Louise Upston refuses to apologise after benefits wrongly suspended in second MSD error
New Zealand Social Development Minister Louise Upston has apologized in Parliament after a government error led to the wrongful suspension of benefit payments. The issue stemmed from processing delays following a recent law change.
Why it matters
Highlights government administrative failures and the political accountability required when social safety nets are disrupted.
Social Development Minister Louise Upston has apologised for a "significant problem" after some people's benefits were wrongly suspended , saying it is "extremely unsatisfactory".
The benefit payments were incorrectly stopped following a law change that was rushed through Parliament last year.
The new law requires some beneficiaries to re-confirm their circumstances at least once every 52 weeks, to check whether they are still eligible.
The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) said processing delays caused by a high volume of people confirming their circumstances meant some of their paperwork was not checked in time, so their benefit payments stopped.
It could not say how many people had been affected, but confirmed they had all been paid back.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon apologised on Friday , a week after he and Upston said sorry for another related but separate problem which saw thousands of pensioners miss out on their Winter Energy Payment.
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