Editorial: Six little words said it all

Of all the words uttered in Wanganui District Court on Wednesday, perhaps the most telling were "all my friends are doing it".

They seem six fairly bland words. But when you consider they were uttered by a convicted benefit fraudster, who was overpaid $36,840.03, they take on a much more sinister meaning and tone.

Josephine Mere Kiddie is 25. On Wednesday, she was sentenced to 75 hours of community work and six months' home detention on a raft of benefit fraud charges.

Kiddie's crimes are bad enough. But worse still are her words, included in her pre-sentence report, claiming that all her friends were also ripping off the system and hard-working taxpayers.

Those words are indicative of a much wider problem.

It's important to remember benefit fraud is not just a Wanganui issue, or even just a national issue. It happens worldwide.

In terms of this country, it's easy to see how it comes about - right now, jobs are tough to come by, and many of the jobs which are available hardly pay enough to make a meaningful difference for a family trying to scrape by.

If someone happens to have a friend on a benefit who is foolish enough not only to break the law but to then brag about it, taking the same gamble might seem an attractive risk.

But also worth considering are the words of Judge Russell Callander at Kiddie's sentencing.

The judge noted that, at the start of his long career on the bench, there were no benefits or legal aid, and people who stole off the state went to prison. He noted that "people didn't cheat or steal, like they do today".

Benefit fraud is a huge problem but shouldn't be viewed in isolation.

In reality, it's an unwanted outcome from another larger set of problems, largely the economic and social conditions that allow deprivation to flourish and act as an incentive for fraud like the one committed by Kiddie.

Perhaps also, the increased monetary support identified by Judge Callander has contributed to a change in culture, whereby some people are now more inclined to break the rules, in the process disregarding the moral code adhered to by generations before them.

Nevertheless, none of that absolves people like Kiddie from the personal responsibility inherent on all of us to not break the laws we live by, and to not rip off the rest of the country.

Feedback: editor@wanganuichronicle.co.nz