While working as a Detective and as a lawyer I know a lot of young people who relied on these benefits. Some of them came from sad backgrounds as they had been abused and could not live at home for safety reasons and there was no obvious place to go.
They left home and boarded with others and used the Independent Youth Benefit to pay for food and board and school or support needs. Felicity Perry, the PhD student who was featured in the media saying that she was on an independent youth benefit and used it to succeed is very much in the minority.
Most I met on this benefit, however, were young people who had decided living at home was too restrictive and had decided they would keep the company and the hours they wanted in spite of their parents directions or cajoling.
They frequently drank booze and smoked dope, committed crime and became abusive to those in the household they left. Given the relationship break down with their parents, they went to WINZ and were placed on a benefit.
They couldn't budget, cook, or get out of bed before lunchtime. These young people need someone to walk alongside them to ensure they pay their bills and don't waste the opportunity the hardworking taxpayers offer them by giving them a living allowance.
The PM also announced that similar provisions will apply to 18-year-old mothers on benefits to ensure the best spending decisions are made for them and their children.
The Government will give all these young people a card that they can use to purchase food and grocery items, but not alcohol or cigarettes. They will still have some money for discretionary purchases, as that's how people learn to look after money, and their power and rent will be paid by direct credit from WINZ. These are the sorts of provisions that budget advisers have been demanding for many years.
None of us would give our own 16-17 year olds $200-$400 per week and just let them live the way they wanted even under our own roofs and even if they are well behaved, well mannered, and saturated with common sense.
We have a youth unemployment problem.
We are addressing that. These newly announced provisions address a different problem. It is evident in South Taranaki and Wanganui and communities around New Zealand.
Previous governments have not heeded the wisdom of advice to limit the ability people to spend benefits on the wrong stuff.
