Are welfare payment restrictions hurting beneficiaries?

Carol Hirschfled interviewing Welfare Minister Paula Bennett on Maori TV. Photo / supplied

A sole parent says she has lost a sixth of her bodyweight because she has not been able to eat properly since the Government tightened access to training subsidies for beneficiaries last year.

Sara, a 35-year-old West Auckland mother in her second year of an applied science degree at Unitec, gets $517 a week in welfare but needs $668 a week to pay rent, drive to her classes and run a home for herself and her 12-year-old daughter - a shortfall of $151 a week.

Debate on this issue is now closed. Here is a selection of Your Views: