Tax cuts will not eliminate poverty Maori Party
The Maori Party says a $10.6 billion tax-cut package is a drop in the bucket, when there is much more to be done to address inequalities and need, according to the Maori Party.
“The tax cuts barely relieve the huge pressures on many families, and we really wanted to see a much greater emphasis on eliminating poverty,” said Co-leader Dr Pita Sharples.
“There is a negligible cut for those on less than $10,000, and a slightly bigger cut for the next group earning up to $20,000. But the biggest cut is for those between $60 – 80,000,” said Dr Sharples.
“So while someone living in poverty will get an extra $10-15 per week, a person on $80,000 will receive around $55 per week.
“It will take two years to feel the full effects,” he said. “And what is worse, discrimination continues against those who rely on benefits.
“We need to recall that it is not just unemployed people who need help with feeding their families, but also those in part-time work and on low pay rates.
“Of the 1.8 million people struggling to make ends meet, ten percent are children whom the Child Poverty Action Group has revealed are living in severe and significant hardship.
“The Maori Party has called for food to be exempt from GST, and for people on incomes of less than $25,000 not to pay income tax.
“These changes would have an immediate impact on people who cannot make ends meet. The tax changes announced today will not eliminate this poverty in the midst of plenty,” said Dr Sharples.
House insulation scheme shows huge value of publicly owned assets – Maori Party
Budget reaction 22 May 2008
The government’s state house insulation scheme has multiple compounding benefits for the whole of society – and is possible through public ownership of the houses, says the Maori Party.
“The $47 m price tag for the scheme is not a cost, so much as an investment in the future of this country,” said Housing spokesperson Tariana Turia.
“Insulation is an investment that adds capital value and slows the deterioration of the economic asset, the housing stock,” she said. “It will also cut the ongoing costs of tenants’ energy bills and doctors’ visits that bite deeply into low incomes,” she said.
“Much more than that, it is also an investment in the health of our people, especially the children of poorer families who suffer huge rates of asthma and respiratory illness. The payoff will be seen over time in better performance at school, improved education outcomes, greater employment prospects and so on.
“On top of that, it’s a saving to the environment through reduced energy use and therefore carbon emissions.
This scheme is a circuit-breaker, reversing the cycle of disadvantage that drags down so many of our people,” she said. “While it is targeted at some of the people in greatest need, the benefits will be felt by society as a whole.
“The Minister hopes the example set by Housing New Zealand, as a major landlord with 21,000 houses, will influence the market and encourage private landlords to lift their game as well.
“All this is possible because the state owns the houses. Public ownership of the asset enables the government to carry out important parts of its housing, health, education, social development, environment and economic policies,” said Mrs Turia.
“We congratulate the Green Party for pursuing this initiative, and the government for providing the funding to see it through.
“The Maori Party looks forward to similar investment in the rail system, which again will have multiple social and environmental benefits.
“Government economic theories, however, stop the principle being applied more broadly to strategic assets. If New Zealand adopted a Genuine Progress Index, to measure social, cultural and environmental performance alongside economic, the real value of publicly owned assets would be obvious,” she said.
Maori Health Workforce Funding
“Congratulations Maori health workers!” says Tariana Turia, health spokesperson for the Maori Party.
“Budget 2008’s announcements of $12m over the next four years in the Maori health and disability workforce is a huge tribute to Maori health professional associations, Maori health providers and Maori health workers” said Mrs Turia.
“This is a movement which has united in their commitment to advance a Maori-led workforce to respond more effectively to the health needs of Mori”
“I want to applaud organisations like hauora.com and all of the skilled Maori health professionals who have been working to strengthen the capacity and capability of the workforce”.
“While participation and retention is essential, it is good that investment is also going into leadership” said Mrs Turia.
“Maori health workers are concentrated in less senior and less well-paid positions; such as the community worker, health promotion and health education fields” said Mrs Turia.
“We need a whole lot more strategies to grow and strengthen the Maori health workforce than $12 million will afford” said Mrs Turia. “We need greater access to cultural and technical training; increased investment in by Mori for Mori approaches to meet the needs of Mori communities in health; Maori health career pathways and that’s just a start”.
We urgently need resources in the alcohol and drug recovery programmes run by Maori – they are the poor relations in the health sector, and need a generous share of the $2 billion voted for health.
“When we look at the big picture – $10.6 billion given out to tax cuts – and only $12 million to be responsive to the needs of Maori in our communities – it’s still pretty obvious just how little value this Government places on tangata whenua”.