Social Security Policy ‘Confused’

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31057, 12 May 1966, Page 22

Social Security Policy ‘Confused’

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, May 11. The Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) today described the address on New Zealand’s Social Security system by the leader of the Labour Party (Mr Kirk) as “the contradictions and confusion of Labour Party policy.”

Mr Kirk told delegates to the Labour Party conference in Wellington yesterday that there should be a system of a six-monthly change in Social Security rates according to the cost of living index. Mr Holyoake replied today by saying the contradictions and confusion of Labour Party policy exploding from its annual conference reached its height in the party’s new social security proposals. The proposals would mean a cut in Social Security benefits, Mr Holyoake said. Mr Holyoake said that Mr Kirk’s proposal to peg social security benefits to cost of living surveys would mean a cut of up to 4s a week compared with the new rates recently announced by him. It was typical of Labour, Mr Holyoake said, to come up today with the answers to yesterday’s questions which no longer applied. Commenting on the statement that Labour would

equate Social Security with the cost of living index, Mr Holyoake said: “Under this policy, age benefits would be increased only by 5s a week if the Labour Party were the government, instead of the 9s which the National Government had decided.”