Ministerial Committee on Poverty

The Ministerial Committee on Poverty arose out of the Relationship Accord and Confidence and Supply Agreement between the National Party and the Māori Party.

Members of the Committee include Hon Bill English, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Finance (Chairman), Hon Tariana Turia, Minister Responsible for Whanau Ora ( Deputy Chair) and the Ministers of Health, Education, Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment, Social Development, Housing, Māori Affairs and Courts.

As a working committee, it will focus on the circumstances that trap people in poverty and provide them with real opportunities to make changes and choices.

The Committee will focus on:

• the effectiveness of current approaches and responses against a backdrop of Better Public Services and getting value for money for taxpayers.
• raising education achievement, providing employment opportunities and safe, secure homes for families/Whanau.

The Committee meets at least every quarter.

See: Ministerial Poverty Committee making progress - media release from Hon Bill English, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Finance, and Hon Tariana Turia, Minister Responsible for Whanau Ora.  8 August 2012. 

See also: Research into New Zealand Income Mobility and Deprivation - related information release on the Treasury website.  Released 9 May 2012. 

MSD Projects and Work-streams relevant to Reducing Poverty or offsetting its effects (191.06 KB)

DBH Table Work-streams relevant to the MCOP (47.43 KB)

Tertiary Education Report: Overview of the current initiatives for the MCOP (352.85 KB)

Office of the Minister of Education Paper to the MCOP: Report back on Targeting ECE (1.9 MB)

MoH Health funded work-streams, research and intervention relevant to the MCOP (43.36 KB)

Briefing on income and deprivation for the Poverty Committee (63.55 KB)

Children’s Commissioner Letter (89.14 KB)

ToR for Children's Commissioner's Experts Group and Members of the Expert Group (273.24 KB)

Children’s Commissioner Experts Group - List of decisions sought from the MCOP (97.73 KB)

Maori Party Paper expressing their views on the role and focus of the MCOP (188.89 KB)

Office of the Minister of Housing Paper on Increasing the quality of housing in areas affected by Rheumatic Fever plus Appendice (95.63 KB)

Poverty Committee Framework (469.14 KB)

Aide memoire - Ministerial Committee on Poverty (258.73 KB)

Data on poverty in New Zealand (778.89 KB)