1. Question No. 1—Social Development and EmploymentANGIE WARREN-CLARK (Labour) to the Minister for Social Development and EmploymentORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSQuestion No. 1—Social Development and Employment1. ANGIE WARREN-CLARK (Labour) to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What reports has she seen on material wellbeing?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development and Employment): Today Growing Up in New Zealand released the first two reports of their Now We Are Twelve" research studies. The report shows that 90 percent of young people in the study are living in material wellbeing. This shows that this Government's commitment to prioritising our tamariki and rangatahi and investing in our whānau and communities is starting to have an impact. The findings from this study align with figures released from Statistics New Zealand last month which uses different data and a different methodology and shows that we have lifted 28700 children out of hardship since coming into Government. Growing Up in New Zealand is Aotearoa's largest and most diverse longitudinal study following the lives of more than 6000 young people and their families.Angie Warren-Clark: What does the report say about the wellbeing of 12-year-olds?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: The report says that most 12-year-olds were living in homes where their family and whānau had access to essential resources and only rarely were these households having to cut back or delay the purchase of everyday essentials. The findings in the study suggest that most of the cohort have what they need in terms of basic living standards and most importantly provide us with new insights into how families are faring two years into the COVID pandemic. This builds on findings from other data which shows that 77000 fewer children are in poverty on the after-housing costs measure since Labour took office; 109000 families with children are better off by an average of $181 per week when compared to 2017; and there has been a drop in children in food-insecure households from 24.1 percent in 2012-13 to 12.5 percent in 2021-22.Angie Warren-Clark: What has the Government done to address the number of people living in material hardship?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Growing Up in New Zealand's data shows that compared to 90 percent of young people considered to be living in no or little material hardship 9.6 percent were living in material hardship with less than 1 percent scoring at the extreme tail-end. Since this data was collected in 2021-22 we have continued to make changes that will improve the lives of these children and hundreds of thousands of others. Despite the most challenging economic conditions in a generation or more we are continuing to make changes that will benefit families including successive increases to main benefits Working for Families improvements increases to accessibility of childcare assistance and consistent rises in the minimum wage. While the data shows that most children in the study at 12 years old are not in hardship we certainly know there is more work to do.Angie Warren-Clark: What is the Government doing this year to improve material wellbeing in light of the report?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Our 1 April changes aim to improve material wellbeing even further by putting more money into the pockets of New Zealanders; 1 April saw further cost of living support rolled out to 1.4 million New Zealanders including families seniors caregivers students workers and those on main benefits. For example from 1 April 345000 families including 646000 children will be better off through increases to Working for Families tax credits and more than half of New Zealand families with kids including around 10000 more children may be eligible for subsidised childcare assistance through our expansion of the income thresholds. While these increases won't solve everything they will help to ease some of the pressure and right now every bit counts when making ends meet."