ETHAN ROGACION (HE/HIM)
On the 12 of August, Minister for Social Development Louise Upston announced the Government’s new approach to supporting beneficiaries: adding more admin work to getting welfare!
The new strategy is multi-faceted, and involves putting beneficiaries on a “traffic light system”. Under this system, failing to meet an obligation sees them moved up a level, with additional restrictions imposed at each level. The Government also plans to require beneficiaries to reapply for Jobseeker support every 26 weeks.
Re-applying for Jobseeker requires an individual to provide what Work and Income’s website describes as “a lot of information”: all of your income and expense information from the past 52 weeks, all potential sources of income like dividends and ACC, bank account details, and even more information if you were born outside Aotearoa. Not exactly an easy task.
Questioned about whether imposing new, stringent rules on beneficiaries would hurt the most vulnerable, Upston told the Salient that, “I think the reality is the challenge we are seeing at the moment is one more related to the cost of living crisis, which is why we are focusing on that.”
Despite the Minister’s assertions, organisations which support Pōneke’s most vulnerable people are concerned about the impact that the new “Welfare that Works” strategy will have on struggling whānau and individuals.
The Free Store
Situated next to St. Peter’s on Willis St, the Free Store is an “inclusive community built on the values of belonging, generosity & transformation”. Their kaupapa is redistributing surplus food from Wellington’s eateries and redistributing it to anyone that needs it for free.
According to the Free Store’s general manager Breahn Stubbs, the community is for everyone, “both to receive food, and to participate in collecting & distributing the food.” The Free Store’s founder Benjamin Johnson notes that, “So long as the marginalised and vulnerable are problems to solve instead of friends to know, our community will remain divided.”
Stubbs told Salient that, “We are absolutely concerned about the Government's "Traffic Light" system for beneficiaries. It's already something we've heard our community voice their fears & concerns about.”
“If the government isn't going to look out for us, we need to be making a bigger effort to look out for each other, creating resilience in our communities, without relying on the state alone—though we can keep raising our voices & advocating for change!”
Wellington City Mission
The Wellington City Mission is one of the city’s oldest support organisations, this year celebrating 120 years of serving Wellingtonians in need. The Mission told Salient that they have continued to see a year-on-year increase in the amount of people requiring their services, and that this is especially exacerbated by the ongoing impact of the cost of living crisis.
One of the Mission’s central kaupapa is the social supermarket in Newtown, where anyone struggling to get by is able to come and pick out grocery items for free in a supermarket setting. According to the Mission, rising costs at the grocery have made this service all the more important.
Murray Edridge, the Wellington City Missioner, says that the chief idea behind the social supermarket is that there “is dignity in choice and people can have a sense of normality in what they do and not feel isolated or stigmatised by their circumstances.”
Wellington Electorate Office
In April, the Greens’ Tamatha Paul and Julie Anne Genter opened a joint electorate office in Newtown, where constituents—yes, you!—can seek support from their local Members of Parliament. MPs have a great deal of ability to advocate for their residents directly, and Rongotai MP Julie Anne Genter tells Salient that there has been a great deal of advocating to do.
“Since our shared Rongotai and Wellington Central electorate office opened in April, the number of constituent cases has reached over 200,” she said. The cases that the office has had to attend to are spread across a number of areas, including immigration (20%), housing (16%), health (13%) and social services and employment (9%).
“Many of the constituents' challenges extend across these categories, highlighting the range of consequences felt by people who have been failed by the Government’s social services.”
Genter told Salient that the Government’s new initiatives—including compulsory money management and community services—“[reheat] failed policies that have not supported people into work both here and in Australia.”
The traffic light system is currently in force, with the Minister indicating that further legislation will be introduced in November to allow the Government’s other proposed policies.