The National Party wants harsher penalties for those on benefits who don’t meet their obligations to look for work.
Party leader Christopher Luxon and social development spokeswoman Louise Upston made the announcement in Auckland today while visiting a strawberry farm in Kumeu on Tuesday morning.
National’s plan includes a traffic light system:
Green - No change to benefit for those who prepare for and look for work
Orange - First or second breach of obligations would require more regular check-ins and/or attendance at job workshops
Red - A third breach would see sanctions including benefit cuts or suspension, money management and mandatory community work experience.
Jobseekers would also be required to reapply for benefits every six months, show documents to prove they’re applying for jobs and attending job interviews, and have a one-month benefit stand-down for those evading arrest warrants.
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National has previously pledged to peg benefit levels to inflation.
They are currently pegged to either inflation or wage growth, whichever is higher.
“For those who are able to work, employment is the best way out of hardship. It provides individuals and families with greater independence, choice and opportunity, and is also better for taxpayers,” Upston said.
Speaking to media in Kumeu, following the announcement, Luxon and Upston said this is about getting people back into the workforce.
“We’re not talking of those unable to work, but those who can work,” Luxon said.
Upston said this is not a sanction for those who cannot work, but a way to help them into work.
“If there are three or more breaches, that will be a red light and sanctions will step up.
“Most people comply, but when they don’t, they will know that actions will apply,” she added.
“We will require beneficiaries to apply for the jobseeker benefit every six months rather than 12.”
Luxon said it’s about helping those into work, not trapping them in welfare dependency.
“The vast majority of those on Jobseeker benefits are meeting obligations, but there are some who don’t,” he said.
He said “you have an obligation to those taxpayers who are helping fund those benefits.”
Luxon said around 85 per cent of those on an unemployment benefit are complying with those rules.
Upston said her preference said her preference is always to have people in work.
She said one of the biggest frustrations she hears is that job seekers don’t turn up for training or work.
“You’ll not get a job if you turn up in your pyjamas and that’s what I heard from an employer last week,” said Upston.
Luxon said there have been more than 60,000 people into a job seeker benefit with low unemployment and job shortages.
“Your fellow taxpayers are paying for you to be on a job seeker benefit while you look for work,” he said.
He said there are a series of cascading responsibilities to try and get people back into work rather than welfare dependency.
“You are deemed capable of working” Luxon said. “Your job is to get a job.”
Luxon said it had reached the point where “more serious interventions were needed” to get people into work.
Luxon said they are not up for people who are serial job seekers.
“We believe that work is a fundamental way to solve poverty.”
“At a time where there are record job shortages, god help us if we can’t get people off welfare into work,” he said.
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