infrastructure has assured the Government it can do this within two months. This is an ambitious but do-able project which will help ensure New Zealand is well-placed to weather the fuel supply issues New Zealand faces.
“While we are acutely aware of the importance of petrol and jet fuel, it is diesel that is the lifeblood of our economy. We know we have a secure supply until the end of May. If the opportunities arise for New Zealand to secure diesel supplies over and above what we are expecting, we need to be able to store it.
“Storage of fuel supplies on a large scale is an issue, given much of what we had has been sitting idle at Marsden Point for a number of years,” Mr Jones says.
Work is expected to begin on the refurbishment of the tanks, which can hold about eight days’ supply, within days. The Government will be keeping a very close eye on progress to ensure it is ready to take diesel as quickly as possible.
The RIF financial support has been secured through funds tagged for projects that have been approved in principle but not likely to go ahead.
Reporting released today shows the Government’s efforts to reduce youth offending and improve school attendance are making a positive difference in the lives of young Kiwis.
Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston says the Annual Report on the Child and Youth Strategy and the Child Poverty Related Indicators presented in Parliament this morning provides important insights, including:
offending rates for all children and young people have improved from 2023/24 and are significantly improved from 2019/20
substantiated findings of child abuse and neglect have reduced between 2023/24 and 2024/2025
regular school attendance is improving for all learners aged 6 to 16 years old
most parents had access to maternity care and have been coping well with parenting
the number of children living in food insecure households decreased between 2023/24 and 2024/2025.
It’s the second Annual Report on the Child and Youth Strategy and the Child Poverty Related Indicators set by the Government in 2024. Findings show many children and young people are continuing to thrive across a range of outcomes.
However challenges also remain, with 14.3 per cent of children experiencing material hardship in 2024/25, and an increase in the number of children in households receiving a main benefit over the last year.
“These figures reflect the challenges of continuing tough economic circumstances, which we are tackling head-on,” Minister Upston says.
“We’re focused on practical solutions, including breaking cycles of welfare dependency, creating more jobs, and improving outcomes in areas such as education, health, housing and law and order to help keep children out of material hardship in the long term.
“Through the Child and Youth Strategy we’re delivering a coordinated cross-government approach to improve outcomes for children and young people. Our work continues to be informed by our social investment approach to ensure we base investment decisions on research, data, and evidence of impact.
This year’s report also includes updates on key actions to make further progress, including to:
reduce child material hardship through programmes such as the Healthy School Lunches, Early Childhood Education Food, Food Secure Communities and Building Financial Capability
improve school attendance and educational achievement through the Attendance Action Plan and the Lifting Achievement work programme, and
contribute to reducing potentially avoidable hospitalisations through programmes such as Kahu Taurima, the Healthy Homes initiative and the immunisation work programme.
“We’re also continuing to work with and support those outside of government who work directly with children, young people and their families, whānau and communities to give young Kiwis a good start in life,” Louise Upston says.
The Strategy and 2024/25 Annual Report documents are available on the Ministry of Social Development website.
