Many New Zealanders are still struggling with financial hardship 15 months after COVID-19 changed all of our lives. 

This week The Salvation Army released its latest advocacy report The Struggle is Real: A snapshot of financial hardship post-COVID-19. 

The paper looks at three different measures of financial hardship: KiwiSaver hardship withdrawals, attachment orders for civil debt repayments, and the amount of contacts to the Money Talks helpline.

The Salvation Army Southern Division Director for Community Ministries Vikki Stevenson says Central Otago currently counted 68 new families who have food parcels since the onset of COVID-19, as needed.

A total of 47 new families received social work assistance, while 31 new families are receiving other forms of practical assistance. 

There were no statistics for those receiving financial mentoring from The Salvation Army in Central Otago. 

In Queenstown, the numbers look much higher, with 251 new families receiving food parcels. 

Central Otago (Alexandra):    

Food Parcels

• 224   
• 68 new families          

Social Work

• 414 sessions 
• 47 new families          

Other practical assistance         

• 141   
• 31 new families          

Queenstown Lakes (Queenstown):   

Food Parcels 

• 840   
• 251 new families        

Social Work

• 673 sessions 
• 106 new families        

Other practical assistance         

• 56     
• 45 new families          

Financial Mentoring  

• 94     
• 16 new families

“Across all of these measures, more people are facing troubling financial times,” says report author, Ronji Tanielu. 

“For example, in 2020 more than 30,000 attachment orders were imposed on New Zealanders, forcing them to repay civil debts they owed. Nearly 26,000 of these were placed on people living on a benefit. 

“That’s like trying to get blood out of a stone, putting more pressure on people with low and fixed incomes. This will probably force many of these people into deeper debt traps and spirals,” adds Mr Tanielu.

In the year ending June 2020, the number of people withdrawing their KiwiSaver for financial hardship increased by 22 percent. 

The numbers of those contacting the Money Talks helpline for financial help has steadily increased since December 2020.

“We call on the relevant government ministers to truly help those struggling by rethinking KiwiSaver to ensure it is working for poorer New Zealanders, and urgently implementing a policy that ensures attachment orders cannot be imposed on people living off benefits.”

You can read The Salvation Army’s report by clicking here.