What the story didn’t tell you

Yesterday Stuff had a story about a family being forced to live in a tent in Christchurch.

It’s a great example of why so many people no longer trust the media.

Whale Oil points out the facts that the Stuff story did not include.

• They had failed to pay rent on a previous property of $2,200. Not paying rent of course makes it hard to gain a rental property.
• They damaged their last property so badly the cleaning and repair costs were in excess of $1,500

Also buried in the story is the detail that they had turned down an offer to stay at someone’s house – preferring to be “independent” and live in a tent.

Another aspect that does not add up in the story is the assertion that one partner works full-time and the other is on a benefit. As far as I know you can’t be on a benefit if your partner is in full-time work. You can receive WFF and welfare assistance – but not be receiving a main benefit.

I have no doubt there are many families in Christchurch who are really struggling with accommodation. But media should report all the relevant facts – not just run a story probably handed to them by a local MP – without doing any research on it.