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PM’s Presser – P, Parks and Peter Saunders

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Prime Minister John Key says he has no comment on a Welfare Working Group adviser who says training and education programmes for beneficiaries are largely wasted effort.

The furor erupted last month when Minister for Social Development Paula Bennett appointed sociologist Professor Peter Saunders to a think-tank on welfare reform, describing it as “a diverse group which will bring an independent and fresh perspective”.

Professor Saunders, who is a researcher for Australia’s libertarian Centre for Independent Studies, has written several columns claiming “a demonstrable link between class and intelligence”.

“…we do not need to do IQ tests to find evidence supporting the link between social class and intelligence.

“The close approximation between what would happen under open competition and what does happen in Britain indicates that ability probably does coincide to a large extent with class positions.

“This lends strong support to Mr Murray's claim of a link between low average intelligence and low class position.”

Professor Saunders further clarified his views last week in a response to critics on his website:

“…large numbers of people who used to perform useful but unchallenging tasks in the economy now have nothing to do, which is one reason why welfare numbers have increased so much.

“Assuming they don't want to leave people to waste their lives on welfare, one solution politicians find attractive is training displaced people to do more complex and rewarding jobs. The trouble is, OECD evidence shows this rarely works.

“Women returning to work after having children may benefit from government retraining schemes, but the long-term unemployed and jobless school-leavers rarely do.

“Pushing them through government training courses makes politicians feel good, but it is not going to turn them into skilled IT workers.”

Speaking at Monday’s post-Cabinet press conference Key said the Welfare Working Group was a broad group and the professor’s comments could have been taken out of context.

Key could not say when the Government would announce the training incentives and assistance for beneficiaries promised in March’s Future Focus package.

But in his view training was a beneficial part of New Zealand’s economy “whether it’s in the education system or post- that system.”

“Clearly it has costs, but it also has benefits.”

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