Social services put political poverty responses on scorecard

The NZCCSS, which includes Catholic Social Services as a foundation member, is calling on political leaders to show justice and compassion to all New Zealanders.

“We are asking for a commitment to policies that will lead to real change that frees New Zealanders from poverty.”

Political party responses to policies put forward by the NZCCSS have been listed under five areas – poverty reduction law and advice, welfare system, Working For Families, housing and food.

Responses from seven political parties are listed beside policy proposals under these headings in a “poverty policy scorecard”. The parties are National, Labour, Green, NZ First, ACT, Te Pāti Māori and Opportunity.  

Among the policy proposals put by NZCCSS to the political parties are introducing a GST rebate type support for low- and middle-income families equivalised to food costs, removing or increasing the asset threshold for the Accommodation Supplement and increasing main benefit levels above annual general adjustments.

Earlier this year, the NZCCSS published a report showing that measures of the number of people in Aotearoa New Zealand who are hungry and living in poverty had risen over the last 12 months to their worst-ever levels.

One in three households had experienced food insecurity in the last year, one in six households are living in income poverty after housing costs and just over one in 10 have to go without essential items regularly. 

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Free From Poverty (NZCCSS)

Half a million New Zealanders living in poverty (The Kaka – Bernard Hickey)