Auckland Action Against Poverty says it's time to start a conversation about the meaning of work in New Zealand

MSD has increased the number of benefit sanctions by 20 percent in the March quarter - something the Government is taking as a positive sign.

But Poverty group coordinator Brooke Stanley says there's robust evidence that sanctions don't work.

She says they punish people who are already struggling and push them further into poverty.

Stanley says we need to consider people are often looking after children or sick family members, doing volunteer work, and healing from the trauma of poverty.