Douglas Roger: Social Assistance (Future Focus) Bill — First Reading 
Douglas Roger: Social Assistance (Future Focus) Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:661;Page:9913] 
Hon Sir ROGER DOUGLAS (ACT) 
: 
 When welfare was created the goal was to provide temporary support for people who were able-bodied but were without an income. It focused on returning them to the workforce promptly and as soon as possible. Today the concept of the right to live off a benefit often outweighs the obligation to get a job. This Social Assistance (Future Focus) Bill in my view restores some of that balance. 
As a result of what has been happening in this country and despite favourable economic circumstances the number of working-age beneficiaries dependent on the State today is around 300000. One child in three now lives in a benefit-dependent household and research identifies that such parents and children fare badly in education health and crime statistics. By seriously weakening work incentives by softening fraud recovery and by increasing benefit payments the requirement to move from welfare to work has been dangerously undermined over recent years in my view at least. This bill changes some of these incentives. It is for this National Government a major piece of legislation putting in place National’s manifesto commitment to reform the welfare system. The main changes—which I support—are those that require people who are receiving some benefits to seek and accept offers of work and that require that financial support should reflect the circumstances and need of the individual. 
Certain principles and I think basic truths flow from the situation that New Zealand now faces. New Zealand cannot I suggest succeed as a nation when a quarter to a third of all adults are being supported by the State. Nor can we get ahead when high taxes and increasing compliance costs are stifling jobs and growth. True compassion demands that welfare provides a hand-up to work independence and a better future. State assistance should aim to be of a temporary nature. Public policy priorities should protect the interests of children by recognising that in general children raised on welfare fail to do as well in all areas of life than those raised by parents in work. 
If New Zealand is to succeed then we need to put personal responsibility self-reliance and work above welfare dependency. We need to reduce the barriers to economic growth and to restore full employment. We need to eliminate long-term dependency of working-age beneficiaries who can work and we need to dramatically reduce the number of working-age New Zealanders on welfare—in particular the unemployment benefit the domestic purposes benefit and the sickness benefit. We as a nation simply cannot afford to waste the human potential of 300000 working-age people on benefits. We simply cannot afford that particular level of waste. 
In summary the welfare system was intended by the original designers many of them from the Labour Party as temporary assistance to alleviate poverty. It was not intended to make people dependent on the State reward irresponsibility or dysfunctional behaviour or contribute to the breakdown of the two-parent family. I support the bill as a move in the right direction.