The major Working for Families review undertaken by IRD, Treasury and MSD is taking place behind closed doors. There are no published terms of reference, no timeline and no public consultations at this stage.

If the income from work is not in itself an incentive, and needs to be topped up by the government to make it worth the effort, then that raises another question. If work isn’t enough on its own, then isn’t the In-Work Tax Credit functioning as a tool to ensure income adequacy?

How much are caregivers of the young worth to an ageing society? In the years to come, a growing demographic of retired baby boomers will be evermore reliant on the willingness and ability of the younger population to support them.

Why do we need tax credits? Tax credits keep the whole shebang of family income afloat. Wages are now so far behind the basic costs of living that, without tax credits, very few families could survive.

Magnanimity, no matter how pure hearted, is not a sustainable basis for a social welfare state. The only sustainable basis is mutual interdependence – stemming from the knowledge that we are in the same boat.