Hon Jim Anderton
Minister for Economic, Industry and Regional Development

29 January 2003 Media statement

Abolishing unemployment

Progressive leader and Economic Development Minister Jim Anderton is challenging National's shadow leader Don Bash to debate full employment, following Dr Brash's call for the dole to be abandoned.

Everyone shares Don Brash's ambition to see the dole become ‘surplus to requirements’. But full employment is not so-called ‘dole abolition’ is the Progressive’s solution,” said Progressive leader Jim Anderton says.

"The difference between National and the Progressives is that we want to see every young person in a job, education or training so that the dole becomes a thing of the past, while they just want to get rid of the dole regardless of what this would do to the children of the unemployed or communities faced with people with no means to support themselves.

"National had nine long years in government in the 1990s and high unemployment was an inevitable outcome of their policy programme. Now they propose to punish the unemployed for being victims of National's legacy," Jim Anderton said.

ENDS

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