Labour makes more kiwi families rely on hand outs

"Labour's big-spending Budget is set to force more working families into state dependence," says National Party Social Services spokeswoman Katherine Rich.

"What is worse is that it will have taken more than six years before Labour can claim to have delivered anything on its promise to pay a substantial social dividend.

"Making more middle income New Zealanders dependent on Government hand outs is no vision for our country.

"Labour is reverting to type - tax, spend and regulate. National believes New Zealand taxpayers should get a refund with the wealth they have created.

"Instead, billions of dollars are being poured into Labour's social engineering programmes. There is little evidence that Steve Maharey's 'redistribution opportunity' will get results.

"National welcomes the first tentative steps being taken towards increasing the gap between work and welfare, but we say those relying on benefits need a clear incentive to get back into the workforce and that should be done through taxation not the benefit system.

"National backs initiatives that would see beneficiaries making themselves available for some type of community work - which more than 90% of the public supported in a Colmar Brunton poll last year.

"Some 330, 000 New Zealanders are on a benefit and more than one-in-four children grow up in households that are reliant on a benefit. That is costing us nearly $1 million an hour, and Labour has today shown that it wants to grow that figure.

"The best way out of poverty is through employment. Labour's Budget may offer some short-term relief - but an increase in bureaucracy won't generate the kind of growth that we need to improve everyone's living standards," says Mrs Rich.

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