As hundreds of people slept on concrete overnight in the hopes of getting some donated food or gifts for Christmas, TVNZ1 Breakfast host John Campbell reflected today on the state of poverty in New Zealand.
Campbell was at Eden Park, where the Auckland City Mission is hosting one of four distribution centres set up in Auckland today. They are Papakura Marae and Ngā Whare Waatea Marae in south Auckland, VisionWest in Glen Eden and Eden Park in Auckland central. Thousands of people are expected at the centres, where Christmas goods have been donated for those in need. "Even though this is a story of desperate need it is also a story of celebration and humanity and kindness," Campbell said. However, it is also a stark reminder of poverty in New Zealand. "People are sleeping on concrete outside and they are sleeping to get food and presents for Christmas. Imagine having to do that," Campbell said, estimating 30 to 40 of the 200 people at Eden Park were children.
"We talk about this all the time and usually we talk to adults and we leave children out of this because whatever is going on it's never a child's responsibility," he said, crouching next to a sleeping child on the ground who had been waiting overnight with her family. "This is our country and there's no point pretending this isn't our country because it is, and those of us who are journalist's see it quite often. Those of us who work in this sector see it all the time. "There are many children here and they are waiting for food that their families might run short of and they are waiting for presents that they might not otherwise get, and this is the reality of life for some of us in New Zealand at the moment. Also waiting at the centre, a struggling mum told Campbell she was there for food and Christmas presents, as well as aroha and people's spirit. She caught the bus before 6am, carrying two suitcases to bring back kai for her whānau, because otherwise they wouldn't have enough. "Needing it every week," she said of running out of money. "Just to be honest and real, it's happening here in New Zealand. "We struggle, we really struggle. We reach out to agencies that are willing to give aroha from their hearts." The mother-of-one said she goes without power most weekends, telling her family it's "like camping". "We've got to tell the kids something instead of them going out and telling everybody that we've got no power - that's when you get social services on site and we don't want them on site. We just want people to know we're struggling." Agencies like City Mission and The Salvation Army are asking for donations of money, food and new presents for babies to teenagers.
=========================================================
Poll: Should the government levy industries that contribute to financial hardship?
As reported in the Post, there’s a $30 million funding gap in financial mentoring. This has led to services closing and mentors stepping in unpaid just to keep helping people in need 🪙💰🪙
One proposed solution? Small levies on industries that profit from financial hardship — like banks, casinos, and similar companies.
So we want to hear what you think:
Should the government ask these industries to contribute?
-
59.9% Yes, supporting people is important!
-
25.7% No, individuals should take responsibility
-
14.4% ... It is complicated
Even Australians get it - so why not Kiwis???
“Ten years ago, if a heatwave as intense as last week’s record-breaker had hit the east coast, Australia’s power supply may well have buckled. But this time, the system largely operated as we needed, despite some outages.
On Australia’s main grid last quarter, renewables and energy storage contributed more than 50% of supplied electricity for the first time, while wholesale power prices were more than 40% lower than a year earlier.
[…] shifting demand from gas and coal for power and petrol for cars is likely to deliver significantly lower energy bills for households.
Last quarter, wind generation was up almost 30%, grid solar 15% and grid-scale batteries almost tripled their output. Gas generation fell 27% to its lowest level for a quarter century, while coal fell 4.6% to its lowest quarterly level ever.
Gas has long been the most expensive way to produce power. Gas peaking plants tend to fire up only when supply struggles to meet demand and power prices soar. Less demand for gas has flowed through to lower wholesale prices.”
Full article: www.theguardian.com...
If even Australians see the benefit of solar - then why is NZ actively boycotting solar uptake? The increased line rental for electricity was done to make solar less competitive and prevent cost per kWh to rise even more than it did - and electricity costs are expected to rise even more. Especially as National favours gas - which is the most expensive form of generating electricity. Which in turn will accelerate Climate Change, as if New Zealand didn’t have enough problems with droughts, floods, slips, etc. already.
Poll: Should complete designs be shared with the public, or should the community help shape the designs from the start?
The Post recently shared an opinion piece on the Harbour Crossing and why a more democratic approach might be needed 🚗🚲👟
While most decisions sit within the political arena, many organisations—like NZTA—manage long-term projects that go beyond party lines. Politics can sometimes disrupt progress, and the next Harbour Crossing is a big decision that will affect all Aucklanders.
We’d love your thoughts: Should near-complete, shovel-ready designs be shared with the public, or should the community have a hand in shaping the designs from the start?
-
87% Community feedback and transparency is needed.
-
13% No. This would be impossible in practice.
Loading…
