A single mother on a minimum wage who lives in a state house in Auckland says changes announced in yesterday's budget would only make a small difference to her life.
Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Tutu Maru-Wichman lives in Mangere with two of her five children.
A full-time glasshouse worker, she pockets about $560 a week and pays $149 rent to Housing NZ.
She said she cannot afford a car, to heat the house or buy clothes for her teenage children. Some weeks the family ate canned food left over from previous weeks because she had bills to pay.
Under changes to the tax threshold and Working for Families in the new Budget, she worked out she would bring home an extra $28.50 a week, $1,480 a year.
She said living in Auckland was "very expensive" and the extra money would make a "slight change" to her life.
"It's not much. Thank goodness bread costs a dollar," she said.
