The minister responsible for Whanau Ora, Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia, says the Government needs to tackle poverty in order to improve problems such as child abuse.
The Maori Party supports the state's Green Paper on Vulnerable Children, which suggests mandatory reporting of child abuse and sharing private information.
Mrs Turia has said the document particularly showed poverty affects nearly 20% of children in New Zealand.
She says the Government should reassess its investment priorities.
Mrs Turia says positive change won't happen if the Government continues to invest in negative policies such as boot camps.
