Greens call for further benefit lift as part of COVID-19 response

Ending poverty should be part of our public health response, says the Greens today in support of a report from Child Poverty Action Group.

“Food banks are not the answer for families struggling to make ends meet. The Government must further lift benefits to ensure people have what they need to stay safe during the current outbreak,” says Ricardo Menéndez March, spokesperson for Social Development & Employment.

“Relying on food banks risks overwhelming frontline workers and volunteers as the outbreak grows, and is an inaccessible form of support for many.

“We need to give people the agency to make decisions that are right for themselves and their whānau.

“The Government has effectively admitted benefits were too low to survive when it announced last week that most people requiring extra assistance needed food.

“In order for the Government’s care in the community package to work, people need enough money to make decisions that are right for their families. The community connectors will have a much harder job supporting people who do not have the means to survive.

“People need liveable incomes, they need affordable housing, and they need it now.

“The Greens are also calling for an immediate freeze in rents so people do not have to hand over more and more of their income to a landlord, instead of using it to buy food.

“Taxing wealth, freezing rents, increasing benefits, and massively increasing the construction of accessible public housing will help create a fairer Aoteaora where everyone can make ends meet, put food on the table, and a roof over their heads.”

ENDS

Action

RtR Guide

Make a submission on the Right to Repair Bill!

Action

DSS Funding Consultation 2025

Tell the Government how Disability Support Services (DSS) could meet our community's needs better, and to hold them to account on taking our voices...

Action

Build Arlington Housing

Sign Tamatha Paul's open letter to Chris Bishop

Action

Allow Pacific visitors visa-free access

Sign our petition for waiver-free visa access for 'aiga from the Pacific Islands

Action

Save school lunches

Sign our petition to restore proper funding for school lunches.

Action

Right to Repair

Email Minister Simpson encouraging him to support the Right to Repair Bill

Action

Ditch the bootcamps - Sign the petition

Sign the petition to ditch the bootcamps!

Action

Anti Stalking Law Submission Guide

Keep whānau safe - make a submission on the Crimes Legislation (Stalking and Harassment) Amendment Bill today.

Action

Submit on the Gene Technology Bill

Action

Conservation Access Sub Guide

Submit today to keep our conservation lands for all

Action

Gender-Affirming Care is a Human Right

Submit on the Ministry of Health's consultation on Gender-Affirming care.

Action

Hauraki open letter

Sign our open letter to protect the Hauraki Gulf Marine Reserves

Action

Ditch the Bootcamps - Make a submission

Make a submission on the Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Amendment Bill. Help us call for an end to the Bootcamps.

Action

Treaty Principles Submission Guide

Make a unique submission on the Treaty Principles Bill.

Action

How to get involved - Treaty Principles

Information on how to make a submission, volunteer or run your own event.

Action

Submit for Climate Action

Submit today to ask the Government to commit to strong Climate Change targets.

Action

Build Dunedin Hospital

Take our poll on how the Government should spend its money, and email Christopher Luxon telling him your thoughts.

Action

Oil & Gas Quick Submissions 2024

Sign the quick submission to save the oil & gas ban!

Action

Stop Fast-track Destruction

Join our call to stop the Fast-track Approvals Bill.

Action

Protect te reo Māori

Sign our petition asking Minister Erica Stanford to keep prioritising the teaching of te reo Māori.

Action

Cut the Coal Petition | Join the movement

Fight back: Tell the government that coal mining is not our future.

Action

Protect Our Freshwater

Join our Green MPs in calling for the government to protect freshwater. Proposed changes to the Resource Management Act threaten New Zealand's...

Volunteer

The Greens are proud to be driven by passionate people like you. Today we need your help to take action on the biggest issues facing Aotearoa. Volu...

Action

Expand Voting

Now more than ever, young people in Aotearoa are impacted by Government decisions, and they deserve to have a say. We are calling on all Members of...

Action

End Intensive Winter Grazing

Sign the petition to Labour Ministers, to move faster in bringing regulations into force and end intensive winter grazing.

Action

Local Events

We have activists across Aotearoa / New Zealand who are working hard to build a brighter future for our kids and grandkids. This page lists upcomin...

Latest Social Development Announcements

Story

Benefit levels fail to keep families out of poverty

The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on bene...

Govt’s lack of a plan shows in soaring unemployment stats

The latest labour market figures confirm unemployment has risen to levels not seen since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Govt’s sanctions regime fails us all

The Government’s newly released data paints a damning picture: the sanctions regime targeting beneficiaries is an abject failure.

Sanctions regime to create more hardship for families

Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean mo...

Govt continues to punch down

The Government’s new initiative to get people off the benefit won’t address the core drivers of poverty such as low incomes, lack of access to adeq...

Louise Upston cherry-picks data to punch down on the poor

The Government has very conveniently cherry-picked data from the latest MSD projections to justify its cruel agenda and punch-down policy when it c...

Story

Government gets it right on COVID settings

Maintaining the current COVID-19 isolation requirement is the right decision, the Green Party says.

Summer COVID plan needed

The Green Party has been left wondering if the Government signed off for the summer break before putting in place a COVID plan.

COVID inquiry disappointingly narrow

The Green Party welcomes a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic – but is disappointed with the narrow scope.

Lasting public health measures needed for COVID response ahead of future waves

Winding down COVID powers does nothing to change the fact that stronger public health measures are needed to protect our immunocompromised and disa...

Vital public health measures still missing from COVID response

Strong public health measures are more vital than ever, the Green Party says as the Government removes many longstanding COVID-19 restrictions.

Better long-term planning needed for COVID

COVID-19 is here to stay and so the Government needs to put in place long-term protection measures, including mandatory ventilation standards, the ...

Story

Static child poverty stats highlight need for urgent action

This morning’s Stats NZ child poverty statistics should act as a wake-up call for the government: with no movement in child poverty rates since Jun...

Govt’s child wellbeing strategy ‘shallow and shameful’

The Government is turning its back on children by not only weakening child poverty reduction targets, but also removing child mental wellbeing as a...

Greens call on Govt to wake up on child poverty

The Green Party says the latest statistics on child poverty in this country highlight the callous approach that the Government is taking on this is...

Legacy politics has failed whānau, it’s time to act

Today’s Salvation Army’s State of the Nation Report shows clearly why politics matters. Only the Green Party has a plan to end poverty. We have wha...

Child poverty report shows need for urgent action

The Green Party is calling on the Government to immediately step up and provide families on the lowest incomes the support they need to thrive, the...

Green Party launch child poverty campaign

The Green Party has published an open letter to the Prime Minister calling on the Government to make some small changes to Working for Families so ...