{"id":11400,"date":"2026-03-23T14:49:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T01:49:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/?p=11400"},"modified":"2026-03-23T14:49:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T01:49:40","slug":"home-support-workers-say-fuel-costs-are-forcing-them-to-subsidise-the-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/?p=11400","title":{"rendered":"Home Support Workers Say Fuel Costs Are Forcing Them to Subsidise the System"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Home support workers are warning that rising fuel prices and stagnant reimbursement rates are pushing them to the brink, with some questioning how long they can keep doing the job that allows thousands of elderly and disabled New Zealanders to remain in their homes. Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa\u2011Packer says the situation has become untenable and is calling on the Government to urgently lift the mileage rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After meeting four Wellington-based workers this week, Ngarewa\u2011Packer says the picture is stark. The workers described juggling back\u2011to\u2011back clients across the city, maintaining their cars at their own expense, and receiving just 63.5 cents per kilometre<\/strong> \u2014 a rate unchanged since 2022 and now badly out of step with fuel costs. \u201cEvery kilometre, every litre of petrol, every warrant of fitness comes out of wages that were already too low,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Enough is Enough says Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori MP Debbie Ngarewa-Packer <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Because home support work requires travelling between individual clients\u2019 homes \u2014 often in different suburbs and at irregular times \u2014 carpooling or alternative transport simply isn\u2019t possible. Ngarewa\u2011Packer says that effectively means 23,000 workers are subsidising essential health services with their own money<\/strong>, even as fuel prices climb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The workers she met were also deeply concerned for the people they care for. Many clients are elderly, disabled, or medically fragile. \u201cThey were telling me about their own financial stress, and in the same breath asking what happens to their clients if they can\u2019t afford to keep doing this job,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the Home and Community Support (Payment for Travel Between Clients) Settlement Act 2016<\/strong>, the Minister of Health can increase the mileage rate immediately. Health NZ previously estimated it would cost $45.7 million per year<\/strong> to bring reimbursements up to the IRD rate \u2014 a figure Ngarewa\u2011Packer argues represents the amount workers are effectively paying out of pocket just to reach their clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also notes that home support workers missed out on pay equity adjustments last year. \u201cNow, as the fuel crisis bites, they are being asked to absorb that cost too. Enough is enough,\u201d she said, urging the Government to act before its scheduled review on 20 May.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Home support workers are warning that rising fuel prices and stagnant reimbursement rates are pushing them to the brink, with some questioning how long they can keep doing the job that allows thousands of elderly and disabled New Zealanders to remain in their homes. Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa\u2011Packer says the situation has become<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[328,913,114,113],"coauthors":[709],"class_list":{"0":"post-11400","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-economy","9":"tag-fuel-crisis","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-new-zealand"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11400"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11403,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11400\/revisions\/11403"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11400"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=11400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}