Rich sacked from welfare portfolio

Katherine Rich refused to back the policies in Don Brash's Orewa speech. File picture / Fotopress

UPDATE - National MP Katherine Rich has been sacked from her welfare portfolio after refusing to commit to selling the policies outlined by party leader Don Brash at Orewa.

An announcement from Dr Brash came at 12.20pm today in which he made it clear he expects 100 per cent support from his spokespeople.

Mrs Rich will move from the No 4 position on the frontbench to the No 10 spot on the second bench.

Dr Brash said she would keep her crown business portfolio and also become associate finance, associate health and ACC spokeswoman.

"At the time of my last reshuffle, Katherine Rich expressed an interest in an economic role to broaden her experience.

"Though she had substantially completed the advance work on the welfare policy, it is fair to say she did not agree with some detail of the policy as announced at Orewa.

"The differences are not big but they preclude the possibility of Katherine continuing in the role as spokeswoman for welfare."

Judith Collins takes over the welfare portfolio while National's finance spokesman John Key will take Mrs Rich's seat on the frontbench.The MP has for several days reiterated her support for Dr Brash and his speech but refused to say she supported the policies.

Yesterday she went further, refusing to commit to selling them or to say whether she expected, or wanted, to keep the welfare job.

She also appeared to concede she had issues with at least some of the policies and would push for changes within caucus.

In his speech last week, Dr Brash said National would slash the numbers on welfare by 100,000 in a decade.

He suggested the domestic purposes benefit (DPB) had become a "career option" for far too many women.

He outlined measures National would take, including making mothers on the DPB with school-age children go to work, only allowing women who continued to have children receive additional benefit in exceptional circumstances, and making the unemployed work or train for their benefit.

Mrs Rich is on the record as saying she was not a "DPB-bashing person" and that most people she met on the DPB were "pretty motivated people who have the same dreams and aspirations as the rest of us".

Her initial silence on Dr Brash's welfare speech prompted Social Development Minister Steve Maharey to question her stance on the policies.

Mrs Rich's response was that she supported Dr Brash and thought he had sparked a debate on welfare the country sorely needed.

However, she stopped short of expressing support for all the policies outlined in the speech.

"It's very funny. First of all media say 'do you support the speech' I say 'I support the speech', they say 'do you support Don Brash 100 per cent', I say 'I support Don Brash 100 per cent'," she said.

"Now you're coming back and saying line by line, word by word (do you support it)? I'm not going to get into a forensic analysis of every single word in a speech.

"Don Brash is our leader. I support him 100 per cent. I support his speech. I think it was visionary, it was a real triumph and, more importantly, it's promoting much-needed welfare debate in this country," she said last week.

Prime Minister Helen Clark today told reporters Dr Brash's welfare speech was "narrow and negative" and now he was losing a second spokesperson over a major speech.

This was "not great" for party cohesion.

"I'm wondering what the next keynote speech is because the spokesperson must be quaking in their shoes."

- NZPA, NEWSTALK ZB