Judith Collins MP
National Party Welfare Spokeswoman

11 July 2006

Labour’s failed policies exposed in report

“More evidence has emerged today showing that Labour’s instinct to redistribute wealth rather than try to create it is forcing more Kiwi families into severe hardship,” says National Party Welfare spokeswoman Judith Collins.

She is commenting on the latest New Zealand Living Standards report from the Ministry of Social Development which found 76 per cent of New Zealanders had living standards ranging from fairly comfortable to very good.

However, 8 percent were deemed as being in "severe hardship". Most of them were beneficiaries with children. That figure is up from 5 percent in the previous survey, which was done in 2000.

“These numbers are an embarrassment for Labour which, despite a strong economy, has fostered a culture of dependency at the expense of independence and personal responsibility.

“Labour wrongly claims to be a champion of the poor and the disadvantaged, but these results show Helen Clark’s policies aren’t helping break the cycle at all - in fact, they’re making it worse,” says Ms Collins.

ENDS

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