Govt expects beneficiary bill to top $25 billion

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Sun Sep 23 2007 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Govt expects beneficiary bill to top $25 billion

Sunday, 23 September 2007, 4:14 pm
Press Release: New Zealand National Party

Judith Collins MP National Party Welfare Spokeswoman

23 September 2007

The Government is facing a $25 billion bill for sickness, invalid, and domestic purposes benefits, says National's Welfare spokeswoman Judith Collins.

"Cabinet papers from September 2006, obtained under the Official Information Act, say 'if we take no further action, assuming current trends and practices continue, it has been estimated that the cost of supporting the existing population of beneficiaries (as at June 2005) over the lifetime of their claims on domestic purposes benefits, sickness benefit and invalid's benefit represents a future liability of $25 billion to the state.'

"In June 2005, when the research was conducted, the number of sickness, invalid, and domestic purposes beneficiaries totalled approximately 226,000.

"The current figure is 225,000 - not a big enough drop to alter the forecasts.

"The papers are an admission that Labour has completely failed in its attempts to reduce the number of sickness and invalid beneficiaries.

"Labour is pinning its hopes on the latest innovation fund to encourage sickness and invalid beneficiaries to access health services to speed up their return to work.

"But the Government has already tried this with the spectacularly unsuccessful PATHS scheme, implemented in 2004.

"Despite Steve Maharey promising thousands would access the scheme, there has been little more than 1,000 participants in four years".

ENDS

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