"Welfare working group" an expensive make work scheme for friends of National

Alliance Party media release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday 10 August 2010

The Alliance Party says about the only positive thing to come out of the Welfare Working Group so far is that it has provided the eight members of the group and their support crew with well paid jobs for most of the year.

Alliance Party co leader Kay Murray says it took the government appointed Welfare Working Group about six months and who knows how many hundreds of thousands of public money to create a discussion document that noted are too many people on benefits and not enough people in paid work.

"This is something the Alliance, along with many other individuals and organizations have been more than happy to tell the Government for free."

Unfortunately, rather than address the issue of what can be done to create more jobs for those who need them, so that less people need benefits, the Welfare Group has basically concluded that people don't have jobs because they aren't looking hard enough.

The jobs are apparently hiding out there somewhere – waiting for beneficiaries to find them.

The Alliance Party dismisses this as nonsense.

It is offensive nonsense when due to the failure of global policies and a failed response from the New Zealand Government, unemployment has soared to the highest level in years, with numerous closures and redundancies throughout the country.

Ms Murray says history has shown time and time again, when there is plenty of work there are very few beneficiaries.

When there isn't enough work people have to have some means of looking after themselves and their families and it is then up to the state to fulfill its responsibilities.

The deregulated economy with its free market and free trade ideology has failed the people of New Zealand, and the world. A managed, social-focussed economy as proposed by the Alliance is the only way to provide a functioning society in the long term.

ENDS

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