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Working people can't afford food - Labour

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Thu, 22 Dec 2011 11:30a.m.

Ardern says working families are holding down jobs and still not making ends meet

Ardern says working families are holding down jobs and still not making ends meet

New Zealand's "new poor" are collecting food parcels because they don't earn enough to live on, Labour says.

Citing Salvation Army figures showing 67,000 food parcels were handed out this year compared with 30,000 in 2008, welfare spokeswoman Jacinda Ardern says it's evidence of growing poverty.

"These people aren't bludgers, they're ordinary Kiwis who are either holding down jobs and still struggling to get by or are desperately seeking work," she says.

"We can talk all we like about Kiwis being on an equal footing but reality is that prices are far outstripping incomes."

Ms Ardern says she once worked in a soup kitchen in the United States and was appalled by the number of families with working parents who ate there because they could not support themselves on the wages they earned as labourers.

"That's not a situation I ever expected I would see in New Zealand yet it is now happening here at unprecedented levels."

NZN

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Comments

05 Apr 2012 03:49a.m.

Vicki wrote:

It is hard to believe in the year 2012 people still consider they have the right to have more than others. We are all equal, we all deserve the right to our basic needs being met at the very least. I expect those who wrote about rich people paying for the poor and that the poor are simply bad at budgeting have never actually suffered true hardship, or illness that has effected there ability to work. Believe it or not there are people out there who despite being on benefits or working poor actually do work really hard at life and are good people. The attitudes of some are so old fashioned in this country. Why is is 55 % of the wealth in this country is in the hands of the 55 and over set? Are those people hungry? What about the hungry children and caring for our own country's people?

22 Jan 2012 02:58p.m.

Kevy wrote:

Community styled gardens close to the CBD,try thinking "support" for better/cheaper quality veges/fruit gardens.Not all locations (towns)could do this as it would rely on actual passionate people to not only run it at a profit but use it as well,let the others starve.

11 Jan 2012 02:29p.m.

ben wrote:

it is always like this when national is in power , i have lived through three national governments now to prove it .i say you all diserve all you get now good luck to you people of nz you voted for them and twice .

22 Dec 2011 08:25p.m.

pondering wrote:

Rents, power, rates, petrol, transport, clothes, services, general food prices etc. have all insidiously crawled up to where the average man in the street cannot afford the fundamentals of daily living. Wages have not climbed in parallel, nor have benefits which are approx half of minimum wage. The government wants tax payers to top up workers wages and further subsidise the top 10% of wealthy NZers and foreigners who own industry here. Nobody wants to line up for food. It is degrading and shaming. Will the US trends of "dumpster diving", "Urban foraging" and "roadkill" become commonplace here to?

22 Dec 2011 08:10p.m.

george wrote:

Well done. Both the posts so far are absolutely on the money. Generally people who are successful have also sacrificed a lot. They have spent a lot of time at work, upskilling, undertaking education, spending their own money to better themselves, taking a risk etc. Stop penalising people for wanting to better themselves Labour.

22 Dec 2011 04:06p.m.

Chris wrote:

Labour's answer - more handouts - how about upskilling, working harder and getting on in life. Look in the mirror for an answer not at others. That's the problem with socialism - you soon run out of other peoples money. Socialist like to tax hard working and successful people so there is no incentive to get on in life.
Rich and successful people in NZ are not 'lucky' they are hard working, risk takers and entrepreneurial. 10% of hard working and susessfull people in N.Z. pay 70% of the tax already. Planning your family will help ones finances. Labour are the Robin Hood party - ie the hand out, its not my fault party and they make me sick

22 Dec 2011 03:01p.m.

aiden wrote:

the problem is people do not know how to budget. seen it far to often people throw their money away, smoke it, drink it, gamble it, then go get a food parcel to feed their kids. It's also very homourous on xmas day, the reporting of how many people are at the free xmas lunch, but the reporters don't follow them and see the expensive cars many have. many families just use them now as a way to get something for nothing.