My government will always champion a welfare safety net for Kiwis in genuine need but in recent years, the welfare system has become a long-term crutch for too many people who are capable of working.
We are making clear our expectation that those who can work, should be taking all reasonable steps to find a job, and those who do not will face consequences.
We will back those people who say they aren’t prepared to live a life on welfare but we will not sit back and accept people who receive the Jobseeker benefit yet refuse to uphold their obligation to seek a job. It is not fair on those hardworking Kiwis whose taxes go toward that benefit.
That’s why we launched a Traffic Light System that lets people on welfare know what is required of them to continue receiving a benefit and warns them when they are not meeting those expectations.
New non-financial sanctions include Money Management which will see half a person’s benefit placed onto a payment card that can only be used to buy essentials, and Community Work Experience which will mean having to complete appropriate work experience before the sanction is lifted.
We will also require those on Jobseeker Support to reapply every six months to have their benefit continue and we will be taking a harder line against those who repeatedly fail their obligations by extending the period where past failures count against them from one year to two years.
No one will be sanctioned for not being able to get a job – the sanctions apply only if someone is not holding up their basic obligations to try to get a job.
I don’t know of a single young Kiwi whose talent, creativity and untapped potential is best served by a life on welfare. We want more for them.
Employment is always going to offer more opportunities than being on a benefit and we have set an ambitious target for 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support by 2030. So, we will do everything we can to support people off welfare and into work and ultimately, a better life for themselves and their families.
