All the cash boosts Kiwis will get from 1 April - The Front Page

New Zealanders are set to get some relief from the cost-of-living squeeze. Photo / NZME

The cost of living crisis has hit many New Zealanders hard, but some help is on the way. From the beginning of April, increases to the pension, benefit, student allowance and childcare subsidies will benefit 1.4 million Kiwis.

At the same time, the minimum wage will also increase by $1.50 to $22.70 per hour.

These increases are being touted as helping the New Zealanders struggling the most right now, Sense Partners economist Shamubeel Eaqub tells The Front Page podcast it will take more than this to solve the ongoing problem of poverty in this country.

“Every little bit helps,” says Eaqub.

“The cost of living has gone up and people who do very hard work on these fairly low-paid jobs are going to find that there’s a little bit more money, but the reality is that because there are just so many taxes, even for very poor people in New Zealaand, not a lot of that will end up in the family kitty.”

Here’s a rundown of all the changes coming on 1 April:

• Superannuation will increase by over $100 for a couple per fortnight and nearly $70 for individuals.
• Main benefits to increase by the rate of inflation, meaning a family on a benefit with children will receive an extra $40.86 a week and a sole parent will receive an extra $31.83 a week.
• Student support rates will increase in line with inflation, with single students under 24 without children getting an extra $20.21 per week.
• The minimum wage will increase by $1.50 to $22.70 per hour.
• The income thresholds for the childcare subsidy will increase.

The latest figures show that 120,000 children are still living below the poverty line in New Zealand, barely decreasing from the figures released last year.

“This shows us we’ve got to do so much more,” says Eaqub.

“We cannot have policies that go thinly over too many people. We’ve got have courage and boldness and we’ve got to spend much more money if we’re actually going to deal with it. Poverty is entirely fixable. We know the kinds of policies that work, but it requires us to take money away policies that are spread too thin and give money to people who do not deserve it.

So what policies would make more sense? Do politicians have the appetite to drive that change? Could childcare subsidies simply lead to increase costs? And is it time to seriously think about changing our superannuation system?

Listen to the full episode of The Front Page for answers to all these questions.