8 February 2011

Social policy recipe for failure

John Key’s social policy is a tired recipe for failure and division, the Green Party said today.

“We already have hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders struggling to get by, and the Prime Minister plans to make it harder for them,” said Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei. “It makes no sense.”

Responding to the Prime Minister’s opening statement to Parliament, Mrs Turei restated the Greens’ call for a significant boost to the minimum wage, state housing construction and more investment to help low-income families.

“Our minimum wage is so low that many Kiwis who work fulltime still need top ups from the Government just to cover the basics like food and shelter,” Mrs Turei said. “The minimum wage must go up to $15 per hour as soon as possible. The 25 cent adjustment announced yesterday is miserable.”

Lifting the minimum wage to $15 per hour would save more than $1 billion from the Government’s social assistance budget, Mrs Turei noted.

“While Mr Key plans to shuffle the existing state housing stock, we’d like to build 6000 new state homes in the next three years. A building program would help the 10,000 families on the waiting list for a home and it would help our struggling construction industry.”

Last year John Key's Government cut the budget for state houses from $120 million dollars to $18 million dollars.

In her Address in Reply, the Green Party Co-leader also pointed out the folly of likely changes to welfare: “John Key talks of 220,000 children dependent on benefits, as if that is their fault.

“We can help them, by extending Working for Families support to their families, to help pay for food, rent, warm clothes, and electricity.

“Instead, we are staring down the barrel of changes to welfare that will widen the gap between those who have the most, and those who need the most.”

ENDS

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