Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston says increased costs are putting pressures on children, when getting a good education should be the priority. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
The Minister for Child Poverty Reduction says there are no plans to increase the minimum wage after a report shows school students are working up to 50 hours to support their families.
A report from the Child Action Poverty Group says 15,000 teenagers are working to put food on the table and attending school at the same time.
Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston told Checkpoint the focus needed to be on their education and their parents working.
"My focus in terms of lifting children out of poverty is ensuring that we've got more of their parents in work, that's the best way to lift their incomes and at the same time, the government's primary focus is reducing the cost of living so that families like the ones in this report aren't facing the challenges that they are.
"It won't be something that's fixed immediately, but that is the government's primary focus.
"We need to make sure that the priority is on children attending school and that families aren't taking measures like this that have a long-term impact on their children's opportunities."
The report suggested the minimum wage be raised to the living wage of $26 an hour.
"That's not a commitment we're we are making," Upston said.
She said the government was also not looking at setting aside student allowances for those in high school.
The priority was tackling the cost of living, she said. "It's the costs that families face, not just the income they earn."
A Checkpoint report found some students were barely getting any sleep between work and school.
When asked what the government could do to support them, Upston said: "We've got the FamilyBoost, we've got tax cuts that will of course benefit low- and middle-income households and that is directly supporting them and assisting them with the real costs that they face week to week".
The FamilyBoost is a tax rebate of up to $75 per week.
Under its Back Pocket Boost policy, a full-time minimum-wage earner could make up to $20 more per fortnight.
"It's about measures that can provide support and assistance. While I appreciate that for many households it's really challenging right now."
As for household income statistics including money earned by 15-year-olds and over, Upston said that could need consideration in future reports.
