Quality of life spirals downwards as inflation and cost of living bite

Tuesday, 18 October 2022

Gary Gribben is 72 and struggles to make ends meet with only his superannuation - but he considers himself lucky to have a home and food to eat.

Gary Gribben considers himself lucky. He is 72 and has to make ends meet with only his superannuation payments – but he has a bed to sleep in, a church that helps him out with meals, and support from organisations that provide him with a food parcel from time to time.

It is certainly a better way of living than “a while ago”, when he ended up staying in his car.

Gribben, from Christchurch, is one of many ordinary Kiwis who have seen quality of life decrease due to rising living costs and dwindling financial wellbeing.

Results from a recent national survey has shown 34% of Christchurch participants believe their quality of life has fallen in the past 12 months, with many citing the cost of living as the reason.

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Foodbank Canterbury chief executive officer John Milligan says it is not just homeless people who are struggling, but also ordinary living wage families who need help to make ends meet. (File photo)

Escalating food, housing and power prices are prompting more people to turn to charities and other organisations for help, including working families who are now struggling to make ends meet.

“It is not just the people on the street [who are struggling], it is the people in your street,” says Foodbank Canterbury chief executive officer John Milligan.

“The person standing next to you at the bus stop could be hungry. That woman walking her dog might not have had any food that day. You don’t know.

“It is a loss of dignity for people to say they don’t have food, so many don’t ask for help.”

Stats NZ announced on Tuesday prices rose 2.2% in the September quarter, taking annual inflation to 7.2%, just under the 7.3% annual rate reported after the end of June quarter.

David Boyle discusses the impact of inflation on NZ households.

While economists had expected a much larger drop in inflation, steep rises in the price of housing construction, international airfares and veggies had largely offset the relief provided by falling petrol prices.

According to the quality of life survey results, 15% of participants in Christchurch don’t have enough money to meet everyday needs and 36% have just enough money to get by.

Gribben says during the time he was living in his car, he came to know that there were “heaps of people” in the same position.

“It is not a very good life living in a car. Ablutions, washing and all that, it is just a real hassle.

“At least I had a decent vehicle without leaky gaps and seats that could fold down like a bed. So I guess I was lucky in that way.”

After getting on the housing list, Gribben spent time at Christchurch City Mission’s emergency shelter and at the Salvation Army before finally getting a house.

More grappling with housing costs

1News business correspondent Katie Bradford explains what today’s 7.2% inflation announcement means.

The number of Christchurch respondents who find their housing costs affordable has fallen from 59% in 2020 to 46% in 2022.

With stronger mortgage regulation, conservative lending practices and rising mortgage rates, further falls in property values are likely in the months ahead, said CoreLogic NZ chief property economist Kelvin Davidson.

Christchurch has proven to be more resilient than Auckland and Wellington when it comes to property value decline, and Davidson expected that to continue, but said Canterbury will not escape price falls altogether.

He did not expect a significant increase in rental rates, saying tenants could only pay what they could afford, and there was a limit to how many rent increases they could withstand.

He also expected a period of rental rates staying relatively stable, while landlords would see their margins being squeezed as mortgage rates and other costs continued to rise.

Corrin Webster and his partner Nicole Sutherland run the Hoon Hay Foodbank. Sutherland says they help 200 families per week, but there is still an even greater demand. (File photo)

Christchurch would continue to attract first-time buyers due to a variety of factors, he believed, including development on the city’s outskirts and the availability of more affordable townhouses.

“Still, there are challenges. Mortgage rates are high, [which] limits how much a first-time buyer can lend, but that is a factor everywhere.”

Foodbanks struggle to keep up with demand

Foodbank Canterbury is currently distributing about 285,000 meals per month to about 115 agencies in Christchurch. (File photo)

Gribben says he continues to feel the pinch of the rising cost of everyday needs.

“I recently ran out of tablets on one of my prescriptions, but I managed to see the doctor and they were happy for me to pay the fee next week when I get paid.”

Some food items were off-limits because they were just too expensive, he says, and at times he made use of food assistance offered by his local church and other organisations. He also helped others in need by taking them in his car to health appointments or collect food parcels.

Nicole Sutherland from the Hoon Hay Foodbank says they help 200 families per week because they don’t have the resources or capacity to help any more. “If we had more food, we could help up to 300 families, that’s how big the demand is.”

Sutherland said they’ve been seeing “a whole new client base” of people that have previously “done well for themselves” who are now needing to turn to a foodbank for help.

A lot of families had to choose between paying rent or buying groceries, paying the power bill or buying some food, said Sutherland. “We often get asked if we can refer them to other agencies who are able to assist with their other needs.”

Milligan says Foodbank Canterbury is dealing with a demand 30.2% greater than last year - and is still not keeping up. They are distributing about 285,000 meals a month to about 115 agencies in Christchurch.

Milligan said it was hard to know exactly how big the need for food assistance is as they didn’t have the funding to survey on a large scale like their counterparts in Australia.

“We survey all the time to try and get a handle on what the need is out there. Funding for us is a very big issue, but the other end of it is knowing what the demand is.”

He said the organisation has seen a definite decrease in the help they receive from supermarkets, which could possibly be the result of retail management tightening up their operations because of increasing costs.

This meant more food needed to be bought, which meant more fundraising needed to be done.

While the costs of living were driving more people to food banks, staff working at organisations providing help were also being affected.

Milligan said staff at Foodbank Canterbury were facing increased stress, fatigue and burnout in the face of mounting pressure to meet the expectations of those seeking help.

“Our staff are all just living wage people, they are not paid heavily, and they work long hours. We tend to forget these people in the middle who are working to help those who are asking for help.”

Staff turnover was high, and they were struggling to recruit new staff, said Milligan.

“It is a challenge right across the entire sector, it is not just the people who are asking for help [that are being affected].”