Gary Moller: The Evolution and Decline of New Zealand's Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC)

The article linked here motivated me to write this article:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360530697/acc-uniquely-kiwi-success-story-we-need-ask-questions-about

Lindsay Mitchell: MSD stocktake - "not yet following the desired direction of travel..."

The Ministry of Social Development, Carmel Sepuloni's portfolio, has just released its annual report. 

Here are some of the indicators of their 'progress':

Average future years on a benefit:

Michael Bassett: Helping the Underclass and Ourselves at the Same Time

Two bits of socio-economic news this last week collided. The first was that as many as 20% of Maori youth are unemployed, most of them on benefits. The second was the serious shortage of workers that is putting stress on horticulture and business owners for whom temporary workers from overseas have been doing the necessary work in recent years.

Limiting the number of imported workers is hindering our economic recovery from the pandemic. The government meantime seems content to keep the immigration doors nearly closed, believing that employers will be forced to lift wages for low-skilled jobs. Ministers naively hope that that will attract the unemployed to work. However, the government is bumping up benefits big time, meaning that many in the private sector can’t out-pay the state. Firms will probably go under. It’s a case of ill-considered ideology trumping common sense, yet again.

Robert Doar: Cash Alone Won’t Solve Child Poverty

When I entered the policy world in the middle of the 1990s, I wanted to reduce poverty, encourage independence, and expand opportunity. And for more than 20 years, working in the social services departments of New York State and New York City, I helped implement reforms to achieve those goals. In so doing, we increased employment, reduced child poverty, and improved the lives of millions of New Yorkers.

We achieved these successes by establishing the expectation that recipients of government aid needed to seek employment, financial independence, and a path to self-sufficiency. And if they did, we would help with government-provided benefits that rewarded their efforts.

The successes of these welfare reforms are widely recognized. In the years after welfare reform, New York City’s cash welfare caseload dropped by almost 1 million recipients, labor force participation among never married mothers (the group most likely to be in poverty) rose by more than 20 percentage points, and child poverty was nearly cut in half. Similar trends occurred all across the country. Nevertheless, everyone acknowledges we still have work to do—myself included.

NZCPR Weekly: Labour's Dependency Trap

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week we look into how the Labour-led Government is deepening the dependency trap, our NZCPR Guest Commentator Clive Bibby explains why the Government’s free school lunch programme is socialism by stealth, and our poll asks whether you support Labour’s policy of taxpayer funded free school lunches.

*To read the newsletter click HERE.
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NZCPR Weekly: Expert Group Proposes Increased Dependency

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week we examine the welfare changes recommended by the Welfare Expert Advisory Group and the Government’s response, our NZCPR Guest Commentator Lindsay Mitchell shares her analysis of the Advisory Group’s report, and our poll asks whether you support Labour’s decision to abolish the penalty for mothers who refuse to name the fathers of their children.

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Lindsay Mitchell: What could be kinder than offering a jobseeker a job?

Apparently the treatment of beneficiaries has become harsh and they are subject to unreasonable obligations. An 'expert' panel has been appointed to review the welfare system.

But what could be kinder to a jobseeker than the offer of a job?

MSD freely admits however that it can't get people off benefits despite a demand for workers. In a just-released publication relating to trends as at 2017 they say:

NZCPR Weekly: Labour's Disastrous Track Record of Welfare Reform

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week we outline how changes to the welfare system introduced by previous Labour Governments created intergenerational benefit dependency and we urge caution over planned reforms, our NZCPR Guest Commentator Lindsay Mitchell describes some of the policy changes signalled by Labour and the Greens, and our poll asks whether you believe that under Labour the downward trend in the number of children growing up in families dependent on welfare will continue, or be reversed.

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NZCPR Weekly: The Dangers of Dependency

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

In this week’s newsletter we look at the cause of New Zealand’s dependency culture and how the new Government’s proposed changes could make the situation worse - especially for children, our NZCPR Guest Commentator Lindsay Mitchell shares her concerns over the proposed scrapping of benefit sanctions, and in this week’s poll we ask whether the penalties on sole parent beneficiaries who do not name the father of their child should be abolished.

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NZCPR Weekly: Major Election Policies Announced

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week, we look at two controversial election policy announcements – by the Greens and New Zealand First, our NZCPR Guest Commentator Michael Coote outlines how Winston Peters could become a stabilising coalition force that keeps the extremist Green and Maori Parties out of Government, and this week’s poll asks whether you believe National should re-affirm its policy to abolish the Maori seats.

