The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures.

“Slashing Government spending mixed with severe job cuts and declining state support will prove to be a catastrophic cocktail for our communities already under significant strain,” says Green Party Social Development and Employment spokesperson Ricardo Menéndez March.

“Today’s unemployment figures, the highest we have seen in three years, show that the Government’s dated and dismal politics are having a marked impact across our communities.

“We will see poverty proliferate under a Government relying on increased unemployment to soften inflation whilst simultaneously cutting benefit increases and looking for any excuse to prevent people from accessing it.

“Poverty is a political choice, one that successive Governments have chosen not to address. However, with unemployment rising and households experiencing wave after wave of financial strain, there is no better time than the present to end poverty and introduce an Income Guarantee.

“This is a policy we campaigned on and will continue to push as disparities in wealth widen and the incomes of people on the breadline stagnate.

“The Income Guarantee is a commitment to every New Zealander that no matter what, your income will never fall below $385 per week, after tax. For couples, our Income Guarantee will be at least $770, and a single parent will always have an income of at least $735.

“Everything we need to make life better for people in Aotearoa is at our fingertips. What’s missing is the political willpower to use it, something that is severely lacking amongst the coalition,” says Ricardo Menéndez March.

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