The time is ripe for a rigorous, comprehensive reform that will rationalize the current system of social buffers and provide more universal benefits. There is no need to overturn the existing system. It can be re-designed around the two traditional instruments of the ordinary Wage Supplementation Fund and unemployment benefits, suitably adjusted and graduated.
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the disproportionate impact of such economic downturns on both Māori and Pasifika communities. These compounding economic impacts have necessitated the Reserve Bank proactively reaching out to its regulated entities, Government and Māori partners to form a fuller view of the issues.