Working poor is not a nice tag, but Mary Moeke is living it. She has a state house with her three children under eight, and almost everything in it is donated.



Ms Moeke has a job as an early childhood lecturer at the Manukau Institute of Technology, and she is also a PhD student.

"The reality is for us middle class Māoris is, we do struggle because of the benefits and subsidies we are not entitled to," Ms Moeke said.

"I don't think it's fair. In all honesty, I have experienced the unfairness - and it hurts."

The state house is a step up. Last month, Ms Moeke and her three kids were living in her van. There was a marriage break-up, as well as a dispute over the sale of a family home.

Ms Moeke says she applied for more than 30 rentals but was declined every time.



"I had tried my best but I felt myself shutting down, and when you come to that point it can be very hard - especially if you don’t know where to next, and you don't have those networks and contacts."



Auckland may have been booming, but it hasn't flowed through to everyone.



To understand the inequality faced by residents such as Ms Moeke, ATEED developed the Prosperity Index. It ranks areas on six key criteria and south Auckland dominates the wrong end of the scorecard.



Patrick McVeigh is the general manager economic growth at ATEED. He says the benefits of the growth Auckland has seen are not trickling down - and that is a concern.



Yet ATEED's Prosperity Index shows that when it comes to business growth each year, Mangere (5 percent) and Otara (6.8 percent) are oustripping most of Auckland.

But the money doesn't stay local. Average household incomes for those suburbs are at the bottom of the scale. Auckland’s average is $76,500, Otara's is $60,800 and Mangere $59,900.



Lotu Fuli, chair of the Otara/Papatoetoe local board, said the economic disparity between areas of the city are the worst she has ever seen.



"We are not getting the same benefits that Auckland is getting from this rockstar economy that we have heard about," she said.



Te Puia Marae has been dealing with the consequences, and helps whanau to get back on their feet. For them, the prosperity gap is not news.