PM's late mother focus of Labour's welfare attack

Labour's attack on welfare reforms got personal yesterday when Annette King linked the exemption for widows from the new work-test requirements to the fact John Key's late mother had been a widow.

And the dispute between the Maori Party and National over claims the Maori Party had not been properly consulted intensified with National releasing the details of consultation - at seven separate stages.

The Social Assistance (Future Focus) Bill requires people in receipt of the domestic purposes benefit to get a part-time job of at least 15 hours a week once their youngest child turns six.

Social Development Minister and former sole parent Paula Bennett said that if the work was not there, there would be no sanction.

But the bill provides for sanctions of halving the DPB or cancelling other benefits if beneficiaries turn down suitable work or fail to show up for interviews.

Mrs King said National had chosen to suggest that someone who received the widow's benefit was "good" but someone who received the DPB because their husband had taken off with someone else was "bad".

"There's a subliminal message in that - and it comes from the fact that John Key's mother was a widow. She wasn't one of those DPB recipients who 'got themselves pregnant and were then on the state's purse'."

Meanwhile, Ms Bennett's office last night gave the Herald dates of either personal meetings, Cabinet committee meetings or written correspondence with Maori Party co-leaders Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples.

Mrs Turia voted for the first reading of the enacting legislation yesterday because she is Associate Social Development Minister but complained on Radio New Zealand in the morning that she had not been consulted enough.

"At the last minute we were given a copy of the reforms. That makes it difficult to have input into them," she said.

* John Key's mother Ruth was widowed in 1969 when he was aged seven. His mother worked as a night porter and then a cleaner.

CHAIN OF EVENTS
* November 26: Pita Sharples at scoping meeting with Paula Bennett to discuss reforms.
* December 8: Cabinet committee; neither Mr Sharples nor Tariana Turia attended but were sent all the papers.
* February 1: Written questions submitted by Mrs Turia after receiving second set of policy papers. Meeting set up between Ms Bennett and Mrs Turia but cancelled by Mrs Turia.
* February 4: Mrs Turia's questions answered in writing.
* February 16: Maori caucus briefed by Ms Bennett.
* Feb 24: Cabinet committee attended by Mr Sharples and Mrs Turia and all related papers sent to them.
* March 19: Proposed legislation sent to Mrs Turia.