More homelessness, ‘living in cars’ expected, child poverty advocates warn

Thursday, 15 February 2024

Child poverty advocates are warning there will be more homelessness and “desperate” families living in cars as the National-led government looks to change the way it uprates benefits, and saves $669.5 million to use on tax cuts.

“That is $669.5m out of the hands of the poorest people,” Alan Johnson, co-convenor of the Child Poverty Action Group, said.

“We will see far more desperate families, people living in cars, and on the streets, like we saw before.”

The Government’s advice, laid in a regulatory impact assessment, said using inflation as the benchmark for determining how much benefits increase each year could stop it from reaching child poverty reduction targets, enshrined in law. It estimated a further 7000 children could be brought into poverty.

It also said it will disproportionately affect women, Māori, Pacific people and disabled people, who are over-represented on main benefits. However, the money saved from the change could go towards tax cuts, National’s centrepiece election promise, and its other high cost of living policies “including changes to personal income tax thresholds”.

Louise Upston, the social development minister also responsible for child poverty reduction, promises a law change to link benefits to wages, and not inflation, can’t be viewed on its own.

“Things like income tax relief, and the tax credits for working households will have an impact on child poverty,” she said.

It comes as the House sits under urgency to get through the legislation. Upston’s Bill passed through its first and second reading and onto committee stage on Wednesday.

Opposition MPs expressed frustration at the lack of scrutiny over the Bill, which comes amid a cost of living crisis.

Ricardo Menendez-March, Green Party spokesperson for social development and employment, said Upston was“wilfully omitting the medium to long term impacts of this Bill”.

“The minister hasn’t been upfront in terms of the intent of this bill,” he added.

National MP Maureen Pugh, acting as chair as the bill went to committee stage, was pushed to recall the House Speaker, Gerry Brownlee, by Opposition MPs who disagreed with her decision to shut down the debate, after Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni asked similar questions.

Labour’s associate social development spokesperson, Ginny Andersen, said it wasn’t fair that she hadn’t been able to ask a question, while Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said her party hadn’t been able to ask one question.

Sepuloni said she was repeating her questions because they had not been answered.

The bill is expected to go to its third reading in the coming days.