Rising food prices hit struggling families

green-party

Wed Apr 13 2011 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Rising food prices hit struggling families

Wednesday, 13 April 2011, 11:35 am
Press Release: Green Party

13 April 2011

Rising food prices hit struggling families

Rising food prices are hurting Kiwi families who are already struggling to make ends meet, the Green Party said today.

“Food prices are rising and, for those on the lowest incomes, every increase creates further hardship,” Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said.

Figures released by Statistics New Zealand today show that food prices have risen by 5.5 percent since March 2010. The figures also showed that meat, poultry and fish prices had risen 1.5 percent in the last month.

“We can see the impact of this rise in the massive increases in demand for foodbank services, and in the large numbers accessing hardship grants from Work and Income,” Mrs Turei said.

“Coupled with the GST increase and record high petrol prices, the fragile household budget is falling apart for thousands of kiwi families.

“Budget advisers can’t keep up with the demand for their services because WINZ are telling people they can’t access hardship support without first seeking budget advice.

“But for many, budget advice won’t help. There’s simply no way to make ends meet.

“The result of all this will be a widening of the gap between the haves and the have-nots in New Zealand. This gap is already one of the widest in the OECD.

“Inequality hurts everyone, leading to poor outcomes across the board.

“In a more equal society, we’d all live longer, our kids would do better at school, we’d be happier and healthier, and there’d be less violence and crime.

“We need Government policies that lead to more equality, like reinstating the temporary special benefit for hardship situations, extending Working for Families support to all children, and raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

“Unfortunately John Key’s Government is turning a blind eye to the pain of thousands of Kiwi families,” Mrs Turei said.

ENDS

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