The Government is scrapping benefit sanctions on sole parents who don't name their child's other parent on its birth certificate, among welfare changes totalling $286 million announced today.
It has also announced low-income workers will be able to earn more before their benefit payments are reduced.
The changes were announced by Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni, based on recommendations made by a welfare advisory group.
Ms Sepuloni said the 2019 Budget would allocate funds to employ up to 263 front-line staff at Work and Income over four years "to support more people into good work", costing $76.3m.
However the changes to benefits will only come into effect from April, 2020.
National welcomed the change to pay-threshold for beneficiaries, but welfare spokesperson Louise Upton said the latest announcement "is another case of the Greens being promised action in their coalition agreement and receiving nothing when it comes to delivering on that agreement".
"This Government can't just keep kicking the can down the road when it comes to big decisions."
ACT's David Seymour did not agree with the threshold changes, saying it would be "less likely people move off welfare and into full-time work, further entrenching dependency".
He also said scrapping the benefit sanction to sole-parents would see taxpayers "assume greater responsibility for supporting children, rather than their fathers".
The Government committed to scrapping the birth certificate benefit sanction in 2017. In July last year, Ms Sepuloni said there had been "lots of discussions" when asked if NZ First were on board with scrapping the sanction, and she was not aware of any concerns on the matter.
Today, Ms Sepuloni said, "around 24,000 children will be significantly better off as a result of this change, with many sole parents’ incomes increasing by an average of $34 a week".
"Currently, it is some of the poorest mothers and their children in this country that are being penalised for that absent parent," she said in July.
The change will cost $113.4m over four years.
The threshold for low-income working beneficiaries "haven't changed in over 20 years and many people find they are no better off for working, after travel and childcare costs", Ms Sepuloni said.
"Allowing beneficiaries to keep more of what they earn when they do work by lifting the abatement threshold and eliminating a discriminatory sanction that cruelly singled out 24,000 children raised by sole parents."
This will cost $97.1 million over four years.
Ms Sepuloni said the Government would be picking up three of the 42 recommendations of the welfare expert advisory report, chaired by Professor Cindy Kiro.
"Our recommendations are reasonable and based on evidence, and they require significant investment if the desired outcomes are to be achieved," Professor Kiro wrote.
"The current social security system was set up in a different time and no longer meets the needs of those it was designed to support."
Ms Sepuloni said that "major change will take years" and the three changes "will result in fewer children growing up in extreme poverty and see more people moving off benefits and into decent long term work".
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