Govt allowing WINZ cards to be used for tobacco and lotto

Newshub reports:

The Government approved a policy at BP petrol stations allowing beneficiaries to misuse their Work and Income (WINZ) Payment Cards to buy cigarettes, Lotto tickets and other banned items, Newshub can reveal.

Under Ministry of Social Development (MSD) rules, WINZ cards can only be used to buy approved items like food, petrol or clothing, while purchases of alcohol, cigarettes, vouchers, Lotto tickets and electronics are expressly prohibited.

But Newshub has learned the MSD signed off on a BP policy in December 2019 that lets beneficiaries buy items they hadn’t been approved for.

So MSD has a rule but agreed not to enforce it!