Calls for 'urgent changes' to 'broken' welfare system

Monday, 23 September 2019

A petition to the Government is calling for 'kindness and compassion' to be at the heart of the welfare system.

Solo mother Hannah McGowan, one of the nearly 8000 signatories of the petition, said the stress put on her by the welfare system had ruined multiple relationships.

Hannah McGowan said she feels 'harassed and intimidated' by WINZ investigative procedures.

McGowan had been on a sickness benefit for a number of years, due to Crohns' disease, when she met someone new.

'I tried living with someone and I was forced to enter the workforce because his full-time minimum wage income couldn't support us.

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'Juggling a household, pre-teens, increasingly poor health and unsuitable jobs resulted in me having a nervous breakdown. The stress split us up.

'My financial situation has put a strain on every relationship I've had.'

The amount of money MGowan received on the sickness benefit was 'not enough to live on', she said.

The petition was delivered to Jacinda Ardern's office on New North Rd.

'I'm pretty used to just living on one meal a day and buying everything from op shops but it's still incredibly difficult to pay bills. I want my own financial autonomy but I'm too sick to work.'

McGowan was one of those present on Monday morning when Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and Action Station delivered a petition to the office of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern regarding the welfare system.

The petition asked the Government to act in relation to the Welfare Expert Advisory Group's report, Whakamana Tāngata: Restoring Dignity to Social Security in New Zealand.

The report called for a 'systematic overhaul' of New Zealand's welfare system with a focus on helping those on benefits into work, ensuring families on benefits were not living in poverty and a culture change in the Ministry of Social Development.

McGowan, who has dealt with the welfare system for a number of years, said the system makes it hard to have relationships.

Executive officer for CPAG, Georgie Craw, said the welfare system was 'broken' and the petition was calling on the Government to put 'kindness and compassion at the heart of of the system'.

'There are a number of issues with the current welfare system – the incomes are inadequate, and we're concerned about the abatement threshold.'

One of the biggest areas of concern, Craw said, was the potential the system created for financial abuse in a relationship.

'If you're a solo parent, after six weeks of being in a relationship, in the eyes of the welfare system, you become financially co-dependant.

'This is harmful and puts strain on a relationship as well as potentially putting people in the horrible position of being trapped in an abusive relationship because they're financially dependant,' Craw said.

By delivering the petition to Ardern's office, Craw said she hoped the prime minister would 'provide some leadership'.

'I believe changing the welfare system can help to fix child poverty in New Zealand.'

If the Government was serious about addressing poverty, it would change the definition of a 'relationship in the nature of marriage' from six weeks to three years, Craw said.

It would also stop investigations into the private lives of those receiving benefits and change the abatement rates to take away barriers preventing people moving into work.