TV One ran a story where the Greens, supported by the Children’s Commissioner, were calling for the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) to remove all sanctions from beneficiaries who fail to meet the statutory requirements needed for them to maintain their benefit e.g. for those on Jobseeker to turn-up for work interviews. The rationale for this was that their children would suffer as a result of any benefit cut. The story concluded with the advice that Labour was moving to progressively amend their policy.

It appears to me that the government, in its everlasting quest to be seen as kind and caring, is editing out personal responsibility from the equation. Sanctions are not beneficiary bashing … rather its a case of the errant beneficiary ripping off the system. Expecting something for nothing at taxpayer expense. The answer is in the beneficiaries own hands … he/she controls his/her destiny … no-one else.

Everything in life comes with obligations; its not a one-way street. The welfare system is no different. Remove those obligations and eventually the system will collapse under its own weight.

But since when has Labour ever been big on personal responsibility?