Not all farmers back Alliance's foreign investment plans
To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following:
See terms of use.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Will Working for Families changes leave people worse off?
Fleur Howard, chief executive of FinCap, says some families could be left without enough money week to week. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King An organisation representing financial mentors around the country is worried that proposed changes to the Working for Families scheme could leave some families worse off. As part of the Budget, the government said it would look at options to help avoid the issue of Working for Families debt. In the 2022 year, only 24 percent of households receiving weekly or fortnightly Working for Families payments and who were squared up by IRD at the end of the tax year had received the right amount of money. People who earned more than expected can end up with an overpayment debt that that they struggle to pay back . There is almost $300 million owed in Working for Families debt . A discussion document, on which submissions were sought, said the government's current thinking was that a quarterly assessment of Working for Families eligibility could strike the right balance between responsiveness, certainty and recipient effort. This would adjust what people were paid much more frequently. But Fleur Howard, chief executive of FinCap, said in a submission in response that she was worried that some families could be left without enough money. A shorter quarterly assessment period would be an improvement, she said, but it needed to be refined. "Aspects of the proposed design appear to suit some whānau situations better than others. We are concerned that in its current state, this design would have a disproportionally negative impact on those who are already experiencing financial instability due to more fluctuations in payment amount." She said FinCap's internal data showed most financial mentor clients had a weekly budget deficit even after they had received help. "More often than not, this deficit is due to whānau trying to pay for essentials, and commonly going into debt to do so. "This, among other markers, points to the fact that government support is not currently adequate to cover living expenses. We have concerns that some of the proposed changes would exacerbate income inadequacy in certain scenarios, particularly for whānau who need that money week to week." She said an example used in the discussion document, outlining a situation where a woman on the sole parent benefit went into additional work for a short period of time, highlighted a potentially unacceptable outcome. In that case, the woman's Working for Families credits would be reduced by $130 a week for the quarter after her temporary work, even though she was no longer in work, because the calculation was based on the higher income from the previous quarter. "We can see that the 'lagged income' mechanism makes sense from the perspective of achieving accuracy, however the potential for a decreased payment below what a whānau is entitled to poses real risk for wellbeing and social participation. "There is also a real concern over the dynamic whereby a quarterly period of higher income followed by a quarterly period of low income would see increased hardship within the low-income period, due to those payments reflecting the past higher income. "While this could be squared up during the end of year process, our data tells us that most whānau living week to week need that money as part of their weekly payments." Howard said mentors were also concerned something similar could happen if someone lost a job and went on the benefit, because their reduced income would not show up in the Working for Families calculation for another quarter. "Whānau need every cent they are entitled to in a timely manner when events such as job loss occur." A solution could be for the quarterly assessment period to look forward, rather than backwards, she said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
6 hours ago
- RNZ News
How to spot and avoid 'ghost store' scams online
Netsafe's chief online safety officer Sean Lyons is back with Jim to discuss the recent rise of online 'ghost stores' and how you can make sure you are shopping from a legitimate retailer. Photo: Facebook / Harbor Lane Wellington
RNZ News
6 hours ago
- RNZ News
Watch: Govt says billions being spent on infrastructure will create thousands of jobs
The government on Sunday morning has released an infrastructure update showing $6 billion of government-funded construction is due to start between now and Christmas. The ministers who were visiting a construction site in Drury were due to speak to media at 10.30am. Their briefing can be viewed at the top of this story. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon also took part in the briefing. Minister for Economic Growth Nicola Willis and Minister for Infrastructure Chris Bishop said in a media release the projects would drive economic activity and create thousands of jobs across the country. "The projects getting underway include new roads, hospitals, schools, high-tech laboratories and other government buildings," Willis said. "That means spades in the ground, jobs throughout the country and a stronger economy. Minister for Economic Growth Nicola Willis. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii "Improving the quality of New Zealand's infrastructure is critical to growing the economy and helping Kiwis with the cost of living. "Good roads, schools and hospitals help business to move goods and services to market quickly and efficiently, children to learn and doctors and nurses to get patients back on their feet." The projects getting underway would create thousands of employment opportunities for New Zealanders, Bishop said. "Numbers vary according to the nature of projects, but data sourced from the Infrastructure Commission suggests each billion dollars of infrastructure investment per year equates to about 4500 jobs. "In total, workers are expected to start construction on $3.9 billion worth of roading projects in the next few months. They include the Ōtaki to north of Levin expressway, the Melling interchange, the Waihoehoe Road upgrade, and the new Ōmanawa bridge on SH29. All will help to lift productivity by getting people and freight to their destinations quickly and safely. "Health projects kicking off include upgrades to Auckland City Hospital, Middlemore Hospital, and the construction of a new acute mental health unit at Hutt Valley Hospital. Construction work on the new inpatients building at the new Dunedin Hospital has also just begun." Projects focused on improving school properties nearly $800 million in value would also be underway before the end of the year, he said. Minister for Infrastructure Chris Bishop. Photo: VNP/Louis Collins "Other government infrastructure projects due to start before the end of this year include a massive new state-of-the-art biosecurity facility in Auckland for the Ministry of Primary Industries and the Papakura District Court interim courthouse. "Importantly, this is just the start. The National Infrastructure Pipeline, managed by the Infrastructure Commission, now shows planned future projects totalling $207 billion across central government, local government and the private sector." Alongside the infrastructure update, Nicola Willis today released an update on the government's Infrastructure for Growth work programme. The update is the first refresh of the Going for Growth agenda launched in February to drive economic growth by backing business, improving infrastructure and skills, and removing barriers to innovation. The projects beginning construction include: Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
