More children are going hungry and statistics showing children in material hardship continue to get worse.

“I’m worried about children in this country, who seem to be becoming more and more of an afterthought by the day,” Labour child poverty reduction spokesperson Jan Tinetti said.

“The Government has reversed the measure Labour put in place to ensure benefits rise with the average wage – which the Children’s Commissioner said at the time was the single best thing a government could do to lift children out of poverty.

“They are running the school lunch programme into the ground, meaning more children aren’t getting the hot, healthy meal that was sometimes their only one in the day.

“They’ve squeezed lower-paid Kiwis, by refusing to lift the minimum wage in line with inflation – while at the same time they are failing to tackle cost of living issues like they promised.

“They cut public services for measly tax cuts, which have been more than offset by their decisions to cut free prescriptions, cut free and half-price public transport, and introduced a rebate scheme for childcare that isn’t delivering what was promised.

“Just this week, Nicola Willis wouldn’t commit to not cutting the best start payment, which helps out new parents and the winter energy payment which helps families heat their homes in winter.

“The Government must prioritise investment in children and stop making cuts that make families’ lives harder,” Jan Tinetti said.