Craig Renney

#nzpol Child poverty data from Stats NZ out today. All political parties except Act agreed to the Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018, creating legally mandated targets for child poverty reduction. Right now, we are missing even the looser targets the government has set. A 🧵

This is what happens if you cut the minimum wage in real terms year after year. This is what happens if you spend more time kicking people out of housing rather than building it. This is what happens when you care more about cruise ship passengers than kids in poverty

#nzpol Child poverty data from Stats NZ out today. All political parties except Act agreed to the Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018, creating legally mandated targets for child poverty reduction. Right now, we are missing even the looser targets the government has set. A 🧵

Material poverty is particularly bad for tamariki Maori (25.1%) and Pacific children (31%). Material poverty is nearly double the rate for disabled children (26.9%) as against 14.3% for the general population. None of these indicators is improving fast enough.

#nzpol Child poverty data from Stats NZ out today. All political parties except Act agreed to the Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018, creating legally mandated targets for child poverty reduction. Right now, we are missing even the looser targets the government has set. A 🧵

#nzpol Prices for basics are rising again at a rate much faster than wages, new data from Stats NZ shows. 70% of workers got a pay rise less than 3% last year and 44% got no pay rise at all. Food prices rose 4.6% overall, with the price of white bread rising 58% this year. A 🧵

For households on the lowest incomes, annual inflation is 3.4%. For pensioners, its 3.8%. For the richest its 1.2%. The minimum wage goes up by less than inflation for 3 consecutive years in 26. That laser-like focus on the cost of living seems to be pointing at the wrong people

#nzpol Prices for basics are rising again at a rate much faster than wages, new data from Stats NZ shows. 70% of workers got a pay rise less than 3% last year and 44% got no pay rise at all. Food prices rose 4.6% overall, with the price of white bread rising 58% this year. A 🧵

Basic goods are really struggling. - Potatoes up 16.2% annually - Tomatoes up 31.9% - Kiwifruit up 40.6% - Oranges up 19.9% - Beef Mince up 18.8% - Sausages up 10.5% - Cheese up 16.5% - Butter up 17.7% - Chocolate up 20.5% If you need a coffee after that - that's up 8.2%

#nzpol I’m here at the release of the Salvation Army State of the Nation for 2026. It’s a portrait of the problems facing Aotearoa, and how we are doing in tackling them. Many of the problems we face have worsened over the past two years. A 🧵

Drug consumption has rocketed over the past two years. Meth use has nearly doubled during that time. Support for people affected by drug abuse needs more support given this weight of consumption.

#nzpol I’m here at the release of the Salvation Army State of the Nation for 2026. It’s a portrait of the problems facing Aotearoa, and how we are doing in tackling them. Many of the problems we face have worsened over the past two years. A 🧵

The number of children living in poverty is growing and troublingly, the number of children living in material poverty has now reached 156,600. The number of children referred for possible child abuse or neglect requiring further action increased 13% this year to 44,532

#nzpol I’m here at the release of the Salvation Army State of the Nation for 2026. It’s a portrait of the problems facing Aotearoa, and how we are doing in tackling them. Many of the problems we face have worsened over the past two years. A 🧵

#nzpol New unemployment data from Stats NZ today, showing the impact of an economy that isn't working. An additional 5,000 people became unemployed during the quarter, rising to levels last seen in 2015. 164,000 people are now unemployed, up 39,000 in just 2 years. A🧵

There has been a fall in filled jobs in 11 of 16 sectors over the past two years. This includes manufacturing, construction, IT & telecoms, professional, scientific, technical & admin. Forestry & mining. Wholesale Trade. The fall in employment has been broad-based.

#nzpol New unemployment data from Stats NZ today, showing the impact of an economy that isn't working. An additional 5,000 people became unemployed during the quarter, rising to levels last seen in 2015. 164,000 people are now unemployed, up 39,000 in just 2 years. A🧵

The highest number of people are in part-time work since 2017, and record numbers of people want more work but can't get it – a record going back to 2004. This hides the true unemployment rate. If you work 1 hour you aren’t unemployed. If you want more work – that doesn’t count.

#nzpol New unemployment data from Stats NZ today, showing the impact of an economy that isn't working. An additional 5,000 people became unemployed during the quarter, rising to levels last seen in 2015. 164,000 people are now unemployed, up 39,000 in just 2 years. A🧵

The number of unemployed men and women rose in the last quarter, and 7,600 more 15-24-year-olds are unemployed than a year ago. With Waitangi just around the corner - Maori unemployment was 11.2% in December 2025 – more than twice the national average.

#nzpol Stats NZ has put Household Living Price Index data - showing how the cost of living is affecting different households. The cost of living has nearly stalled if you have a high income (1.2%). The poorest have a household inflation rate (3.4%) nearly 3 times the rate of the richest.

Pensioners face an even higher rate of inflation at 3.8% annual change. Maybe not the right time for Treasury to be examining whether to means-test the Winter Energy Payment, is it? www.nzherald.co.nz/business/eco...

#nzpol Stats NZ has put Household Living Price Index data - showing how the cost of living is affecting different households. The cost of living has nearly stalled if you have a high income (1.2%). The poorest have a household inflation rate (3.4%) nearly 3 times the rate of the richest.