Communication was not up to standard
continuing to work with disabled people, their families, and others in the disability community, to develop a disability support system that is sustainable and provides the support people need.
When it comes to housing, it’s clear that when you burden landlords with higher costs, these costs get passed on to renters – making it harder for tenants to get ahead or save for their own home.
Under the previous Government, weekly rents increased by $170 but our Government has a plan to increase housing supply and reduce the counterproductive measures that only drove up costs for renters.
Advice from officials on restoring interest deductibility for rental properties is that it will put downward pressure on rents. This Government is also planning a series of sensible changes to tenancy laws to encourage landlords back into the market in order to boost supply and provide more choice to renters.
With new data showing the previous Government left New Zealanders in a recession at the end of last year, it’s clear our plan to rebuild the economy is absolutely crucial.
Not only does this plan involve clearing red tape and easing the cost of living, but it also involves ensuring government spending is prioritising the frontline services Kiwis rely on, which is why we’ve committed to invest more in things such as support for people with disabilities.
Our plan to get New Zealand back on track involves rebuilding the economy so we can keep improving our health and education outcomes while also easing the cost of living with things like our FamilyBoost policy, which will help parents and caregivers with up to $75 a week in relief on early childhood education costs.
Our first budget will be released at the end of next month and I’m looking forward to sharing more about how we’ll boost the public services Kiwis rely on and how we’ll make sure hardworking people keep more of their own money.
The sudden cuts to entitlements for disabled people and their families encapsulates the worst qualities of this new Government.
First, there is their inability to effectively manage the public services that are crucial to the most vulnerable New Zealanders. Then there is the lack of accountability, as the Minister involved denied knowledge of the cuts and cast around for others to blame.
The most recent example of this includes the carers that she accused of spending money on “massages, overseas travel and pedicures”, but she has also blamed her own ministry and the previous government.
But above all, this episode highlights the utter disregard that the Government has for the most vulnerable New Zealanders, at a time when ministers are hellbent on pushing through unaffordable tax cuts at whatever cost.
Kiwi households have been feeling cost of living pressures for some time now, and despite National’s promises to further tackle the cost of living during the election campaign, it took the Government
119 days to introduce a single initiative to ease the pressure.
Every National MP should be reminded when they return home to their electorates that the Government pushed ahead with a $2.9 billion tax break for property investors, which will be unlikely to have any impact on rents.
Instead, National has continued to push ahead with their tax cuts that will be close to meaningless for those on the lowest incomes.
Values matter, especially in times like these. Caring for a disabled person is a 24/7 role.
The funding that was available through disability allowances is often the only thing that allows carers to have a break. Limiting this funding puts at risk the wellbeing of carers and disabled people that rely on them day to day, and the stress and uncertainty faced by the disabled community and their carers during this time is unconscionable.
What confidence can disabled families have in the system in the aftermath of this episode? The restrictions on the use of disability allowances remain in place. Further changes to entitlements will need to be decided by Cabinet. This shows that even Christopher Luxon doesn’t have faith in his minister’s decision making.
For those not directly affected by these funding restrictions, this issue should serve as a warning. The scale of cuts intended by National cannot be met through “back-office” staff alone. There will be real, ongoing hardship that will disproportionately hit our most vulnerable communities. And National cannot be trusted to protect our public services.