Winter Energy Payment is universalism at its worst
14
DECEMBER 2017 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Responding to the
Government’s plan to give everyone over the age of 65
hundreds of dollars to pay for heating over Winter is an
expensive mistake, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.
The Union’s Executive Director, Jordan Williams,
said, “A lot of elderly people struggle over Winter, but
many simply don’t. If you’re a retired CEO, or you have
an extensive property portfolio, you probably don’t need
help paying your electricity bill.”
“The Government
clearly knows this, because they’ve allowed potential
recipients to ‘opt out’ of the scheme. That’s a
laughable solution – rich-listers still claim their
Superannuation, and will soon get money to heat their
Paritai Drive mansions.”
“Particularly disappointing
is that in answering questions from analysts and the media
in today’s lock-up, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said
that the Government ‘did not even consider’ means
testing of the policy. Targeting policy to those who need it
is too important to be put in the ‘too-hard’
basket.”
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