The Sustainable Development Goals are surprisingly little known in New Zealand.

It is crucially important that they become part of the decision making process throughout the country. They are not optional extras or matters of choice; they are solid obligations which New Zealand has entered into. Within the challenging area of child poverty, SDG 1 directs that we halve poverty, in all its forms, by 2030.

This is a clear call to action and provides a target which should galvanize us to create a strategic plan to achieve this in New Zealand.

SDG1 is a key concern for the Office of the Children’s Commissioner,  but we also recognise that all the SDGs will have significant implications for all of New Zealand’s children.

There are 1.12 million young people, under the age of 18, in New Zealand. That’s almost a quarter of our population. The Sustainable Development Goals are their future.

Judge Andrew Becroft, Children’s Commissioner