Mr. Luxon’s comments about the impact of long-term welfare caused New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to propose what he termed as strict sanctions to reset the nationās welfare system. The prime minister stated that benefits could be cut or reduced if requirements, such as attending job interviews, were not met.
At the post-Cabinet press conference, Mr. Luxon cited evidence that welfare sanctions are needed, with Labour’s decision to drop them previously causing an increase in the number of people spending more time on unemployment benefits. Social Development Minister Louise Upston criticized the previous government for allowing the number of sanctions to greatly decrease, calling it unfair to let benefit recipients become accustomed to life without working.
The previously steady number of sanctions applied changed after the start of the pandemic and the ministry adopted a less punitive approach. Statistics show about 12,000 sanctions applied in the quarter before Labour assumed government in 2017 to 6,243 quarter in the summer 2023.
According to official statistics from the Ministry of Social Development, the proposed sanctions included cuts to benefit payments, benefit suspension, community work experience, or having the Work and Income department take control of a person’s money and spend it on their behalf. The new regime comes on top of a decision to return to indexing, and aligning benefits to inflation, which will mean someone on a disability benefit will receive $2,000 less in 2028 than they would have received under the existing system.
Opposition parties criticized the government’s actions, with Labour MP Carmel Sepuloni saying that the change would affect MÄori, women, Pasifika, and disabled people the most. Te PÄti MÄori MP Tarsh Kemp challenged the government to visit a marae or speak to the Auckland City Mission to gain accuracy of poverty in New Zealand. The Green Party spokesperson, Ricardo MenĆ©ndez March, said the announcement āconfirms the governmentās goal of pushing more people into poverty via benefit sanctions. Sanctions do not work. They do not support people into meaningful employment, nor support them to participate fully in their communities. Taking away peopleās incomes only makes it harder for people to get by. This government is quickly building a legacy of cruelty.ā