Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston announced a new Traffic Light System designed to inform beneficiaries of their responsibilities to continue receiving support.
Cabinet has approved a series of additional initiatives, set to take effect early next year, that will further increase the obligations and penalties for job seekers. These include:
- Extending the period over which an obligation failure counts against a beneficiary from 12 months to two years.
- Requiring Jobseeker Support recipients to reapply every six months.
- Making it mandatory for all beneficiaries with work obligations to have a jobseeker profile before their benefit is granted.
- Introducing a new money management sanction that will see half of a person’s benefit loaded onto a payment card that can only be used for essential products and services.
- Implementing a new community work experience sanction that will require beneficiaries to build their skills and confidence to assist them in finding employment.
She said while the welfare system would continue to serve as a safety net, it had increasingly become a dragnet capturing too many people capable of working, allowing them to remain on Jobseeker Support for extended periods.
Upston pointed out that under the previous government, the number of people on Jobseeker Support had increased by 70,000 as the use of sanctions decreased, with nearly two-thirds of beneficiaries on the support for over a year.
“Our Government will not tolerate people who accept Jobseeker Support but fail to fulfil their obligations to seek work. It’s not fair on hardworking Kiwis whose taxes fund these benefits,” Upston said.
She said sanctions had risen notably since the current Government took office, with approximately 3,700 sanctions issued in the June quarter alone, mostly to Jobseeker Support recipients who failed to attend appointments or prepare for work.
“Our Welfare that Works approach will ensure that job seekers are actively supported and held accountable. We will take a harder line against those who repeatedly fail to meet their obligations by extending the period over which past failures are counted, increasing the likelihood of benefit cancellations,” she said.
The new money management and community work experience sanctions are intended as alternatives to financial penalties for first-time obligation failures, offering a pathway to more productive outcomes.
Additionally, requiring job seekers to reapply for Jobseeker Support every six months will enable the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) to provide more frequent support and ensure continued eligibility. The mandatory jobseeker profile will allow MSD to engage with beneficiaries earlier and connect them with job opportunities more efficiently.
“These reforms are key to the Government’s efforts to reduce the number of people on Jobseeker Support by 50,000 by 2030, a move forecast to save $2.3 billion in welfare payments,” Upston said.
Broadcaster Chris Lynch is an award winning journalist who also produces Christchurch news and video content for domestic and international companies. Chris blogs at Chris Lynch Media - where this article was sourced.
5 comments:
Aw, come on, fancy having to have to contribute, take responsibility, get a job, pay tax, none of these make any sense to the far left! You can guarantee that the far left parties will be against making their voter base wake up before midday and get out of their pj's, there will be resistance to these common sense policies.
A permanent impasse - like the equality vs equity debate.
The benefit culture is considered a human right in Aotearoa NZ. - part of compensating the eternal victims of colonization . Third World status is inevitable long term.
The little Green man was on TV declaring that the card did not work in Australia so would not work in that other A word. Well, the card did work BUT the Labor Govt has dropped it and guess what ... it probably will work in NEW ZEALAND
Absolutely bludgers should be disciplined. What also needs to be addressed is our rotten education system which is partially responsible for creating these people. We have an iniquitous education system that produces the longest tail of underachievement in the developed world. Those children from lower decile homes are selectively disadvantaged because they do not have the means of making up for the deficiencies in our failing schooling. Those students who fail to reach proficiency in reading have a 66% chance of ending up on welfare or jail.
A good start.
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