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Charities say welfare changes will have impact

Charities which help poor people say they are going to have to cope with the impact of the Government's welfare changes.The reforms, announced on Tuesday, involve more active management of the long-term unemployed and require them to reapply every 12 mont

NZPA
Thu, 25 Mar 2010

Charities which help poor people say they are going to have to cope with the impact of the Government's welfare changes.

The reforms, announced on Tuesday, involve more active management of the long-term unemployed and require them to reapply every 12 months.

There will be sanctions, such as benefit cuts, for those who don't genuinely attempt to find work or train for it and more rigorous assessments for sickness beneficiaries.

The Government says it is creating incentives for people to return to work but that isn't the way the Salvation Army, Women's Refuge and the Council of Christian Social Services sees it.

"The Government needs to be careful not to exploit the goodwill and patience of charitable groups who will have to step in and respond to the human cost of this policy," said Salvation Army spokesman Gerry Walker.

"Over the past year the Salvation Army has seen a 40 percent increase in the demand for food parcels and has no wish to see these lines of desperate people seeking food assistance lengthen."

Women's Refuge said financial hardship was a serious hurdle for women who wanted to leave a violent relationship.

"The Government is offering a grim view and we fear that this, along with high levels of unemployment and the proposed increase in GST, will make it hopeless for women to contemplate leaving," said spokeswoman Denise Reynolds.

The Council of Christian Social Services said most beneficiaries were just struggling to survive.

"These reforms are crushing a walnut with a sledgehammer and will hurt many people in the process", said council president Shaun Robinson.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said reaction generally had been very positive.

"Most people see it as well pitched in the middle, that it's got the right sort of incentives for people to get off welfare," she said.

"And it also has that level of obligation...the feedback I've been getting has been hugely popular."

Asked about the reaction of the volunteer sector, Ms Bennett said the Government had a very good relationship with those organisations.

"They do an outstanding job working with people...half of what I've heard from the non-government sector is how positive they think these changes are," she said.

In another development, Labour has accused Ms Bennett of holding back a report by Attorney-General Chris Finlayson which says the legislation which will bring in the welfare changes breaches the Bill of Rights Act.

The report said different treatment of women on different benefits was not fair or rational and was an unjustifiable breach of human rights.

The report was released yesterday, a day after Ms Bennett announced the reforms, and Labour's deputy leader Annette King wanted to know why it wasn't made public at the same time.

"In the rush to look tough, Paula Bennett has left massive holes in her plan," Ms King said.

Ms Bennett said it was "a matter of timing" and she had wanted to get the reforms into the public arena as soon as possible.

NZPA
Thu, 25 Mar 2010
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Charities say welfare changes will have impact
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