The programme will be piloted in Wellington before it is rolled out around the country.

Sources — Press release NZ Government 19 January 2005 "$27 Million to get beneficiaries into work" by Steve Maharey; Press Christchurch 20 January 2005 "Home visits for jobless under $27m Govt plan" by Colin Espiner in Wellington; Source — NZ Government press release 25 January 2005 "New programme to support doctors in sickness benefit assessments" by Steve Maharey; Media release Green Party 20 January 2005, "Govt's inept policies hinder new unemployment plans".

In order to get more women back into the workforce, the government is re-examining its childcare policies and looking at ways to increase the availability of childcare and to extend it to cover older children in ways that more mothers will use it.

At present, the government offers targeted subsidies for school-based and out-of-school childcare for children aged 5 to 14 but such care is only partially funded and cost, as well as availability, may deter some people using them. Clark says the government is looking at a British plan for "dawn to dusk" out-of-school care — from 8 am to 6 pm — for children aged 5 to 11, with the aim of extending it to 14-year-olds in time. One of the options is home-based childcare but she offered no details on how that might work.

The government also intends to raise paid parental leave to 14 weeks (up from 13 weeks) ... which is still shorter than the British model.

• Clark says the central focus of the overhaul of the benefit system would be on replacing the complex system of base benefits — including sickness, invalids, unemployment and domestic purposes — with a single universal benefit.

Clark assured parliament that there is no intention to cut benefit levels and that people with special needs such as invalids would get top-ups to a universal benefit. The raft of add-on payments would be incorporated into the single benefit but the most important add-on — the accommodation supplement — is likely to remain unchanged.

Last October Social Development and Employment Minister Steve Maharey pointed out that the 10 base benefits and 36 add-ons in the present system was far too unwieldy. He wanted to cut the amount of time Work and Income staff spent administering benefits — reportedly 70% of their week — to better concentrate on helping beneficiaries move off welfare.

Source — New Zealand Herald, 31 January 2005, "PM set to unveil universal benefit", by Kevin Taylor; ; New Zealand Herald, 1 February 2005 "Home-based childcare on the cards" by Kevin Taylor; New Zealand Herald, 2 February 2005 "PM seeks more women in work" by Kevin Taylor.

Brash's goal is to reduce the number of beneficiaries from over 300,000 to 200,000 within a decade. He pledged to make the unemployed work for their benefit, make mothers on the domestic purpose benefit with school-aged children go to work, and tighten up on sickness and invalids benefits.

His speech outlined several welfare areas he would specifically target. These include:

Brash said the changes he is promoting are not about saving money. He says the real benefits from "defeating dependency" will be the increased self-esteem and self-confidence among beneficiaries, most especially among their children. However, he did point out that more than $5 billion a year — or $2,500 for every worker — is spent on the four main benefits and supplements.

Rich initially said such speculation was "absolute nonsense" but a week after the Orewa speech, party leader Brash announced that Rich would no longer hold the party's welfare role. Katherine Rich now moves from number 4 in the National caucus to number 10, and Judith Collins will take over the party's welfare portfolio. Brash: "Though Katherine had substantially completed the advance work on the welfare policy, it is fair to say she did not agree with some detail of the policy as announced at Orewa. The differences are not big but they preclude the possibility of Katherine continuing in the role as spokeswoman for welfare."

Source — New Zealand Herald, 28 January 2005, "National MP refuses to endorse Orewa II" by Kevin Taylor; Media Release NZ government, 27 January 2005, "Has National's welfare spokesperson been silenced?"; Media Release National Party, 28 January 2005, "Maharey Should Concentrate on Welfare"; NZPA and Newstalk ZB, 1 February 2005 "Rich sacked from welfare portfolio".

Bradford is concerned at the part of Clark's speech that signals that her welfare reforms will "make case management of clients back into work" their central focus. She says that this only serves to accentuate all that the Labour and National parties have in common when it comes to their attitude towards welfare and beneficiaries.

Bradford: "While Labour is undoubtedly more progressive and compassionate in its overall approach to people on benefits, it is clear that Steve Maharey and his colleagues are playing both ends against the middle in trying to undercut National by playing to those voters who like nothing more than a political campaign which demonises beneficiaries. Helen Clark's talk of increased case management into work sounds suspiciously like National's `Work First' policy. Even Labour doesn't seem to recognise that some people, through illness or injury, or the fact that they are responsible for caring for children on their own simply should not be harassed into thinking paid employment is the only option for them if they're to be considered valid citizens of our country."

Source — Sue Bradford Response to Prime Minister's statement 1 February 2005

Tom Scott — The Dominion Post 1 February 2005

The Youth Transition Service provides funding for regional programmes which provide at risk youth with access to career planning and job-seeking help, encourage and assist youth to take advantage of education and training opportunities, provide school-leavers with customised support and guidance to facilitate their pathway into work, education or training. It is funded by the Ministry of Social Development and implemented in partnership with the Mayors Taskforce for Jobs.

Source — NZ Government press release 27 January 2005 "$7.9 Million to expand Youth Transition Service" by Steve Maharey.

Since 2001, the government has produced social reports that measure how the country performs in areas such as education, employment and health and uses a series of indicators to show how New Zealand compares with other OECD nations. And last month, the government produced Opportunity for All New Zealanders, (see The Jobs Letter No 222) a multi-department report examining the government's response and priorities to social issues. Maharey wants such a report to be compulsory for all future governments.

Source — New Zealand Herald 25 January 2005 "Government plan for annual `social report'" by Ainslie Thomson.

Source — NZPA 22 January 2005 "Call for foreign students to be able to work" ; Weekend Herald Auckland 22 January 2005 "Overseas students could be given work rights" by Stuart Dye.

ASB chief economist Anthony Byett expects wages to increase 4% to 5% this year, given the tight labour market. Byett: "I think there is less wage pressure today than perhaps 10 years ago … and I don't think we've seen the peak rise in pay rates I expect will come this year. So far, the dividend to workers has come in more jobs, more hours and overtime rather than higher wages."

Source — Dominion Post Wellington, 21 January 2005, "Workers expect to cash in on economic boom" by Sue Allen; Dominion Post Wellington, 21 January 2005, "Employers reject call to life wages" by Sue Allen and Tracy Watkins

In Aceh province and the island of Nias in Indonesia around 600,000 people who survived have lost their sole source of livelihood. The majority of job losses are in fishing, small scale and plantation agriculture and unregistered small businesses. The unemployment rate in the affected Indonesian provinces could be 30% or higher, up dramatically from the official rate of 6.8% in the area prior to the disaster. Before the tsunami, around 9.7 million people were considered to be unemployed in the whole of Indonesia.

In Sri Lanka, more than 400,000 workers have lost their sources of income. Most of these are in the fisheries, hotel and tourism industries, and the informal economy. The unemployment rate in the affected provinces rose from 9.2% prior to the disaster to more than 20%. Before the tsunami, around 725,000 individuals were unemployed in all of Sri Lanka, which means that the country's total number of unemployed may have temporarily risen by 55% per cent or more as a result of the crisis.

Source — ILO media release Geneva 20 January 2005 "ILO calls for integrated employment strategy for tsunami reconstruction"