Heeding the plight of beneficiaries

Lisa Beech
December 2010

The Alternative Welfare Working Group has criticised the government’s welfare think tank for its lack of analysis of the data used to justify welfare reform. 

The group, which released its first report Welfare Justice: What we heard on November 26, was also given a platform for its analysis of the government’s welfare proposals that day by Victoria University’s Institute for Policy Studies, which is hosting the government Welfare Working Group.

Economics professor Paul Dalziel told the audience of over 100 people about young people who become long-term beneficiaries after entering the benefit system in their teens.

The government Welfare Working Group, whose report was also released last month, neglected to take into account the significant number of teenagers with severe and permanent disabilities for whom the invalids’ benefit is designed to begin at the age of 16 and continue for the rest of their lives.

Disabled Persons’ Assembly researcher Wendi Wicks said the government Welfare Working Group Options paper needed to take a human rights approach, particularly concerning people with disabilities.

Links

Calls for a radical shift in welfare focus

www.alternative.welfareworkinggroup.org.nz