Date _29TH October 2012

POST TO:
Secretariat

Social Services Select Committee
Parliament Buildings
WELLINGTON 6011

SUBMISSION
Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill

Name of Individual / Family / Organisation:

Email Address:

I/We wish to appear before the Committee to speak to my/our Submission      YES
If you circled YES, please provide daytime contact number:

SUBMISSION:

I/We OPPOSE Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill

Reasons

PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL

I am a Wife and Mum of ……..children, my eldest is an adult, my youngest is …….. I love, care for and am proud of all my children, have always put them first and I will continue to do so always. I have raised and home educated my children for many years, and done so in a far superior manner than anyone else could with my children.

I value my family, I also value, my children’s and my right to do what is right for these precious lives that I have been entrusted by God. I am the one that is there for my children always, it is my pleasure, job and responsibility first and foremost to love and care for them, to provide for them and to raise them to be a credit to themselves, their family, friends, society.

I have raised my children to respect everyone, regardless of who or what they are or aren’t. My children will help anyone in need, they don’t see age, sex, race, religion, financial or personal circumstances. They see people, real people.

My husband has always been employed and I have worked in both paid and unpaid positions along with raising and educating our children and supporting my husband. That was, until a few weeks ago. In the space of three days my family’s whole lives changed. My husband went from Managing a multi-million dollar company, too every bodies disbelief and horror, now facing a 20 year prison sentence. As if this was not shock enough, days prior I had a work-place accident, requiring major surgery and a life-long risk of ongoing and permanent spinal injury. As my Husband and I were both forced to stop work, we not only lost our family income, we also lost our family home, as this came with my Husband’s job. My children and I have had to find immediate rental accommodation, had to move from the area we were in as, we who are innocent, were persecuted and disadvantaged from what my Husband had unbeknownst to anyone had done.

What cash and assets we had were used to pay off the majority of our debt, pay for my many medical expenses, my Husband’s Lawyer and relocating costs, and basic living.  I have enough to pay this week’s rent only and the cost to see the doctor yet again. From that without getting some sort of income my children and I will be homeless and without an income next week, you see, ACC doesn’t handle my employers Accident Policy, a private insurer does, and once the private insurer found out just how serious my injury was and the likely cost, they declined my claim. So I haven’t been paid since the middle of August. I approached Work and Income, almost penniless and am still waiting since September to receive some sort of assistance for my family. I am not angry or upset at this, been in the corporate world for many years, I understand politics and paperwork.

What does upset me, causes me stress and pressure that I could well do without both now and in an uncertain future for my children and I is that my children and my lives have been completely shattered and turned upside down, all for something that we had no knowledge of, don’t condone and had no part of other than being innocent victims. We have been punished and treated in a completely shameful manner, we have lost enough in our lives that this Bill is just another punishment and total lack of care and compassion for those in genuine need.

One thing that really stood out as a positive in this horrific experience is Victim Support, Doctors and other professionals have all agreed on and commented on, is that my children are Home Educated, they (who as yet, do not know what is going on with their Dad) have been spared the disgraceful behaviour, comments, abuse, school yard jokes and sneers, letters and straight to your face attacks, that have happened to both myself and my adult child, from both local adults and children. They also have been able to continue uninterrupted in their education, without the trauma yet of not only losing a parent unexpectedly, but also moving home, district and school. It is something that is normal, constant and a natural part of their lives, that unlike everything else they aren’t going to lose. That is they won’t lose another major part of their lives unless this Bill is granted. And for  my youngest who is ………, she will be denied something that  she currently gets, what all her older siblings have and had – a high quality education, with people she loves and cares for, with people that love and care for her. And why, Because her Mummy, at a time is unable to work.

I never sort out these circumstances for my family, neither do I want this. Sometimes things happen beyond our control and too be penalised further, to have both my children’s right and my right as their Mummy to decide and provide for them all, educationally, health, wellbeing – emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally in the best way possible for my family denied us, because of these unwarranted and unwanted circumstances should be criminal, not legal law.

Although my children are all fully immunised, my youngest just recently getting her B4 School Check, It really is offensive that in the future my role as their Mummy in deciding if they were to get immunised or have these Health Checks or not denied, all because I may be on a benefit therefore in the eyes of the “law” and society below par. I cannot explain adequately the shame and embarrassment, the degrading and humiliation it is to me personally, to walk myself into this Community Link building, “Have too” explain in detail to a stranger my families personal horror story, to have this all entered in a file, and ask for financial help, to go from a high income to nothing or I am sure approximately 1-2% of my old income, all while still having the same outgoing costs. When I married my husband I married him forever, I never ever expected to be a single parent, without a job or home. I never expected that my ability and competence to be a Mummy and Educator to my children will be called into question because of my financial situation. Thankfully  I have never treated others both known and unknown who receive a benefit as if they were second class citizens, as if they did not know what was right or wrong, or how to love and care for their children. I have witnessed the complete and utter contempt and disrespect that others have shown for people who receive financial assistance. I assure anyone that compassion and respect is far more productive and beneficial for all. And a reminder that, regardless of how secure and promising or right our lives may be, we never know what tomorrow will bring, regardless of our age, sex, race, religion, financial or personal circumstances. We are people, Real People.

As stated above this is private and confidential and I humbly request that this is NOT put up on your website or made public, as not all of my children are aware as yet too the extent their lives have changed. I ask that my submission against this Bill be accept without our personal privacy breached further. I will be available for a private submission hearing if need be. Thank you for your time and understanding in this matter.

Yours Sincerely

Put on website with permission with no private information.