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Minister Refuses to Guarantee Social Bonds

Minister Refuses to Guarantee Social Bonds Won’t Be Manipulated for Profit

Fears that the social bonds experiment on the mentally ill will turn into a simple drive to make money were reinforced in Parliament today, says New Zealand First.

“Minister of Health Jonathan Coleman refused to give a guarantee that private companies, even foreign interests, would not put profit first over the care of people,” says Spokesperson for Social Development Darroch Ball.

“We are in now in a farcical situation where the government cannot even give the public the assurance that social bonds won’t be able to be manipulated.

“Social bonds will have such a massive impact on society. We should not be allowing this experiment to be implemented on our most vulnerable people.

“The fact that the government has decided to test the safety of social bonds on people in the mental health system shows the callous nature with which they are approaching their state responsibilities.

“We must not drive social change through a game of chance where profit-making priorities could win,” says Mr Ball.

ENDS


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