OECD Highlights The Need For DPB Reform

ACT New Zealand Deputy Leader and Social Welfare Spokesman Dr Muriel Newman today urged the Government to heed the OECD report advocating reform of New Zealand's Domestic Purposes Benefit.

"We can only hope that this international report provides Labour with the incentives it so desperately needs to make sole parents increase their efforts to find work," Dr Newman said.

"Given that the report - Babies and Bosses - has found that half of all sole parents throughout New Zealand are jobless, it is imperative that the Government now implement serious welfare reform in this area.

"Under Labour's stewardship, the DPB is now widely seen to be a way of life - rather than a short-term option to help sole parents get on their feet and find a job. This report highlights the need for the Government to prioritise assisting these sole parents to become breadwinners for their families.

"With the country currently in the grip of a chronic worker shortage that is limiting our growth, there is no more ideal time for Labour to implement ACT policy: requiring sole parents to engage in 40 hours a week of training and jobsearch, with comprehensive support - such as childcare and after-school care - to overcome the barriers to full-time employment.

"Only this kind of approach will see sole parents able to take charge of their lives and build a future for themselves and their children, independent of the State," Dr Newman said.

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