1 Feb. 2005
Hon Jim Anderton MP, Progressive Leader

National punishes honesty on welfare

National has dumped its social welfare spokeswoman, Katherine Rich, because she is too honest and looks to the future not the past, Progressive leader Jim Anderton said today.

"A National-led government would tear babies away from their mothers because National's policy is that it prefers to force mothers to adopt their children out rather than keep families together with the helping hand of the Domestic Purposes Benefit.

"National's welfare spokesperson, Katherine Rich, was too honest to publicly pretend that her party's official policy is either fair on parents and their children, is remotely likely to assist more New Zealanders into work and out of welfare or move New Zealand forwards towards a modern, socially just society.

"Because she was too honest for National, she's been dumped. No room for intelligent dissent in the Brash-led National Party.

"And because National has extreme and draconian policies which would rip New Zealand families apart, New Zealanders will again reject the prospect of a National-led coalition government in September," Jim Anderton said.

The progressive coalition government has since 1999 overseen the creation of over quarter of a million jobs and the unemployment rate has collapsed to just 3.8 per cent, down from as high as 11 per cent when Brash-style policies were pursued by the National-led governments in the 1990s and welfare use skyrocketed.

ENDS

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