Editorial: Reforms must not increase hardship

Finances are hurting in households around the country.

The first stage of sweeping welfare reforms will roll out later this year, featuring back-to-school incentives for young drop-outs and personalised support for teen parents.

Teenagers who have dropped out of work or study will receive a $30-a-week benefit boost if they return to class or take a budgeting course.

Solo mothers who find work before they are work-tested will be rewarded with an incremental return to financial independence: their benefit will drop by $100 a week until it is gone.

The government says it will pair 14,000 young New Zealanders - teenagers aged 16 and 17 who are not studying or working, and teen parents aged 16 to 18 - with a private provider to support their training and job-seeking efforts.

To aid with budgeting, basic costs such as rent and power will be paid directly by the state, and monitoring of a payment card will ensure beneficiaries do not buy alcohol or cigarettes.

Welfare reform is necessary. The policies of today must fit an economically-frugal environment, and beneficiaries have had due warning to brace for increased scrutiny and monitoring.

There is widespread outrage at the parents who spend their DPB payment on cigarettes and pokies, but we must stop short of reforms that create worse conditions for the children of those families.

The Government should be commended for attempting to find ways to ensure benefit money is spent on staple foods and essentials. However, detractors make a valid point about the false hope and unreasonable expectations of these reforms when jobs are scarce.

Finances are hurting in households around the country. Your base water rate is set to double, petrol is unlikely to dip back below $2/litre this year, insurance fees are up 88 per cent following the Christchurch quakes, staple food items have risen as much as 50 per cent in the past six years, and TrustPower has announced its bills are likely to go up 5 per cent.

Our most vulnerable families will not be immune from this household budget crunch and the state must not compound widespread financial distress, particularly where children and young people are involved.