Minister hopes to replace dole system

Press, 22 April 1987, Page 2

Minister hopes to replace dole system

PA Wellington The Minister of Employment, Mr Goff, says he hopes to replace the dole system gradually. . The new policy had nothing to do with the National Party’s statement last week that it would abolish the unemployment benefit, he said. The Labour Department and the Social Welfare Department had both been working for some time on ideas for an alternative to the dole, he said.

“It is no rash promise that suddenly the unemployment benefit is going to be abolished. The only point at which you can do that is when you have a positive alternative guaranteed that a person could pick up and move on to. But I would see over the medium term a move in that direction.”

Referring to the $325 million jobless training scheme announced on Saturday, Mr Goff said he had to be able to reassure taxpayers that the money would not be going to people who would not help themselves.

There would need to be a stronger stand on the small minority of unemployed, about 5 per cent, who refused to be retrained or accept .jobs offered, he said. “There is nothing that says society should guarantee somebody a living if they are not prepared to take advantage of the opportunities that they have, or that we can provide them with,” Mr Goff said.

"The dole is fine as a job-search allowance for those people out of work in the short term,” he said. “It is there as a safety-net, but we ought to be looking at alternatives to it.”