Labour has committed to tackling child poverty if elected, but the party's leader Andrew Little says eliminating the issue won't happen straight away.
Mr Little has called the National-led government cowardly for refusing to accept the Children's Commissioner's challenge to reduce child poverty rates by ten percent by the end of next year.
He told Morning Report he accepted there were 150,000 children with material deprivation and said he was committed to tackling that.
He said most children would receive an extra $60 a week in their first year as part of Labour's policy to end child poverty.
"For impoverished families with kids ... you've got to give that start in life, $60 a week for a child in their first year of life."
Mr Little said it was time to attack and eliminate child poverty, but that wouldn't happen straight away.
"It won't happen in one term, lucky if it happens in two terms."