Treasury Report Short Of The Mark

Wednesday 11 Dec 2002 Dr Muriel Newman Press Releases -- Social Welfare

Treasury's latest study, into the effectiveness of social spending to improve the well-being of children, has failed to address the real issues of the causes of social dysfunction" ACT New Zealand Social Welfare Spokesman Dr Muriel Newman said today.

"The working paper `Investing in Well-being: An Analytical Framework' clearly states that it intends to compare the cost effectiveness of interventions for children.

"However, while traversing the core issues of adverse outcomes for children - such as sole and teenage parenthood, poor targeting of social assistance, bad legislation, and the fact that non-Government agencies can be more effective than the state - the report does not identity these factors as warranting further investigation, Dr Newman said.

"The report states that potential areas of focus for the project's next stage are symptoms of family dysfunction, rather than causes. What is so disappointing about this paper is that the country is crying out for an in-depth study into the causes of poor social outcomes for children.

"This report is not of the fearless calibre that we have come to expect from Treasury. Rather than confronting the high level issues of family breakdown and welfare reform, it is a solid piece of politically correct work that will not contradict Labour's belief in more programmes and interventions. It is the sort of work that Parliament's self-labelled, most politically correct Minister, The Minister of Social Services, will find acceptable," Dr Newman said.

ENDS

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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