23 August 2012

MSD report proves National exacerbating hardship

Auckland Action Against Poverty spokesperson Sarah Thompson says the Household Incomes report shows increasing numbers of New Zealanders are suffering under National.

“Figures show that things are getting worse for New Zealanders, and National's punitive measures will only continue this trend”.

“Twenty-one per cent of children are now experiencing material hardship, versus fifteen per cent in 2007 when National took office,” she says, “this highlights that National's policies are failing”.

“The Future Focus reform package has clearly done nothing for children and sole parents with the number of sole parent households living in poverty increasing from twenty two per cent in 2007 to twenty five per cent in 2011”.

“This failure would also indicate that the new and more harsh extension of a similar policy under the recent DPB reforms, will also be ineffective”.

Ms Thompson says the increased hardship of sole parents and their children is completely unacceptable, as is National's lack of compassion and refusal to see care work as real work and thus remunerate parents accordingly.

“Sole parent families require a decent liveable benefit so they can get on with the care work they are providing and give their children the start to life that they deserve”.

The Household Incomes report is available at: http://tinyurl.com/5tyx5p
Future Focus reform package available at: http://tinyurl.com/yhg44rm

ENDS

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