Musician remains sceptical

Liz Boyle and Joel Rowlands with their son, Rhythm, and dog Bossco at their rented home at...
Liz Boyle and Joel Rowlands with their son, Rhythm, and dog Bossco at their rented home at Frankton Motor Camp. Photo: Guy Williams.
Joel Rowlands, who lives with partner Liz Boyle and their 11-month-old son, Rhythm, at the Frankton Motor Camp, said he was sceptical about the Budget.

He lost faith in the Government and its "silly, jokey politics" a long time ago.

A professional musician, he had lost much work in the resort’s bars in the past year or two, and the couple were now surviving on income from her part-time work as a seamstress.

Their home, a rented caravan with a permanent lean-to, costs $220 a week.

"We’re just making enough to live on."

Although he would check the details, he doubted that new tax thresholds and changes to the eligibility criteria for the accommodation supplement — for people living in Queenstown, Arrowtown and Wanaka — would help.

He gave his first vote to the National Party nearly a decade ago — "because my Dad told me to" — and had regretted it ever since.

"We’re disenfranchised," he said.

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