Yep. New Zealand lockdown led to biggest spike in welfare claims in modern history The number of people claiming benefits grew by nearly 12% during New Zealand’s first month of lockdown, a new report has found, representing a demand for social welfare “unprecedented in modern history”, the government says. Analysis by the Ministry of Social Development showed the jump in April was the biggest monthly rise in 24 years, “noting that this period includes the global financial crisis and the Asian crisis”. New Zealand’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has been globally lauded with fewer than 2,000 infections and just 22 deaths. But the economic consequences of multiple lockdowns have been catastrophic, say, economists, with unemployment figures forecast to peak as high as 26%, at worst estimates. The analysis of benefit numbers – which includes those claiming a range of allowances related to unemployment, health and parenting – was carried out to compare benefit Covid-era benefit rates with those observed during significant economic downturns since the Depression. “This increase corresponded with the strict alert level 4 restrictions and significant reductions in global demand,” the report said. On 25 March, New Zealanders began level 4 restrictions – the most severe possible. Unusually, the report found that the Covid-19 pandemic had disproportionately affected European New Zealanders, who usually fare best in social, health and economic outcomes in the country. “In the current downturn, the percentage increase in unemployment-related benefit receipt was higher for New Zealand Europeans than Māori or Pacific people,” the report stated. “Likely reflecting how Māori and Pacific people are over-represented in benefit numbers to begin with.” Beneficiary numbers for the working-age population are forecast to peak at about 16.2% in January 2021, the report found; more than beneficiary peaks observed in earlier shocks, including the Global Financial Crisis (12.4%), the Asian Crisis (15.8%), and the early 1990s downturn (16.1%). Prior to the introduction of welfare, during the peak of the 1930s Depression, 6.6% of New Zealanders were unemployed and recruited into government work programmes. However, the report noted that women were not included in those figures. The report said it was too soon to say “with any certainty” when welfare rates would peak, but the rate of change in benefit numbers observed in April was “unprecedented in modern history”. The Salvation Army and food banks around the country say demand for their services has quadrupled since the start of the pandemic, and the unemployment benefit isn’t enough for most Kiwi families to survive on, at just NZ$250 (£126) a week per person . More than a million New Zealanders – a fifth of the population – accessed the government’s wage subsidy during and after lockdown, while others were kept afloat by the Covid-19 income relief payment of NZ$490 per week. The discrepancy between welfare payments and the Covid support package has angered many, who said the gap was “unfair and discriminatory”. Many in the welfare sector have called for the new rate of NZ$490 to be extended to those needing welfare help, too. New Zealand could return to pre-pandemic economic levels by 2024 “with significant loss of income along the way”, the government’s treasury secretary Caralee McLiesh, said recently. Finance minister Grant Robertson warned in April the nation faced an economic shock “a quantum greater” than that of the 2008 global financial crisis.
As it was in every country with benefits. What is your point? Life is good in New Zealand where they have conquered COVID because they did a proper lockdown. Schools are open, businesses are open, bars are open.... their only COVID is cases introduced from the outside by people traveling to New Zealand.
New Zealand actually spent less (percentage wise) on social benefits than other countries --- and they solved the COVID problem by having a proper lockdown. The reality is that New Zealand demonstrated how if should be done.
I think this COVID is going to run its course no matter what we do. In other words, a lockdown is only going to delay the inevitable...a lot of people being infected, eventually leading to herd immunity. When this is all over, I think the death rates in areas that locked down won't be much different from areas that did less so.
Can you show me that data in NZ vs. other countries? I'd be interested in seeing it. Please note that the spending has to be as a percentage of GDP for us to be apples to apples.
Some of us have been saying that since the beginning. A virus is going to be a virus. Locking down does nothing but prolonging that. It does push out the contagion and perhaps hope for a vaccine, and it does flatten the curve (which was all this was supposed to be in the first place, remember? Good times). But open up? Virus comes out.
One can think of it as a large table with hundreds of wooden matches standing upright on end with sparks being introduced to the table randomly. All of the exposed matches will eventually ignite. Aside from a vaccine there is no isolation strategy in existence that is going to prevent the eventual spread throughout the population. When "flattening the curve" morphed into "shelter in place" it was clear that the nature of a virus, any virus, was not well understood and an epic mistake was being made. People normally regarded as intelligent can no longer be regarded as intelligent when they pine for additional isolation. Its just dumb.