December 16, 2004
Welfare Dependency Still Rife
Steve Maharey's claim today that 3.8 percent unemployment is "hardly welfare dependency" is a cover-up, said Lindsay
Mitchell, petitioner for a Parliamentary review of the DPB.
"3.8 percent is a measure of individual joblessness but ignores household joblessness. Put simply there are over three
hundred thousand households headed by people on benefits, most of whom are not classed as 'unemployed'. There are now
more children relying on the sickness, invalid and domestic purposes benefits than when Labour was elected in late
1999."
"In addition, dependence on these benefits is, on average, of much longer duration than dependence on the dole."
"To his credit I believe Steve Maharey has tried in various ways to deal with the problem, and he has taken a lot of
flak from ungrateful beneficiary advocates and bleeding-heart academics in the process, but his solutions are simply not
working."
Lindsay Mitchell petitioner for a Parliamentary review of the DPB forms available from www.liberalvalues.org.nz contact
dandl.mitchell@clear.net.nz
ENDS