Benefit levels fail to keep families out of poverty – Green

The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest.

“Poverty is a political choice this Government is choosing for our communities, intentionally exacerbating inequality and pushing thousands of families into hardship,” says the Green Party Spokesperson for Social Development, Ricardo Menéndez March.

“In this country, we have the means and resources to ensure all whānau have the basics for a good life and don’t fall through the gaps.

“Unfortunately half of all children living in material hardship are in benefit households, the very families that this Government is forcing into deeper poverty with policies that sanction and punish beneficiaries.

“The Salvation Army’s report also highlights the need to transform Work and Income’s culture to one where people are treated with trust and respect.

“People should not be declined hardship assistance when they are in need of help, and yet more people have been declined for this very critical support at a time when material hardship for children is increasing.

“This report also reinforces what people on the ground have been telling us for years: Māori and Pasifika people have been hardest hit by benefit sanctions, lack of access to adequate support, and ongoing discrimination by the very same agencies meant to support them.

“Poverty is not something we have to accept, we can choose to end it. The Green Party campaigned on ending poverty with our Income Guarantee that would ensure everyone has enough food to put on the table, no matter how tough times get,” says Ricardo Menéndez March.