Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Licence needed for work use Learn More
Parliament

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | Video | Questions Of the Day | Search

 

Treasury Report Short Of The Mark

Treasury Report Short Of The Mark

Wednesday 11 Dec 2002 Dr Muriel Newman Press Releases -- Social Welfare

Treasury's latest study, into the effectiveness of social spending to improve the well-being of children, has failed to address the real issues of the causes of social dysfunction" ACT New Zealand Social Welfare Spokesman Dr Muriel Newman said today.

"The working paper `Investing in Well-being: An Analytical Framework' clearly states that it intends to compare the cost effectiveness of interventions for children.

"However, while traversing the core issues of adverse outcomes for children - such as sole and teenage parenthood, poor targeting of social assistance, bad legislation, and the fact that non-Government agencies can be more effective than the state - the report does not identity these factors as warranting further investigation, Dr Newman said.

"The report states that potential areas of focus for the project's next stage are symptoms of family dysfunction, rather than causes. What is so disappointing about this paper is that the country is crying out for an in-depth study into the causes of poor social outcomes for children.

"This report is not of the fearless calibre that we have come to expect from Treasury. Rather than confronting the high level issues of family breakdown and welfare reform, it is a solid piece of politically correct work that will not contradict Labour's belief in more programmes and interventions. It is the sort of work that Parliament's self-labelled, most politically correct Minister, The Minister of Social Services, will find acceptable," Dr Newman said.

ENDS

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

Featured News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.