Turner Judy: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Turner Judy: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:607;Page:4532] 
2.  
JUDY TURNER (United Future) 
 to the  
Minister of Social Services and Employment 
: Is he satisfied that enough is being done by his ministry to move long-term unemployed from the benefit into work? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister of Social Services and Employment) 
: 
 The number of people on the unemployment benefit for March 2003 is at a 15-year low which mirrors the official unemployment rate. Last year Work and Income New Zealand achieved a record result helping 55922 people into stable employment. The number of people on the unemployment benefit for over 6 months fell by over 15 percent in the year to February 2003. Those are very good results but we are not complacent and we will continue to apply common-sense answers to help the unemployed. 
Judy Turner 
: Is he concerned that the decline in the number of those on the unemployment benefit has been accompanied by a 17.3 percent increase in the number of sickness beneficiaries since the end of 1999 and by a 7.4 percent increase over the past year and can he confirm that some lifestyle beneficiaries are seeing the sickness benefit as a better option than the dole now that they do not have to have an excuse for the lack of jobs? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: It is worth knowing that the people who are on sickness and invalids benefits are on them because they are sick or have a disability. There has been no migration at all from the unemployment benefit to those forms of benefits as implied by that question. Among the things we are trying are the new employable strategies which are pilots designed to see people who are on the sickness and invalids benefits back into the workplace. The early signs are very good and we hope to expand those pilots. 
Georgina Beyer 
: What initiatives are being taken to assist people who have experienced long periods of unemployment into work? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: Nationwide and regional initiatives to help people back into work include working with younger people to prevent them from coming on to or staying on a benefit; assisting mature unemployed people into work; assisting people with disabilities who can work to find suitable employment; training and support for those who lack basic employment skills such as literacy and numeracy; and partnerships with industry and community organisations to help long-term unemployed into jobs. Once again I say that we will continue to apply good common sense. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That answer was too long. 
Katherine Rich 
: If things are so rosy why is Treasury predicting the number of invalid sickness domestic purpose and unemployment beneficiaries to rise significantly by 2007 with the cost of the invalids benefit doubling to $1.2 billion between 1999 and 2007? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: The situation is not rosy and the Government would never have claimed that it was. Just as the National Government experienced problems arising from the deinstitutionalisation of mental health patients the mature ageing of our working population and the accident compensation tail being moved from accident compensation on to sickness and invalids benefits so are countries throughout the OECD having to deal with those kinds of issues. We however will do something about them—unlike the National Party. 
Barbara Stewart 
: What explanation can the Minister give for the drastic 28 percent increase in those claiming the invalids benefit since 1999 and is that the solution for the long-term unemployed? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I repeat that no one is migrating from the unemployment benefit through to an invalids benefit. The answer to the member’s question is very simple and probably edifying for people in the National Party such as Dr Brash who likes to understand these issues. Obviously people are migrating on to the invalids benefit because we have an ageing population. We have more older people now moving on to a benefit from a job they can no longer do we have deinstitutionalisation and we have accident compensation people moving on to a benefit. Those are the kinds of reasons and they would be the same for any Government. 
Dr Muriel Newman 
: In the light of the fact that thousands of able-bodied New Zealanders have been on the dole for more than 10 years has the Government considered introducing time limits to ensure that the long-term unemployed take personal responsibility for their future livelihoods thereby reducing the tax on working families; if not why not? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: It is worth noting that the number of people who have been unemployed for 10 years or more has dropped by 25 percent under this Government. Those people of course were 7 years unemployed under the previous Government which was supported by that member. 
Judy Turner 
: Will the Minister commit to reviewing the sickness benefit system to ensure that its recipients are indeed worthy when the 1999 census of prison inmates shows that 11.8 percent were on a sickness benefit prior to their conviction and in those cases illness clearly was not a barrier to committing some rather energetic crimes? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: This Government constantly monitors the use of the benefit by all New Zealanders. 
Barbara Stewart 
: I seek leave of the House to table the number of people on the invalids benefit. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is.