This is kindness?

Benefit numbers increasing by tens of thousands doesn’t make sense.

When the Labour-led Government came into power it said it wanted to be a kinder government, but looking at the quarterly benefit statistics you wouldn’t know it. Thousands upon thousands more people are claiming benefits, and the numbers needing assistance to eat and live is at record highs. That’s not kindness, that’s hardship.

We know that some people need short-term, light-handed assistance to help them get back on their own two feet. Others need ongoing support to help them lead a decent life, like those on supported living payments due to disability and long-term illness, but short or long-term, National wants people to lead happy, independent lives. We want Kiwis to be aspirational so they can have a brighter future.

Under this Government, hardship assistance has increased by $48 million in the past year. Under this Government families are struggling to put food on the table. There were an extra 70,000 requests for assistance for food in the last year alone. It’s no wonder. Under this Government rents have increased an average of $50. Under National they went up $12 a year. The reason for such a big increase is a range of poor policy decisions that mean landlords are increasing rents to recover costs.

Increased rents means families are battling to find accommodation. Emergency housing grants went from $6.6 million to $23m in the space of a year. That’s the highest ever, despite the accommodation supplement going up last year.

The number of Kiwis on benefits has increased by 13,000. Under National, we were moving more people into work, meaning they and their families were leading better lives. It’s hard to believe the number of people on the job seeker benefit keeps increasing when there are employers who are desperate for people to fill jobs.

If you go almost anywhere in the South Island you will find employers crying out for workers. In Ashburton employers have almost given up looking because they can’t find anyone to fill the dozens vacancies, yet there’s been a 20 per cent increase in people on the job seeker benefit.

This Government is happy for that number to keep increasing. The number of sanctions being imposed is down 31 per cent since March 2018. Sanctions should be and always have been a last resort, only imposed if someone repeatedly doesn’t show for appointments or interviews. But this Government doesn’t think there should be any accountability for taxpayers’ money.

The Prime Minister has pledged to reduce child poverty, but the hardship and special needs grants figures show it’s getting tougher for those children living in benefit-dependent households. Where is the plan to get Kiwis off benefits and into work in order to help give their children a better future?

"Increased rents means families are battling to find accommodation."