TL;DR: Labour quietly changed the rules for welfare and tax debt owed by beneficiaries to make forgiveness and interest-free loans easier in July, but National may not keep the changes.
The changes reinforce the need for this $3.5 billion of debt to be wiped, given over 70% of beneficiary households with children owe an average of over $4,000 each to MSD, IRD and the courts, while also suffering housing, energy and food poverty.
Elsewhere in the news this morning:
A Simon Bridges-chaired construction company is being investigated for migrant abuse, as Stuff’s Steve Kilgallon reports
National would have to dramatically scale back its tax cuts if it gave in to NZ First’s opposition to its a foreign buyers tax, reversing a building depreciation move, re-imposing chemist fees and dumping the Provincial Growth Fund; Craig Renney via X and,
Wellington City Council decided to sell its Airport shares, abandon a pedestrian bridge repair and cut funding for a pool upgrade and garden upgrades to avoid breaching its debt limits. The Spinoff’s Joel MacManus reports.
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A stronger case to forgive the welfare & court debt
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