AAAP to rally at Government’s South Auckland welfare consultation meetings

The Government’s Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) is running community consultations around the country, where people are able to voice their vision for the future of the welfare system. On Monday, 8th of October, at 10am, the WEAG is having its South Auckland Community Forum at the Metro Theatre on 362 Massey Road, Mangere East. Auckland Action Against Poverty will be rallying people on the benefit and supporters to attend the community forum and demand a welfare system that works for everyone.

“The Government’s consultation meetings on welfare should not be an exercise in ticking boxes, but instead include the demands of the people most affected by the welfare system: people on the benefit. We have been calling for the people we work with to attend the community forum on Monday to make sure their demands are heard”, says Ricardo Menendez March, Auckland Action Against Poverty Coordinator.

“The Government’s Welfare Expert Advisory Group Auckland Community Forums were announced with little time notice, and were not advertised at the Work and Income offices. The biggest stakeholders of the overhaul of the welfare system are the people who engage with Work and Income on a regular basis, and it’s disappointing to see a lack of proactive engagement with people on the benefit to get them to contribute to the review.

“Auckland Action Against Poverty has released a set of demands, which we consider are some of the minimum changes the Government needs to make to start building a welfare system based on support instead of punishment. They include:

• Remove all sanctions from the Social Security Act.
• Substantially increase benefit levels to a liveable income.
• Treat adults in the benefit system as individuals without penalising them for being in a partnership.
• House people in permanent, safe, healthy public housing.
• Ensure that applicants receive all the assistance to which they are entitled.

“These demands came about our work with people on the benefit, through a series of interviews with the people we work with. We recognise that the political system needs to represent the aspirations of those traditionally brushed aside by politicians.

"We are encouraging people to support our demands for a welfare system that works for everyone and attend their local community forums. We have launched a website where people are able to pledge their support, and join us at the community forums where AAAP will have a presence.

ENDS

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