Labour’s failure to move people off welfare and into work is the biggest roadblock to lifting more children out of poverty, National’s Child Poverty Reduction spokesperson Louise Upston says.
“Labour’s claims today that National’s tax plan will put more children into poverty is another example of a Labour Government that is out of time and out of ideas.
“The best way to move children out of poverty is to get the economy going and get more people off welfare and into work.
“Labour has been an abject failure in that respect. There are now over 60,000 more people on a Jobseeker benefit compared with when National left office six years ago, and over 35,000 more people who have spent a year or longer on a benefit despite businesses crying out for workers.
“National will do more to get unemployed people off the Jobseeker benefit and into suitable work, including introducing more sanctions for those who persistently do not meet their obligations.
“Our Welfare That Works policy will use community providers where young people have a job coach, an individual job plan and are incentivised to get off welfare and into work. We will also index benefits to inflation to keep up with rising costs.
“National reduced the number of children living in material hardship by 56,000 in its last four years in office. Labour has only reduced this by 21,000 in the last five years.
“There is now a record 211,00 children being raised in benefit dependent homes. That’s 1 in 5 children.
“A National government will rebuild the economy, so it works for all New Zealanders and ends the cost-of-living crisis. We will provide rax relief, restore law and order, and improve education and healthcare.
“This election is going to be close. New Zealand cannot afford another three years of a high taxing, high spending Labour, Greens, Te Pati Māori government. The only way to guarantee change is to vote National.”