Tag: inequalities

The gap getting bigger between the rich and the poor

By Nia Mafi

           The country once known as the ‘land of milk and honey’ throughout the years has been anything but that. I have been one of the families whose has been a victim of the reality of poverty. As a child of a single parent in South Auckland I can attest to effects of poverty and my access to opportunities. I have witnessed and experienced food insecurities as a child as well being unable to access to educational opportunities. I have witnessed my mother struggling on the basic benefit to provide the staples for us her children. My mum struggled to meet our needs, and this affected her mental health as well as compromised my relationship with her. 

However, in my research I have found that the sad truth is child poverty has increased tremendously within New Zealand affecting over 300,000 of our children and to understand this a bit better 45,000 more than a year ago (Guardian , 2019). To put this into perspective, the families and children who are most affected by poverty are identified as Maori and Pacific families. It is stated that there are many living below the 60% income poverty line. As a country, we need to address the issue of child poverty and support initiatives that alleviate the impact that the national and international policies have created over many generations. Many of these have become entrenched in our society which has an underlying colonialist values and beliefs and been supported with the concepts associated of neo-liberalist ideologies since 1980’s.

The statistics as provided by Counties Manukau District Health Board prove that the children and families who are as living in income poverty are at most risk of medical problems and mental health illnesses. The other issues for those affected by poverty are social exclusion and lower educational achievements which end up creating statistics that reflect this with the Ministry of Education. They live in unstable, poor-quality housing with the effect on the overall well-being of the family.

Food insecurity is caused by the lack of access to quality or quantity of nutritious food and the list goes on. All the effects of the child poverty have the capcity to widen the gap between the have and have nots. Speaking on this issue I come from a place of experience from my life; this has been my reality. Being raised in a one-parent home being the eldest alongside three other siblings residing in South Auckland, poverty was not an issue as poverty was our normal. Our normal was reflected throughout my neighbourhood, I could vividly recall times that dinner was two-minute noodles and white bread for 99c or five dollars-worth of hot chips from the nearest takeaways because it would feed us all. I was unaware that this was not the way everyone else lived until I got older and more socially diverse.

During my time as a 4th Year Social Work student I have become more aware of the inequities in our society and the large gap between the very wealthy and the very poor. In my studies I have also discovered that this has been progressively happening over several generations as a direct result of policies and systems that have not supported growth for those that are most affected by poverty. In my opinion, after reading the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) 205-page report and the 42 recommendations that were made, it is the time for action against child poverty for the future of New Zealand as a whole. It does need to be noted that the WEAG recommendations to date have been ignored and are yet to be a part of the action plan and strategy for this government.

Personally, I believe the policies and systems currently in place need to be adjusted to not only address child poverty but to actively engage with organisations and communities that are attempting to address the most obvious symptoms of poverty with the increase of homeless people and begging being everywhere. Overall though the effects of poverty can only be addressed when we a country work alongside each other and with the financial support of our government to help empower and facilitate change systemically.

Reference list:

https://www.health.govt.nz/new-zealand-health-system/my-dhb/counties-manukau-dhb/population-counties-manukau-dhb

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/16/new-zealands-most-shameful-secret-we-have-normalised-child-poverty

http://www.weag.govt.nz/assets/documents/WEAG-report/aed960c3ce/WEAG-Report.pdf

Lack of transportation development in Auckland

By Kiky Eng

In this blog, I am going to discuss the Auckland public transportation system from a social worker perspective. One of the responsibilities of social workers is to support clients to live independently in the community. Many social services provide “transportation support” to clients, such as by taking them grocery shopping; to the doctor’s appointment; or to attend community activities as public transportation fees are unaffordable and inconvenient for clients who may have physical and mental health issues and disabilities.

Recently, the Government announced their intention to introduce transport concessions . It is estimated that 900,000 people will receive this benefit. Auckland’s transportation is centred at the City Business District (CBD) (see Figure 1 and Figure 2 below). The current City Link Project in which the Government invested a huge among of money is, in my opinion not necessary or of priority. It is also not person-centric, but a decision that was made based on cost-effectiveness.

My experience of using public transportation has not been a pleasant one. For examples, I have to walk long distance to and from bus stops or train stations; there is a long waiting time, especially when the weather is not good. Sometimes, the services are cancelled during peak hours and replacement buses, which were always full, skipped my stop. There is still severe traffic at the CBD after several upgrade projects have been completed.

Auckland is the third most expensive city in the world with regards to public transportation (). The transportation system is not well-developed and errors happen regularly. Low-income households are thus unable to afford public transport. Older people may be more reliant on public transport due to their reduced ability to drive. However, the inconvenient public transportation system is a barrier to their mobility and has a negative impact on opportunities for them to remain socially connected to their community. The Minister of Associate Transport:

“It can be a barrier to accessing everyday activities, making it to a doctor’s appointment, making it to a job interview, going to see friends and family across town.” (Julie Anne Genter, the Associate Transport Minister)

Figure 1. Auckland Transport, (2018), Central Auckland route map.

Figure 2. Auckland Transport, (2019), Auckland train network map.

I think the development of public transport in Auckland has had a disproportionate focus on CBD but not the suburbs. People who are low-income or who are community cardholders mostly live in the suburbs and not the CBD (see figure 3). They may not be able to afford private vehicles or public transportation fees. It is even more expensive for these transport users as communities who live further away from the CBD are charged more. However, they are not able to afford rental in the CBD as there are lower rental fees in the suburbs (Maré, Coleman, & Pinkerton, 2011). Naturally, low-income households live away from the CBD, where it is affordable and of low-price.

Figure 3. Show the low-income households intend to live away from the CBD (Maré, Coleman, & Pinkerton, 2011).

Recommendations:

I would recommend the Government and Auckland Transport to develop the transport network beyond the CBD such that Auckland residents are more confident about the convenience of using public transport. More train stations and bus stops should be built between residential areas and bus and train routes should extend to areas in which there is a concentration of community services. We could even consider establishing a train service between the North Shore and Auckland City to reduce the vehicles on the Harbour Bridge.

References

Auckland Transport. (2018). Central Auckland route map. Retrieved from https://at.govt.nz/projects-roadworks/new-public-transport-network/new-network-for-the-central-suburbs

Auckland Transport. (2019) Auckland train network map. Retrieved from https://at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry/train-services/auckland-train-network

Maré, D. C., Coleman, A., & Pinkerton, R. (2011). Patterns of population location in Auckland. Wellington, New Zealand: Motu Economic and Public Policy Research c2011.

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