Families will pay the price for reckless tax cuts
By Ingrid Leary
The Southland Times. March 27, 2024, • 10:00am
Ingrid Leary: “I have been inundated with messages from disabled people and their carers in the Taieri electorate.”
Hamish McNeilly / Stuff
OPINION: Decisions that governments make about what to fund and what to cut tell us a lot about their values and priorities.
I have been inundated with messages from disabled people and their carers in the Taieri electorate who have been traumatised by the callous cuts this Government is making to their support.
Make no mistake: the sudden change to the criteria is nothing but a cut to services that are essential for the wellbeing of members of the community.
We have large numbers of people affected by this across the deep south, some of whom choose to live here because the flat terrain is more accessible for disabled and senior people.
It is patronising for the minister, Penny Simmonds, to say that those who look after their loved ones 24/7 need to be told what services are best for them.
These are people who in many cases do heavy physical lifting, experience sleep deprivation and need respite, physiotherapy and other services to support them with their essential care work.
To imply they are living the high life at the expense of taxpayers is deeply insulting – especially coming from the minister, who is supposed to be the champion of this community.
Decisions were made without consultation and communicated appallingly on a website, leaving people confused and distressed.
It is clear from Question Time in the House last week that the minister signed off the changes and did not seek bridging finance to support people’s needs. Instead of blaming the hard-working officials at the ministry, she should take responsibility and apologise to the disability community.
Meanwhile, Christopher Luxon and the National-led Government are continuing with their reckless tax cuts, no matter the cost – and it is families who are going to pay the price.
Kiwi households have been dealing with the cost-of-living crisis for some time now, and yet in the months since the three-party coalition came to power, we haven’t seen a single policy that can ease that pressure.Instead of half-price public transport or making most prescriptions free, the Government just spent an estimated $3 billion on landlords over four years and is still planning tax cuts that won’t benefit working people in the way that was promised.
This is about choices. At the same time as planning cuts to the school lunch programme and refusing to commit to reinstating flexibility with funding for disability support, the Government is choosing to prioritise landlords.
During the election campaign, economists warned National that its numbers didn’t add up. But the party ploughed ahead anyway, making irresponsible political promises despite the warnings. National told New Zealanders that its promises were affordable, and it could balance the books just by cutting back on “wasteful spending”.
This Government has rolled back workers’ rights, taken support out from underneath everyday Kiwis including some of our most vulnerable people, and reversed our smokefree laws – all while dishing out cash to landlords.
The Government’s priorities are backwards. When the prime minister doesn’t see the problem with taking $1000 a week he doesn’t need while telling others to save money, it’s clear where these decisions are coming from.