Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand, a Catholic aid, development and social justice agency, says it has both reservations and relief over the government’s 2009 Budget. The agency welcomed the the government maintaining benefits and family support at the same levels despite the recession, but says more needs to be done.

[W]e need to also remember that many of New Zealand’s poorest citizens were already experiencing very low living standards even during the recent years of prosperity. That hardship is about to be experienced by at least 80,000 more workers and their families, as many more people face job losses over the next 12 months.

Despite unemployment increasing the latest government budget also ended a subsidy scheme that has financed more than 200 projects to create local jobs around the country. The Ministry of Social Development’s Enterprising Communities scheme, previously budgeted at $10.5 million a year by the former Labour Government, was axed as part of a spending “reprioritisation” according to the New Zealand Herald. While all 80 current projects will keep their funding under existing contracts, no further money will be approved. Adrienne Dalton of Te Whangai Trust, an organisation funded by the scheme which provides employment growing native plants to people referred from social welfare, said that without government assistance the trust could not continue doing the work it does in Maramarua, south of Auckland.

[W]e saw so much unemployment in our area and fourth-generation people on benefits and young kids having children and massive drug and alcohol issues and no public transport, so it was a black area for unemployment.

Caritas also expressed disappointment in the Government abandoning a commitment to work towards reaching 0.35 percent of Gross National Income (GNI) spent on overseas aid and development assistance.