8 August 2006
Government earns fail mark from Social Report
Today's 2006 Social Report shows that the Government is failing to bridge the widening gaps between rich and poor in
this country, Green Party Social Development Spokesperson Sue Bradford says.
" The plain fact is that incomes have been rising for those at the top, while there has been 'relatively little change'
for the 20 per cent on low incomes. The Government is either treading water when it comes to tackling the issues of
poverty and income inequality, or is going backwards," Ms Bradford says.
"Within the Report's timeframe, the segment of the population living below the 60 per cent poverty threshold was still
higher than it was in 1998. Inroads made into poverty have been miniscule. In June 2001, 22.6 per cent of dependent
children were living in families ranked among the three lowest income tiers and that figure has barely budged since, to
21 per cent..The same period saw a three per cent rise in those suffering severe hardship.
" The Government can try to say that its Working For Families package is now tackling the problems the Social Report
identified as being prevalent in 2004. In fact, Working For Families systematically discriminates against beneficiaries
and their families. The very people who this Report identifies as being among the most needy and vulnerable families in
New Zealand are being deliberately left behind. As the economy heads south, this situation can only get worse.
"Beneficiary families for instance, are over-represented in the lowest indicators, but they are discriminated against by
WFF. They are also being hit with a double whammy. The Special Benefit has been eliminated - and replaced by the
Temporary Additional Support measure, over which Work and Income has a lot less discretion when people find that they
can't make ends meet. In the depth of winter, this change is now hitting people really hard, as power costs are going
through the roof."
."Some workable solutions ? End discriminatory youth wages for workers under 18. Lift the adult minimum wage to $12
immediately, and make Working for Families equitable for beneficiary families.
"Beneficiaries and their families should not continue to be neglected in the name of a politically driven 'Welfare to
Work' strategy that leaves a quarter of the population in desperate straits," Ms Bradford says.
ENDS