November 01, 2019
Benefit sanction used more against Maori
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Auckland Action Against Poverty says an option to withhold benefits from people with a warrant to arrest is being disproportionately used against Māori.
It says use of the benefit sanction is on the rise, even though the Government’s own Welfare Expert Advisory Group recommended the sanction be scrapped.
Last year it was used against a record 2616 people, more then 70 percent of them Maori.
Auckland Action Against Poverty co-chair Kathleen Paraha says removing someone’s income when they have a warrant to arrest does nothing but harm children and push people into criminal activities in order to feed themselves and their family.
She says the Ministry of Social Development has a toxic, racist culture that needs addressing.
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