Up to a thousand free meals a day come from Neela's makeshift kitchen in Napier.
A woman who cooked and gave away tens of thousands of meals to cyclone-hit communities says she was escorted out of the Ministry of Social Development amid a “loud” argument over her benefit entitlements.
Neeracha “Neela Neela” Rattanaworametha was last year named a Napier City Council hero for her efforts in the kitchen after Cyclone Gabrielle hit the region.
She claims Work and Income New Zealand staff bullied her during the interaction earlier in March and she is calling for a public apology from the organisation.
She says staff told her that her social media posts, and the money coming into her bank accounts, suggested she had been selling food online.
But Neela Neela says the money was donations to her to fund her charitable efforts. She is now seeking assistance from an expert to manage this.
The Ministry of Social Development has denied its staff claimed she was selling food online, and has denied that staff bullied Neela Neela, saying they requested the same information from her as they expect from anyone else.
“We will continue to work with Neela to make sure she understands the support she may be eligible for, and the obligations that come with it,” East Coast regional director for the Ministry of Social Development Michelle McNabb said.
Neela Neela had been receiving money from ACC for a workplace injury three years ago that prevented her from lifting heavy objects, but support ended around October as an ACC specialist determined she could return to work because of her volunteer work cooking meals.
She said she would love to return to work, but she still had to disclose her injury on job application forms which had proven to be a barrier to getting hired.
She went to Winz in November at the suggestion of ACC and began to receive Jobseeker support and other regular payments for specific costs.
But issues arose when she sought a one-off Rent Arrears Grant to help pay for four weeks of rent in arrears while she was still looking for a job.
Work and Income staff asked for documentation to support her application and Neela Neela claimed the evidence she provided was ignored by the case manager who “belittled”, “bullied” and made her feel ashamed in a public conversation at the Winz office.
Neeracha ‘Neela Neela’ Rattanaworametha with letters of public support after an interaction with Work and Income staff where she claims she was bullied. Photo / Warren Buckland
She said staff suggested she had received income from selling meals based on posts she had made online and money coming into her bank account.
“I talked loudly, I know I can’t talk loudly but that time I was too angry, I couldn’t stop,” she said.
“They called security to take me out, two times they did that to me. Some people who don’t know me might think I am a bad person.”
Neela Neela said donations through Givealittle, the money people paid for her cooking classes and other avenues used to pay for ingredients to cook free meals, had come directly into her bank account and meals she sold and advertised online had been to pay an organisation for food distributed during Cyclone Gabrielle.
She said she had also spent $30,000 of her savings to cook the free meals.
“If you look at my account, you can see a lot of money come in from New Zealand and overseas. That is not my money, that is donated money to help support cooking to help people,” she said.
“The job of a social worker is to look after, care for and help people. Not to bully.”
McNabb said she denied Neela Neela’s allegations of bullying and said MSD staff treated her professionally.
“We remember and appreciate what Neela did after the cyclone. She helped a lot of people in our community.
“Unfortunately, some posts on social media continue to be misleading or inaccurate. We have not made any allegations about her volunteer efforts in the aftermath of the cyclone,” McNabb said.
“We reject any claim of unprofessional treatment by our staff. Before granting assistance, we need to have a good understanding of a client’s financial situation, and we ask for relevant information.”
She said Neela Neela had been asked to declare any income earned since she started receiving benefit payments in November, and to provide details about any property she owned in New Zealand or overseas.
She confirmed that Neela Neela’s agent from the Napier Family Centre had told MSD on Thursday last week that she no longer needed assistance for rent arrears.
James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz
