Auckland Action Against Poverty (AAAP) is calling on the Government to ensure everyone has a liveable income in New Zealand.
AAAP said as inflation continues to rise, hundreds of thousands of tāmariki across Aotearoa are living in poverty, despite their parents and caregivers doing all they can to support their families.
"When we have the things we need like a roof overhead, kai on the table, and support around us, we can build great lives for ourselves and our whānau."
The organisation said having the money to be able to do this would make an enormous difference to people whose lives have been disrupted by the cost of living crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
AAAP teamed up with Fairer Future two years ago to support people in poverty.
Fairer Future is a coalition of communities and organisations working and living on the frontlines of poverty, and those who support and serve them.
"Fairer Future conducted research into what a liveable income is right now and identified key changes that can transform the welfare system so that people on income support can fully participate in community life," it said.
On Tuesday, AAAP and Fairer Future came up with seven steps for the Government to implement to get people out of poverty.
Here is what they have asked the Government to do:
- Increase core benefit levels to the standard of liveable incomes so that whānau on income support stay healthy and live with dignity
- Raise the minimum wage to the living wage to make sure people can keep up with the rising cost of living.
- Increase the Disability Allowance to make sure disabled whānau have enough to cover things like medical appointments and travel costs.
- Overhaul relationship rules so that people on income support can find love without jeopardising their income, and have financial freedom within partnerships.
- Remove sanctions that harshly punish people instead of supporting them - for reasons that are often confusing, demeaning, and unreasonable.
- Wipe debt owed to the Ministry of Social Development that's often accrued by the Ministry making mistakes in their payments due to the complexity of the system.
- Improve supplementary assistance and urgent grants to make sure people have enough to cover ongoing costs like rent and unexpected costs - like getting the washing machine repaired when it breaks.
"These solutions aren't new. They've been called for time and time again. The Fairer Future communities have come together before to take effective, powerful, and coordinated action to make sure everyone has enough," AAAP said.
AAAP has also created a petition to make sure everyone in New Zealand has a liveable income
The organisation said: "Far too many of us are still struggling and that's why we need to keep going."
