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Annette King
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Beneficiaries
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Chester Borrows
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Jacinda Ardern
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National Party
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Paula Bennett
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Social Development
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Sue Moroney
There was far too much good news at the end of this week for it all to be crammed into one post. And this presser from Social Development Minister Paula Bennett brings very good news indeed:
15,000 fewer people dependent on benefits
Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says the latest benefit figures showing a five year low confirm New Zealand welfare numbers are back to where they were pre-global recession.
Benefit numbers have dropped five percent or nearly 15,000 to 295,320 in the past year (March 2013 – March 2014). This has resulted in 17,700 fewer children living in beneficiary households compared to March last year and a whopping 29,500 children fewer than two years ago.
“Beneficiary numbers have fallen to the lowest level since March 2009. When the Government took office in late 2008, the global financial crisis was already beginning to bite with benefit numbers increasing in the three quarters prior to and including the election,” says Mrs Bennett.
This is excellent news, especially the news that there are nearly 30,000 fewer children living in benefit-dependent households. There is plenty of research that shows that outcomes for children improve where one or both of their parents is in paid employment.
There has also been a significant drop in the numbers of teenaged beneficiaries; read on:
“The big success is the 10 per cent drop in sole parents and their children coming off Sole Parent Support.
“More than 8,600 sole parents have come off Sole Parent Support in the past 12 months, making up almost 60 per cent of the total reduction.
“Particularly pleasing is the 13.4 per cent decrease in young parents aged 18 on Young Parent Payments. We know that going on a benefit as teenager with children puts that person and their kids at huge risk of becoming trapped in welfare dependency.
“In fact 70 per cent of the country’s future liability welfare bill can be attributed to people who first went on benefit in their teens.
“The reductions we’re now seeing will mean fewer people on benefit in the years to come. We have more young people getting education and training through our Youth Service support which means we’re going to see healthier, more prosperous households,” says Mrs Bennett.
This too is excellent and welcome news. And further decreases in the number of people dependent on the state for support are likely as employment growth continues.
Paula Bennett's appointment as Minister of Social Development in 2008 raised eyebrows. But she has proved to be a formidable Minister, seeing off Annette King and Jacinda Ardern. Her latest opponent, Sue Moroney has yet to land a glove on Ms Bennett.
And Paula Bennett notes one final statistic:
“Post peak recession in March 2010, beneficiaries made up 12 per cent of the working age population. This has dropped to 10.6 per cent as at the end of March.
“This Government is putting more money than ever before into the welfare system. We are supporting people earlier, being clearer in our job expectations and putting more focus on at-risk teens. All of this is making a significant difference.
“Only a few weeks ago New Zealand was judged the best country in the world to live in – our latest welfare figures show things are just getting better,” says Mrs Bennett.
We congratulate Paula Bennett and National's Social Development team (which includes our local MP Chester Borrows) on a job well done. We look forward to that percentage of working age beneficiaries dropping into single figures in the near future.