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NZCPR Weekly: Immigration Matters

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week, we look into immigration and the problems with the welfare system that are leading to an increasing demand for unskilled foreign workers, our NZCPR Guest Commentator Rodney Hide explains why immigration is good for the country, and this week’s poll asks whether you believe that able-bodied people on welfare should be required to sign a contract agreeing to remain drug free and accept any suitable job that comes along, or risk losing their benefits.

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Lindsay Mitchell: Falling out over whanau first

Maori Party MP Marama Fox is threatening to pull support from the government over legislation that removes cultural priority when placing a Maori child in care. But her choice of words would lead you to believe she supported the change:

"Just because we want to provide a safe and loving home doesn't make it mutually exclusive to a Maori home," Fox said.

What she actually wants is the status quo - whanau first.

Lindsay Mitchell: Free-for-all benefit system is untenable

Barrister Catriona MacLennan recently recommended improvements to the social welfare system via the current rewrite of our social security legislation. She wants to “…ensure all New Zealanders in hardship receive the help they need.”  The original intent of social security was to alleviate unforeseen hardship. Not self-imposed hardship. One in five babies  born onto welfare every year is not unforeseen hardship.

She wants “…the reduction of poverty [to be] the aim of social welfare, rather than the current focus on reducing the number of beneficiaries.”

Lindsay Mitchell: Drilling down DPB numbers

In Parliament this week the Prime Minister said:

"... through a strong economy and the welfare reform measures this Government has undertaken, we now have the lowest number of people on the equivalent of the old DPB since 1988."

Strictly speaking this is true and surely very good news?

Lindsay Mitchell: Welfare state today - the good and the bad

Not widely reported in the MSM so cut and paste from the Minister:

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley has introduced a bill extending the Youth Service to 19 year old parents and other 18 and 19 year olds at risk of long term welfare dependence. 

Youth Service provides intensive wrap around support for young people, getting them help with paying bills, budgeting and parenting, and supporting them into education. 

“The Youth Service has been very successful, with 86.5 per cent of clients engaged in education, training or work-based learning at the end of March 2015,” Mrs Tolley says. 

Lindsay Mitchell: Teen parents - a real difference

I wanted to get the whole picture before I wrote this post. Yesterday some detail arrived from the Ministry of Social Development.

For years I have agitated about the long-term DPB population being derived from teenage births. The children of these parents form the most at-risk group. But from 2008 the number of teenage births started dropping. In 2013 there were 29 percent fewer than in 2009. But even better, at March 2009 there were 4,425 teenage parents on any main benefit. By March 2014 the number had dropped to 2,560. A 42 percent reduction.

Lindsay Mitchell: More welfare changes on the way

The government has announced a rewrite of the Social Security 1964 Act, which is a massive maze of dated legislation.

I note that the cabinet minutes say:

- a rewrite of the Act would mean all aspects of the benefit system, including recent reforms, would be open for debate through the parliamentary process

- the rewrite [would] include consideration of policy change....[including] providing support for redirection of benefit payments and use of payment cards

Lindsay Mitchell: Americans talking about single parenthood contribution to growing inequality

Good. The Americans are talking about growing inequality and the association with single parenthood.

Statistically single parents are the poorest group in society in NZ so this NYT article has enormous relevance.

Lindsay Mitchell: Child poverty can't be cured through the benefit system

Without doubt one of next year's major election issues will be child poverty. Most of the voices heard on this issue, including the Children's Commissioner, blame the problem on inadequate wealth redistribution. Either wages or benefits are too low. Child poverty is therefore a product of the collective economic system and solving it becomes the responsibility of government.

I disagree. We are commonly told that approximately 270,000 children live in homes with incomes that fall below 60 percent of the median household income. Less focus goes on who these children are and why their parents are poor.

Lindsay Mitchell: Don't let Labour near welfare ever again

When he was Minister for Social Development Steve Maharey repeatedly said or wrote that the average duration on the DPB was 3 and a half years.

During that period I challenged him on that figure. It didn't ring true when pitted against overseas research. It took no account of people leaving the DPB and resuming - a common occurrence. And it wasn't a product of point-in-time data.