The Children's Commissioner says something is fundamentally wrong with how New Zealand treats children.

An AUT study, which followed 55,000 children, suggests one in 10 children will face abuse or neglect before they turn 17, and a quarter will be reported to protection services.

Commissioner Andrew Becroft says our bullying, family violence and youth suicide rates are also extremely high.

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He told Mike Hosking as a country, New Zealand is failing its most basic human responsibility - to look after our kids.

"Why is it? What is there about New Zealand that produces these results? Somehow, we don't have the zero-tolerance attitude that a community needs to have."

He says it's better to be safe than sorry, and if we are serious about stopping child abuse, we shouldn't ignore concerns we might have.

"If we have genuine concerns about a child in our care, or a who we know about then we should press the button, and we should ensure it is investigated."

LISTEN ABOVE AS ANDREW BECROFT SPEAKS WITH MIKE HOSKING