ACT New Zealand Leader Hon Richard Prebble today announced the party’s Welfare to Work policy. Richard Prebble said that the ACT party will press for the community wage to be retained and expanded.

“The community wage scheme has been running for just a year. Labour and the Alliance want to scrap the scheme and put those on the scheme back on the scrap heap.

“ACT says that, bureaucratic as the scheme is, the community wage is a success. 30% of those on the community wage scheme have gone on to real jobs. As most of those on the scheme are long term unemployed or people who have never worked – this is a real success.

“The Minister of Social Welfare has advised ACT that there are now 163,000 New Zealanders unemployed, of which only 9,300 are in community work projects.

“ACT believes that moving from Welfare to Work is a full time commitment.

“Judging by the success of the Community Wage Scheme, a fully-funded Welfare to Work scheme that involved community-based providers, together with ACT’s proposals to create new jobs, could lower the number of people registered as unemployed by a third within three years”, said Hon Richard Prebble. Leader Richard Prebble.

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