The National Party rejects criticism it is not doing enough to combat poverty, saying the problem was worse in Labour's early years of government after 1999.
The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) launched its report "Our children, our choice" yesterday at Mt Roskill Kindergarten in Auckland on Tuesday.
It wants political parties to sign up to more interventionist policies, including extending in-work tax credits to beneficiary families.
One of the report authors, associate economics professor at Auckland University Susan St John, said Working for Families did not work well enough.
"It's time to do something about Working for Families which is very flawed. Working for Families manages not to actually adequately help the very poorest children so the discriminatory parts of Working for Families should be removed immediately by extending the in-work tax credit to all the families who miss out."
Children at Mt Roskill Kindergarten where the Child Poverty Action Group made the call for cross-party cooperation. Photo: RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson
But Prime Minister John Key dismissed suggestions beneficiary families should get more money. He said getting them into work was more important.
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"If you are in work then your household income will rise. So if you take the example of a solo parent with one child, their household income, if they go to 20 hours work on the minimum wage, and that's their total paid employment, is $100 more each week than if they're on the equivalent of the DPB."
Mr Key also disputed how serious poverty was.
"Children living below the line is not new in New Zealand. The Labour Party might want to claim that, but if you go back and look at the same numbers I look at, on the same surveys I look at, the numbers of children living in poverty, or below the line, were actually larger under Labour in the early years when they first became the government in in 1999."
But Labour children's spokesperson Jacinda Ardern said her party's extension of Working for Families tax credits did a lot to lift children out of poverty.
"There are other groups who have said that things like the in-work tax credit do make a difference for families and there are other ways to perhaps address some of the issues that have been raised today. Our best start payment for instance goes to all families living on under $50,000 with children under the age of three, so 50,000 children in poverty benefit from that.
Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei said she was not surprised by National's lack of enthusiasm for CPAG's report.
"I don't doubt that National will try and dismiss the report because they are refusing to engage on child poverty issues. They know their record is appalling. They have increased child poverty in this country. Bill English has said there is no solution to child poverty, and he is wrong. "
Child Poverty Action Group's economics spokesperson Susan St John. Photo: RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson
Ms St John said she was frustrated by ongoing political arguments about how bad the situation was.
She said it was time for all political parties to accept child poverty is a serious problem and do something about it.
"We don't have these arguments over the elderly. What we have for those over 65, is a very good set of policies so we don't worry about poverty among the elderly, but we have a very poor set of policies for children, and it's time that we did the right thing.
CPAG wants voters to take into account which parties are prepared to do - as Ms St John puts it - the right thing when it comes to casting their votes.