Axe DPB to discourage pregnancy - report

Last updated 05:00 21/07/2009

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The domestic purposes benefit should be axed to discourage young women from getting pregnant, a Business Roundtable paper on Maori and welfare argues.

Other radical options discussed by its author, Wellington welfare commentator Lindsay Mitchell, include replacing state-funded unemployment benefits with private insurance, replacing some benefits with loans, and regionalising and privatising Work and Income.

Under a privatised system, competing operators could be given incentives to reduce the number of beneficiaries, she suggests.

Prime Minister John Key had not read the report yesterday but said it sounded "pretty draconian".

Social Development and Employment Minister Paula Bennett said none of the ideas were on the agenda for the Government.

The report is the fifth working paper on Maori from the Business Roundtable, which represents the interests of large businesses and whose membership is dominated by the chief executives of major firms.

Previous papers have looked at the Maori seats in Parliament and Maori economic development.

Mrs Mitchell said yesterday the welfare system had "hurt Maori more than other New Zealanders, and will continue to do so".

"In particular, the practice of paying for single parenting, substituting the state for whanau, has perverse effects on people who will continue to feature heavily in statistics that describe the worst aspects of life today."

Her report links a Maori marriage rate "much lower" than the general population to higher reported rates of child abuse. It also points to teenage birth rates among Maori being higher than Pakeha.

She says the priority for Maori should be stopping the flow of young people into the welfare system. "Crucial to solving dependence and all the attendant problems is preventing more young girls from entering the system that traps them.

"That means discouraging them from getting pregnant in the first place. To that end, the DPB should be abolished."

She describes DPB recipients as "a job-creation opportunity going begging", saying about 50,000 have only one child, while New Zealand has a "serious shortage" of private childcare.

But Susan St John, a Child Poverty Action Group spokeswoman, said the ideas were radical and punitive.

Educating young women about family planning and giving them increased opportunities to train were more helpful.

BENEFIT BREAKDOWN

43,258 Maori were receiving the domestic purposes benefit at the end of June 41 per cent of all recipients.

In total, 97,814 Maori were receiving one of the main benefits 32 per cent of all working-age benefit recipients.

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Of 104,400 people on the DPB, nearly 90 per cent were female.

49,557 of all DPB recipients had one child. About 40 per cent of one-child parents receiving the DPB were Maori.

SOURCE: Social Development Ministry, figures to the end of June 2009.

- REBECCA PALMER/Dominion Post

24 comments
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teresa   #24   10:13 am Jan 19 2010

axing the dpb will not prevent pregnancy, fathers doing a disappearing act, or marriages breaking up. it is the mothers and children that will be disadvantaged and not the fathers who in certain situations will take the easy road and disappear rather than take responsibility. also what about marriages breaking up? where does that leave the mothers and children of broken marriages? there are other situations that need to be taken into account such as abuse, prison, etc. there are always situations that are out of our control, especially pregnancy. this could easily become a human rights issue. i think this report was not thoroughly researched.

Angela Church   #23   05:59 am Dec 03 2009

NZ society still has a long way to go to properly accommodate working mothers. Yes, it is the responsibility of individuals to provide for themselves, their families and their dependents, while also recognizing that government must respond to those who require assistance and compassion.

Albatross   #22   07:43 pm Aug 10 2009

The interests of large businesses and chief executives may be willing to let single parents and children live in hard poverty. But I'm not. Education, not welfare cutting.

Michael   #21   10:31 pm Jul 21 2009

This is absolutely ridiculous. Whether people like it or not, a chunk of our tax dollars are always going to go towards helping other people. Welcome to a modern, civilised society. Get over it!

It's a disgusting simplification to suggest Maori women can be deterred from having children by taking away the DPB. That's almost as bad as claiming prison acts as a deterrent for crime.

Do people honestly believe it's a case of "oh, damn, we're behind on the rent. Honey, we need to have another kid to cover next month's bills"?

Instead of suggesting excuses to get out of paying welfare to various groups of people, why don't we hear some suggestions for getting those groups of people out of poverty, so they don't have to rely on welfare in the first place? Hey, we could sort out some of our crime problems at the same time!

Tim   #20   08:45 pm Jul 21 2009

A nations greatness is measured by the individual achievment of its people as a whole.

Nightwing   #19   07:01 pm Jul 21 2009

I'm a middle income earner living a very very middle income lifestyle and I pay my dues to society in the form of a waking great tax bill along with a lot of other middle income NZers. I don't begrudge paying for the elderly and the retired; they have done their bit for this country, but there are too many freeloaders out there and we make it too easy for them. And yes, once again Maori are doing there bit top the statistics. If you find it embarrassing then do something about it but don't keep holding your hand out and asking for more .........

Ross   #18   06:51 pm Jul 21 2009

Every one has a choice. Some choose different than others. I'm 6th of 8 kids, born to lower socioeconomic, abusive and alcoholic et al... parents. I chose a different path than they chose. We all have a choice irrelevant of where we "come from". We do have a choice as to where and how we progress. I do not buy into racial, situational or generational victimisation and poverty. We all have a choice to change.

moki   #17   03:14 pm Jul 21 2009

To Steve

Just remember on whose Confiscated lands this country has become wealthy on. Its easy to talk about all the opportunities that Māori get but look around you, if you are Pākeha you live in your system which by default is a privilage you take for granted. Māori and others have to adapt in a world of white privilage, eg In politics Māori have no choice but to take what is dished out to them eg the Seabed and Foreshore law and numerous council bylaws. Māori have 2 tv channels that they fought tooth and nail for, non Māori have the rest of them. The same goes for other forms of media. The print media are in the whole owned and controlled by non Māori. To say that Māori woman go on the DPB out of concious choice is wrong in my view, lets face it! try bringing up a family on your own with the amount of money paid from the DPB and you will soon see how hard it is. I know I will probably get a few nasty letters for this but thats fine. I agree with Ghandi we need to look after those most vulnerable in our society not send them out on the streets with nothing.

Moki

Sandy   #16   02:39 pm Jul 21 2009

Re: Nightwing... Yes, I'm sorry to inform you, but there is a shortage of jobs at the moment. A member of my family was laid off due to lack of work in January and even with frequent searching in EVERY area of work has been unable to find another job. This is due to the fact that so many other people are also looking and business are slowing down so don't need to employ as many staff. This is not an isolated case as I'm sure others would agree with. Please get your facts right before calling them "facts".

Claire Vivian   #15   02:30 pm Jul 21 2009

Shame on you Dominion Post for publishing this drivel and calling it 'news'. Racist policies from business people is not new, nor is it news worthy. Publishing this only serves to validate this hateful message. Contrary to popular belief, the DPB is not some cushy pay check from the government. Try raising a child and living on (maximum) $272.72 per week after tax. Once you add rent, power, phone, food, clothing, petrol costs you will understand how hard it is. Maori have higher rates of welfare usage, not because it is a tempting option, but because of a complex number of issues. One important issue is the process of colonisation and institutionalised racism. This issue has been highlighted in this article in which a group of affluent, mainly Pakeha, assume to know the answer to a complex issue and have suggested a policy that will only further increase inequalities in our country.

And to nightwing...the DPB is available to solo parents, not to families such as the family on your street. Furthermore, I laugh at your suggestion that the government pays a family $130 a week for each child.


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