WHY DIDN'T LABOUR REMOVE THE SANCTIONS REGIME WHEN IT HAD THE OPPORTUNITY?

While Labour and the Green's might be critical of the coalition government's new sanctions regime for beneficiaries, the sanction framework was still in place when Labour left office in October 2023.


BOTH LABOUR and the Green Party have been critical of the National-led coalition government's decision to take the big stick to beneficiaries. This comes at a time when the country is in a deepening recession, exacerbated by the Government's austerity policies. But the new sanctions that the government has announced has built on the foundation of sanctions that were still in place when Labour left office in October last year. It had the opportunity to wipe out sanctions altogether but chose not to take it. Beneficiaries and the poor are now paying the price for Labour's cowardice.

In May 2019 the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) made forty-two recommendations to Government, aimed at fundamentally reforming the welfare system. One of its recommendations was for the removal of the sanction regime. In its report, WEAG commented:

'The current system is based on conditionality including sanctions and is tightly targeted, with inadequate support to meet even basic needs. The experience of using the system is unsatisfactory and damaging for too many of the highest need and poorest people. We heard overwhelmingly during our consultation that the system diminishes trust, causes anger and resentment, and contributes to toxic levels of stress. There is little evidence in support of using obligations and sanctions (as in the current system) to change behaviour; rather, there is research indicating that they compound social harm and disconnectedness. Recent studies recommend moving away from such an approach towards more personalised services. For the welfare system to work effectively to deliver the new purpose, principles, and values we conclude that mutual trust between parties is essential.'

But most of the forty-two recommendations were rejected by Labour and its electoral partners, New Zealand First and the Green Party. A somewhat stunned Tim Watkin of RNZ wrote:

 'Welfare Minister Carmel Sepuloni agrees the welfare system is not working. Marama Davidson agrees the welfare system is not working. And then they commit to ignore the report's big recommendations...The call for 'urgent change' is rejected. Remarkably, Ms Davidson has put her quotes into the same press release, tying the Greens to this approach, when they could have been dissenting from the rafters.'

By mid 2023 anti-poverty campaigners were continuing to protest that the Government was showing little interest in reforming the welfare system, with none of WEAG's forty-two recommendations having been fully implemented.

Although it's fair to say that the Labour Government did not expect the Ministry of Social Development to vigorously pursue sanctions against beneficiaries, and it didn't, the fact remains it left in place the punitive sanctions framework. The present coalition government has not only fired up again but has expanded upon it.

Labour Party supporters have always claimed that Labour is the 'lesser evil' to National. But Labour's failure to introduce the sweeping transformational polices that leader Jacinda Ardern promised in 2017, has exposed the working class and the poor to the severe and harsh policies of a coalition government whose loyalties lie unashamedly with capital and the interests of the one percent.