A mother living in poverty is praising the Government's newly created Minister for Child Poverty Reduction, which will be taken on by Jacinda Ardern.
Single mum Lesina Sang Yum lives in a caravan in South Auckland with her daughter Destiny. She says her family barely gets by day to day.
"It's really hard when I don’t have the money to buy the things that she needs".
But she says she has hope with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern taking on the role of Minister for Child Poverty Reduction.
"It's a personal priority for me. A commitment for me. One of the reasons I am in politics" Ms Ardern said.
Questions have been raised as to if she will prioritise it amid her other duties with the cabinet office advising Ms Ardern against the role.
She insisted on taking on child poverty reduction and said "I'm looking to establish a unit that will have oversight for things like child poverty measures so we can make sure we're reducing child poverty in New Zealand".
An estimated 28 per cent of children in New Zealand live in households with less than 60 per cent of the median income. With around 295,000 kids living in poverty.
The pledge made to lift 100 thousand children out of poverty by 2020 is a big challenge but one that Ms Ardern says she's committed to.
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