New Zealand’s Petitions Committee wants ‘‘urgent progress’’ from the next government on rezoning accommodation supplement areas across the country, thanks to a concerted effort by a group of Queenstowners.
In what former mayor Jim Boult calls an ‘‘absolutely emphatic’’ recommendation and a ‘‘major win for the whole country’’, the parliamentary committee has given the next government till December 4 to respond to advice it updates the supplement areas every time Statistics NZ updates its geographic boundaries.
The news is just desserts for those who’ve led the charge, from Queenstown.
It’s lately been spearheaded by Salvation Army Queenstown community ministries director Andrew Wilson, pictured, centre, with Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust boss Julie Scott, right, and Queenstown councillor Niki Gladding, along with Southland MP Joseph Mooney, and others, but it represents seven years’ work.
It also has the potential to positively impact tens of thousands of households in NZ who live in areas still deemed ‘rural’, despite urban sprawl, because the supplement boundaries are woefully out of date.
The means-tested weekly supplement payment varies depending on where a person lives — in ‘Area 4’, which is deemed rural, a family can receive up to $120 a week.
Those in urban areas can receive up to $305.
While in many parts of NZ the supplement’s being assessed using ‘statistical geographies’ from 2017, Queenstown boundaries haven’t been updated in 31 years.
That’s despite exponential residential growth on what was previously rural land.
For example, Shotover Country is still considered farmland, yet its population increased from 40 in 2013 to 3890 in 2022.
Jack’s Point and Hanley’s Farm are also still considered rural.
Over the same period, the population in that area jumped from 250 to 2140.
In its decision, the committee says it’s ‘‘surprised’’ the supplement’s being assessed using historical data, particularly in the Queenstown context, and recognises the financial impact that’s having.
‘‘We agree with the petition er and Queenstown Lakes District Council that the allocation of the Accommodation Supplement should not be tied to historical data.
‘‘Instead, the Social Security Act should be future-proofed so the Accommodation Supplement always draws on the most up-to-date information from Statistics NZ.
‘‘We wish to see urgent progress on this matter,’’ the committee’s decision says.
‘Highly unlikely’ new govt will ignore petition advice
Boult tells Mountain Scene he feels ‘‘totally vindicated’’ by the recommendation.
Work started on the issue when he was first elected in 2016, ‘‘but I got the cold shoulder from umpteen central government politicians’’.
‘‘They just were not interested in hearing the story.
‘‘I don’t know whether they didn’t care, or just didn’t get it.’’
Wilson, who’s ‘‘absolutely rapt’’ with the outcome of the past year’s concerted effort to effect change, believes any government will struggle to find a ‘‘legitimate reason’’ to ignore the recommendation.
‘‘It really puts the government on the spot to have to respond … specifically to this petition request,’’ Wilson says.
‘‘[The recommendation] just shows how unfit for purpose this piece of legislation is — it’s all about how populations grow and urban areas develop, but hasn’t been updated in five, almost six years.’’
The report also reveals why the supplement’s using such outdated boundaries for Queenstown.
While Stats NZ published its ‘statistical standard for geographical areas’ in 2018, boundaries weren’t ready in time to be included in the Social Securities Act.
That means Ministry of Social Development’s still using the boundaries from 2017 — which in Queenstown’s case are the same as those set in 1992.
Wilson notes since then, Stats NZ’s information on Queenstown, and other areas across NZ, has been ‘‘much more accurate and much more clear’’.
‘‘So we’ve been waiting for the government to get with the times and use, as the recommendation says, the most up-to-date information.
‘‘While Queenstown is very much the most disadvantaged with the current mapping, there are towns up and down the country that have their residential populations outside the current [urban] boundaries.
‘‘Invercargill is all ‘rural’.
‘‘The whole city down there is waiting to be put in the right place.’’
Wilson, who last year skydived with Boult and Mooney to draw attention to the issue, says the outcome shows what happens when a community works together to achieve positive outcomes.
‘‘I’m absolutely rapt and grateful we live in a community where every person and their dog wants to see the best outcomes for their neighbours.’’
Boult is clearly also chuffed.
‘‘I have to say, little old Queenstown has led the way on this one.
‘‘I hope the rest of the country gets the benefit of what’s being done.’’
