Australian MP Barnaby Joyce claims he is struggling to support his two families, despite a NZ$219,872 salary.
"It's not that I'm not getting money it's just that it's spread so thin," he told the Courier-Mail.
Joyce has two children with his current partner Vikki Campion, and supports his estranged wife and their four children too.
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He says he slaughters his own farm animals to cut costs. One of his only "treats," is a cup of coffee.
"I'm not crying into my beer because there are thousands, thousands doing it much tougher than me," he told the Queensland newspaper.
He says he's not seeking sympathy but now understands how people with low incomes struggle. He is pushing his Coalition colleagues to support increasing Newstart - the Australian benefit.
Individuals with no dependent children receive NZ$293 per week on Newstart, reports 10Daily.
"God knows how someone on [AUS]$280 a week gets by, it'd be near impossible," Joyce told Sunrise on Monday.
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