Metiria Turei needs to pay the money back
Metiria Turei needs to pay the money back
16 JULY 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Now that Green Party co-leader Metiria
Turei is a member of “the 1%” she needs to pay back the
money she received from Work & Income as a result of her
lying about her living situation to claim benefits as a
single-mum, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’
Union.
Responding to Ms Turei’s admission today that she lied
to Work & Income about her living situation while a student
in the 1990s because she needed the money, the Union’s
Executive Director, Jordan Williams, said:
“Putting
aside the moral question of whether Ms Turei was justified
in breaking the law back in the 90s, now that she can afford
to pay it back, she must do so. Ms Turei’s ideological
view that government is best placed to help the most
vulnerable, now that she is part of the 1%, she should
reimbuse the government with
interest.
"Using Ms Turei's own reasoning, it's the most vulnerable who miss out if she doesn't pay the money back, now that she can afford it.”
“Lying to
Work & Income about subletting rooms, is no different to a
tax evader cheating on their taxes because they decide they
need more money."
“Now Ms Turei is an MP,
earning around $200,000 per year, the very least she can do
is pay back the money she's additted to having
defrauded.”
ENDS