Living Standards Report Revealing

New Zealand First wants the Government to slash immigration numbers and start looking after New Zealanders in light of the Social Development Ministry study that shows twenty percent of the population is facing hardship.

The New Zealand Living Standards 2000 report, issued yesterday, shows a significant minority of Kiwis are struggling financially while Pacific Island people have the lowest living standards.

Social Welfare spokesperson Barbara Stewart said that while she commended the Government for commissioning the study, she feared that nothing would be done to attack the root causes of poverty.

“The statistics show that this Government has achieved nothing in raising, or even ensuring, that the living standards of ordinary New Zealanders are higher than those of a third world country. Poverty of this degree in New Zealand is shameful. Action must be taken to ensure that New Zealanders have the basic essentials of life.

“The report also revealed that despite Closing the Gaps, or similar programmes, Maori are still at the bottom of the heap and the more immigrants come in, the longer they will stay there” said Mrs Stewart.

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