New Zealand’s persistent income gap between Maori and Pacific people and the European majority has widened sharply during the recession.
A quarterly update on vulnerable families by the NZ Council of Christian Social Services has found that European median incomes have risen slightly despite the recession of the past four years, but those of Maori and Pacific people have dropped.
Berl economist Ganesh Nana said the figures were a natural consequence of worsening unemployment for low-income earners.