Advocates for Aotearoa's most vulnerable whānau say the alert level 4 lockdown is causing enormous stress and creating greater inequity.
They say that while the Government operates a high trust model for business, beneficiaries face a range of obstacles accessing the help they need.
Organisations such as Te Whānau o Waipareira say they are caring for hundreds of families for the third COVID-19 lockdown and want the Government to start devolving better resources to them.
Minister of Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni says her ministry has released $7 million in extra funding to assist social service organisations.
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