November 08, 2020
Urgent call for poverty action
Unions, social service NGOs, housing providers, churches and groups representing Māori, women, children and people with disabilities have joined together to urge the Government to raise income support by Christmas.
In an open letter, they say families have been forced into dire poverty by long-term underinvestment in income support, high housing costs, and ongoing COVID-19 economic fallout including increases in unemployment.
They cite a surge in emergency hardship grants and youth homelessness as signs of the urgency of the problem.
The extra support made available to those who lose their jobs due to COVID-19 shows the government understands current benefit levels are insufficient and lock families and children into poverty.
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