The failure of Labour’s centrepiece jobs promise to deliver for long-term unemployed people will only exacerbate benefit dependency, National’s Social Development and Employment spokesperson Louise Upston says.

“While businesses across New Zealand are desperate for staff and over 177,000 people are on the Jobseeker benefit, Labour’s $300 million expansion of Flexi-Wage is behind schedule. At its current rate, it will fall over 13,000 jobs short of the promised 40,000 jobs over two years.|

“It’s ironic that the major announcement of Labour’s 2020 campaign launch has quickly come to symbolise their consistent failure to deliver on their commitments.

“Labour’s failure to deliver on their jobs promises is a major reason that benefit dependency has soared. The Government’s approach is to spend up large without ensuring that those trapped on benefit receive targeted interventions.

“Businesses with staff shortages cannot operate at full capacity and taxpayers are saddled with the long-term social costs that we know benefit dependency brings.

“Instead of more announcements and spending that doesn’t deliver outcomes, Labour need to do the hard work of arresting the causes of benefit dependency and start delivering on their jobs promises.”