The Green Party says the Government’s changes to Jobseeker benefit eligibility for young people will cut support for thousands of disabled, injured and sick young people.
This follows Louise Upston today revealing that almost 70% of young people on Jobseeker Support (Health Condition, Injury or Disability) have a psychiatric or psychological condition.
“This Government is making it harder for thousands of disabled and sick people to get the support they need. You don’t make mental health better by taking away income,” says Green Party Social Development spokesperson Ricardo Menéndez March.
Around 2,700 people receiving Jobseeker Support for a health condition, injury or disability are in the scope of the Government's changes tightening eligibility for 18- and 19-year-olds accessing a benefit. Of those, 69 percent have a psychological or psychiatric condition.
"Almost seven in ten young people potentially affected by these changes are living with a mental health condition.”
"Taking income away from people who are already struggling with their mental health or battling cancer will not improve their wellbeing. It creates more stress, more insecurity and more hardship."
"These changes were supposedly about tightening eligibility for young people and reducing spending, but you do not make it easier for someone to find work by stripping away the income that keeps a roof over their head.”
"For many people, that's money that pays for groceries, prescriptions, transport to appointments, or keeping the lights on."
"The Government should abandon these changes, and if they are going to progress with them, they need to exclude the injured, sick and disabled. New Zealanders struggling with illness, disability and ill mental health need more support, not less," says Ricardo Menéndez March.
