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High-interest loans 'trap' for Pacific families in south Auckland

Wednesday 7 March 2018, 1:25PM

By Reality Copywriting

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Bernie Smith has seen too many vulnerable families crushed under the weight of unpayable debt.

Monte Cecilia Housing Trust's chief executive is calling for more to be done to increase the financial literacy of south Auckland's Pacific community.

Its leaders need to "stand up and be counted" on the issue, he says.

"Our Pacific families are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"Many come to New Zealand and are not housed, but they need to be housed to get a job. 

"To be employed and get to their job they need transport, so they buy a car.

"Often because they don't have credit, or have bad debt, they get into these high-interest loans. It's a trap."'

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