Welfare Reform - pathways out of poverty and dependency

The Business Roundtable takes an interest in social policy because it is central to achieving a better standard of living and quality of life for all New Zealanders. Reform of New Zealand’s welfare system is a high priority and over the years we have contributed to the debate through a number of major pieces of research (listed below) and in many other ways.
 
The topic has gained momentum more recently as entrenched intergenerational benefit dependency and rising welfare rolls have led to intolerable levels of child poverty and suffering, joblessness and social dysfunction.  New Zealand has a poor record relative to other OECD countries with regard to child poverty and health, youth unemployment, teen parenthood, educational underachievement, effective assistance for beneficiaries to re-enter the workforce and management of mental health problems.
 
The government’s Welfare Working Group (WWG), set up in 2010 to make recommendations on how to reduce long-term welfare dependency, reported in February this year. The Business Roundtable and individual members made submissions on the earlier Issues Paper and Options Paper released by the group. 
 
We support the WWG’s key recommendations. In particular we see as priorities their recommendations to  

1. provide clear signals about the obligations and requirements of all beneficiaries, especially teen parents
2. introduce comprehensive work testing of all new applicants and, progressively, current beneficiaries
3. introduce independent medical tests for sickness and disability applicants
4. greatly improve and expand mental health services, including drug and alcohol rehabilitation services
5. implement and clearly explain requirements of teen and sole parents re good parenting, and
6. contract out employment placement and post-sickness rehabilitation services.

Aboriginal leader Noel Pearson gave the 2010 Sir Ronald Trotter Lecture Pathways to Prosperity for Indigenous People. In March this year we ran a university-level debating tournament, The Big Social Issues Debates in secondary schools and for audiences of young professionals and students promoting debate on key welfare reform issues.  A number of other initiatives are underway aimed at helping lay the ground for reform and at widening the welfare debate to include labour market and New Zealand Superannuation issues.

Click here to read the government's November welfare announcement or see the Welfare Reform Hot Spot below for John Key's outline on the welfare reforms to be implemented this parliamentary term.

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