Loans report an insight into misery

government has given their citizens.’’

Combined, the 76 agencies which answered the Fincap survey saw around 15,000 clients in 2018, half of them Ma¯ ori, and 20 per cent Pasifika. They went to the agencies as a ‘‘last resort’’, in the face of extreme hardship such as eviction, hunger or having the power cut off, the report said.

Many borrowers were struggling with debts after losing employment, or falling ill. They often owed multiple debts: on credit cards, to high-interest payday lenders, on overdrafts, to truck shops and Work and Income.

Around half of budget agency clients were being pursued by debt collectors who would sometimes even approach borrowers’ neighbours and employers.

Complaints against lenders could take years to resolve.

‘‘The system is so geared in favour of the loan companies,’’ Barnett said.

Despite fears that reform could drive desperate borrowers to underground loan sharks, he said the evidence from Australia indicated this was not happening.

Barnett also believed it was time to stop blaming debtors. Budget agencies reported lowerincome families were borrowing for essentials such as food, rent and power.

‘‘Many of us, if we lost our job, could find ourselves in a similar situation,’’ he said. New Zealand Trade & Enterprise will hold seminars this week for Kiwi businesses concerned about Brexit, but Exportnz executive director Catherine Beard says exporters who haven’t already planned ahead may have left it late.

Kiwi exporters are on the frontline of Brexit planning because of New Zealand’s distance from the UK.

Although Britain won’t leave the European Union before March 29, companies around the world are having to second-guess how supplies that they ship to the