Jump in payments slammed
Bridges says rise in power hardship claims shows cost of living too high under Govt
National has put the blame for an almost 50 per cent annual increase in electricity and gas-hardship payments squarely on the Government.
The party’s leader, Simon Bridges, said the numbers showed the realities of a higher cost of living under this Government.
But Minister of Social Development Carmel Sepuloni said the numbers showed that people in need were willing to come forward because they knew they wouldn’t be turned away.
Figures from the September quarter report on benefit and hardship payments show the number of hardship grants for electricity and gas increased by almost 5000 compared to this time last year. That increase to just under 16,000 payments — at a cost of $6,255,000 — represents a 46 per cent jump.
Bridges said the sharp rise showed how much the increased cost of living was affecting people’s back pocket, citing extra costs such as increased fuel taxes.
“Even the Winter Energy Payment to ‘help seniors and families who need extra help pay for heating’ hasn’t helped because of all the extra costs that are being piled on.”
He said the numbers helped show that New Zealanders “can’t afford this Government”.
But Sepuloni told the Herald the Government had always said it would provide assistance to those who needed it and “this increase demonstrates that we are”.
“The rise in grants is related to the costs of housing, so where housing costs are high, like in Auckland, that’s where we see people coming in for assistance.”
Sepuloni turned the numbers back on Bridges, saying if it hadn’t been for the “nine years of neglect” while National was in government, when it had sold state houses while not building new homes, the hardship numbers would not be as high as they were.
Bridges said he was also concerned a significant number of the hardship payments were loans.
“[This] means that our most vulnerable are now in debt because they wanted to keep their families warm.”
Sepuloni said the Government provided loans so vulnerable people wouldn’t have to go to lenders and face potentially higher interest rates.
“People pay debt back at rates they can afford, which is the fair and just thing to do while still upholding the integrity of the welfare system,” Sepuloni said.