KEY POINTS:
Labour should fast-track promised changes to criteria for the sickness benefit in light of new figures showing the numbers on that benefit continue to rise, National's welfare spokeswoman Judith Collins said yesterday.
The Government released data on Wednesday showing the number of people on the unemployment benefit dropped by a third in the past year and the overall working-age beneficiary numbers had dropped by 34 per cent since 1999.
Unemployment beneficiary numbers dropped from 44,549 at the end of March 2006 to 28,845 at the end of March this year - a 35 per cent drop.
The number of solo parents on the domestic purposes benefit also dropped 6 per cent over the same period.
But the figures show the number of people receiving the sickness and invalid's benefits continued to grow, by 4 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.
Since 1999 sickness benefit numbers have risen by 46 per cent and invalid's benefit numbers by 47 per cent.
Ms Collins said the sickness and invalid's benefits were defying gravity.
"There is no epidemic of sickness and injury in New Zealand," Ms Collins said.
Answers to written parliamentary questions show the Government is only now reviewing doctors' guidelines for signing people on to the sickness benefit.
Reports from some GPs showed they were under real pressure to hand out certificates for would-be sickness beneficiaries.
National wanted to establish a fairer regime for assessing sickness and injury.
"We have no problem providing a safety net for those who are genuinely sick or injured. We draw the line when seemingly able-bodied beneficiaries are being shuffled around the welfare system."
The Government said on Wednesday that despite an ageing population, growth in the sickness and invalid's beneficiary numbers was slowing.
- NZPA
