No D.P.B. checks

Press, 21 May 1982, Page 1

No D.P.B. checks

PA Wellington Stricter checks on unemployment beneficiaries would not extend to those on the Domestic Purposes Benefit, said the Director-General of Social Welfare, Mr S. J. Callahan, yesterday. His assurance came after, the department released a study showing that an estimated $23.6M might have been overpaid on four main benefits ifl the last financial year, especially in the unemployment and domestic purposes benefits. “I would not think we want to get ourselves into any systems which the public would consider repugnant,” he said. Information from the com-

munity had already led to the stopping of many benefits which should not be paid, and the department did not have the resources for increased checking, he said? Labour's Shadow Minister of Social Welfare, Mr G. W. R. Palmer, said last evening that defective administrative procedures and faulty benefit policies may be as much to blame as abuse by beneficiaries. No-one could condone people giving wrong information to obtain or keep a benefit, he said. “But this survey requires to be approached cautiously to avoid drawing the wrong conclusions from it. The Minister of Social Welfare (Mr

Young) seems to suggest the main problem is abuse by beneficiaries. “I say defective benefit policies and poor administrative arrangements are just as important.” It was administered under a system of “secret law” contained in the Social V,'elfare Department’s manuals. These were not available to the public, to beneficiaries, or to members of Parliament. “These manuals must be made public. If people knew where they were there would be less resentment of the system,” he said.

Earlier report, Page 2