National’s poverty denial hurting Maori and Pasifika people

John Key's poverty denial is damaging the wellbeing of Maori and Pasifika people as new research shows they are getting poorer, sicker and less likely to be employed under National, the Green Party said today.

A new study from Victoria University shows that social inequality has worsened over the past decade and that the health, and income gap between Maori and Pasifika people and Europeans is growing even wider under National.

"This is not a Government working in the interest of all its people," Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said.

"National is leaving Maori, Pasifika and low income people even further behind. How can John Key possibly say that's a successful Government?"

Victoria University researcher Lisa Marriott found growing gaps between Europeans and Maori and Pasifika people in areas of health, knowledge and skills, employment, standards of living, cultural identity, and social connectedness.

Dr Marriot today called on the Government to give greater attention to the growing inequality gap "to stop the problem getting any worse".

"Maori and Pasifika people are getting sicker, poorer, and less likely to be employed than others under National. This is a disaster for our people," Mrs Turei said.

"New Zealand needs a government that backs all its people to get ahead, not just a few. This research shows that National is not governing in the interest of Maori and Pasifika people at all.

"The Green Party has launched a $1 billion plan to tackle child poverty and reduce inequality, based on all the best evidence about what will work for our kids.

"There are 35,000 more children living in severe poverty under National and the incomes of the lowest half of all Kiwis have not moved in six years.

"National's answer to this crisis is more of the same for the next three years. That offers no hope at all for more than half of New Zealanders who are locked out of the housing market, whose incomes are static and who are falling further behind under National.

"But more of the same is a disaster for those at the bottom of the income ladder, particularly Maori and Pasifika people, whose health and wellbeing is literally on the line," Mrs Turei said.

Link to Dr Marriott's research:
http://www.victoria.ac.nz/sacl/about/cpf/publications/pdfs/2015/WP09_2014_Indicators-of-Inequality.pdf

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