Archives 2003

Welfare Hurts Children

By Lindsay Mitchell - the Listener, June 2003

Dear Editor

Gordon Campbell draws the conclusion in "Poverty of Imagination", Listener, May 31, that 94 percent of children on welfare seem relatively immune to its effects. Ministry of Social Development researcher Ross Mackay says, according to Campbell, there is little empirical evidence in New Zealand on the question of a connection between parental welfare receipt and negative child social behaviours. He blames the negative social outcomes that do exist on poverty, not welfare.

Either Campbell stopped at finding somebody who would support his own prejudices or the Ministry of Social Development staff is woefully ignorant of their own research. Last year two studies into childhood poverty were published in conjunction with that government department.

One of the studies examined whether the source of family income changed the outcomes for poor children. It summarised," The findings show that poor children reliant on government transfers (welfare), when compared with poor children reliant on market incomes, have lower living standards and a number of confounding shortfalls that can be expected to place them at greater risk of negative outcomes."

A second study showed that duration of time spent in poverty worsened outcomes for children and duration was greater when the receipt of welfare was a factor. It found that, "Factors that increase the risk of long term benefit duration highlight having contact with the benefit system at birth, and first appearing with a primary beneficiary who is female, Maori, aged under twenty or in receipt of the domestic purposes benefit."

Both papers were published in the Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, June 2002.