Govt's Budget Balanced On The Backs Of Low-Income Families

Scoop

3 days ago

The Government is quietly leaving some of our poorest families hundreds of dollars worse off, ignoring warnings that changes to the accommodation supplement and public housing subsidies will disproportionately target disabled, older, Māori, Pasifika, and young people.
'This is a stealth cut, pushed through with no acknowledgement of the harm it will cause,' says the Green Party's spokesperson for Housing, Ricardo Menéndez March.
'Housing is a human right. We can build an Aotearoa in which everyone has what they need, and nobody is left behind.
'Instead, the Government hoped we wouldn't notice that, hidden under headlines about KiwiSaver and Best Start changes, lies a major policy shift that will leave 13,200 families worse off by $100, even up to $200 per week*.
'Changes to how the Accommodation Supplement is calculated means that income from boarders–which previously were partially exempt because the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) understood these boarders were often family members–now fully counts against eligibility.
'MSD flagged early on that increased hardship was expected to be experienced by disabled people, young people, older New Zealanders and Māori and Pasifika peoples.
'People who receive the accommodation supplement, by definition, already have unaffordable rents. $100 or $200 a week may not feel much for a Prime Minister out of touch with reality, but for thousands of families it's a lifeline that allows them to keep a roof over their head, put food on the table and pay their bills.
'MSD also noted that any 'savings' were likely overstated**, as costs were simply going to be shifted to emergency housing and hardship grants.
'Poverty is a political choice this coalition is repeatedly choosing. Once again, we see the wellbeing of thousands sacrificed in the name of superficial savings and cowardly games of political hot potato,' says Ricardo Menéndez March.
Notes:
*An estimated 13,200 households will be affected (7,000 on accommodation supplement, 6,200 on public housing subsidies). On average, the 7,000 households with boarders receiving the Accommodation Supplement will be $100/week worse off, and people with 3 boarders would be $202/week worse off. Affected households receiving public housing subsidies would see an average increase of $132/week to the cost of their rent. (Page 21 of the report)
**The Government is saving $150m over four years by stripping support (Accommodation Supplement + Income Related Rent Subsidy) from around 13,200 households who have boarders. MSD has told the Government that the savings are likely to be overestimated (page 7 and bottom of page 15 of the report). This is due to people needing hardship assistance, emergency housing, etc as a result of these changes creating costs for other parts of the system.