Criticism not new for solo parents

Solo parents have often been the target of politicians seeking to attack the welfare state.

Last night National leader Don Brash used his annual speech to the Orewa Rotary Club to target Government welfare policies, citing the number of people on the domestic purposes benefit.

He outlined National's new policies which would require those beneficiaries to undertake work, training or community service and ensure their children attend school and get vaccinations.

"From helping women out of difficult relationships initially, the DPB has been allowed to become a career option for far too many, and a way of allowing men to avoid their responsibilities," he said.

Ministry of Social Development figures actually show a slight fall in the numbers getting the DPB - from 110,477 in September 1999 to 109,021 last September.

A department spokeswoman said the numbers on the DPB had fallen slightly in recent years after rising steadily since the benefit was introduced in 1974.

The DPB cost $1.568 billion in the 2003-04 year compared to $1.083 billion for the unemployment benefit, $976 million for the invalid benefit and $469 million for the sickness benefit.

National's social welfare spokeswoman, Katherine Rich, would not comment yesterday on the DPB, referring the Herald to Dr Brash. In a speech to the party's annual conference last year she criticised rising beneficiary numbers and said promoters of the DPB had predicted those needing help would never exceed 20,000.

And she notes in her 2003 discussion paper on welfare dependency that National's social welfare ministers had to make some "tough calls" last decade - such as the 1991 benefit cuts.

"Prior to these changes, welfare growth appeared exponential. Reducing benefits had an almost immediate effect.

"We can only speculate where the welfare roll would have ended up had it not been for this intervention," said Mrs Rich.

She said it was tragic that opponents of welfare reform attempted to label any attempt to shift beneficiaries into work as blaming the victim or beneficiary bashing.

Green Party welfare spokeswoman Sue Bradford, a long-time campaigner for beneficiaries, said solo parents were being unfairly targeted by National.

The Labour Government was already tough enough on beneficiaries.

"Every detail of your financial and personal life is supposed to be revealed or else you come under threat of being in court for fraud."

Ms Bradford said it was "vicious" for Dr Brash to target the poorest families.

Forcing people out of their homes and into work was telling solo parents that being a mother was not a worthy occupation and only paid work mattered.

Ms Bradford said that while the biggest attack on DPB recipients and other beneficiaries in the 1990s was the benefit cuts, another feature of the decade was the code of social responsibility and the "dob in a beneficiary" television ads.

"What worries me about Brash is he's going right back to that era," said Ms Bradford.

Brash's plan

* Reduce those on benefits from 300,000 to 200,000 in 10 years.

* 90-day no-risk trial for unemployed in new jobs.

* Tougher and more consistent medical evaluation for invalid and sickness beneficiaries.

* Continuing unemployment benefit conditional on participation in job scheme, community work or retraining.

* Introduce numeracy and literacy testing and lessons for jobless.

* DPB recipients to be ready for part-time work when youngest child at school, and full-time work when youngest child 14 years.

* Require children of beneficiaries to have dental checks and be immunised - unless there is conscientious objection.

* Impose financial penalty on the 32,000 DPB recipients who don't name fathers of children.