Government doubles Winter Energy Payments for low-income families, over 1m Kiwis to benefit
Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced this morning the Winter Energy Payment for 2020 runs for 22 weeks, from 1 May to 1 October, and doubles to $1400 for couples and $900 for single people this year. “The Winter Energy Payment started as part of the Government’s December 2017 Families Package designed to help older New Zealanders and many of our poorest families heat their homes over winter,” Ms Sepuloni said. “When the impact of Covid-19 first hit, the Government set out a $12.1 billion dollar support package for New Zealanders and business. It was within this package that we increased benefits by $25 and doubled the Winter Energy Payment. “A core part of the Government’s response to Covid-19 is to ensure families stay healthy and focused on their wellbeing, which is good for them and good for our health service.” Ms Sepuloni added that those on lower incomes generally spend any extra money on household items that keep their families well, and so doubling the Winter Energy Payment will act as an immediate stimulus in local economies. “The efforts of our team of five million helped to get us in a good position to tackle the virus and we each continue to have a role to play as we begin to reboot our economy for the good of all New Zealanders. “The Government is here to support those who need it.” Ms Sepuloni said about 850,000 people will benefit from the changes with more than one million kept warmer once children and other household members of recipients are included.
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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 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?
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59.4% Yes, supporting people is important!
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26.1% No, individuals should take responsibility
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14.5% ... It is complicated
A Neighbourly Riddle! Don’t Overthink It… Or Do?😜
Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post if you know the answer and the big reveal will be posted in the comments at 2pm on the day!
If you multiply this number by any other number, the answer will always be the same. What number is this?
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