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Social Assistance Legislation (Budget 2019 Welfare Package) Amendment Bill (Consistent) [2019] NZBORARp 21 (14 May 2019)
Last Updated: 1 June 2019
14 May 2019
LEGAL ADVICE
LPA 01 01 24
Hon David Parker, Attorney-General
Consistency with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990: Social
Assistance Legislation (Budget 2019 Welfare Package) Amendment Bill
- We
have considered whether the Social Assistance Legislation (Budget 2019 Welfare
Package) Amendment Bill (‘the Bill’)
is consistent with the rights
and freedoms affirmed in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (‘the
Bill of Rights Act’).
- We
have not yet received a final version of the Bill. This advice has been prepared
in relation to the latest version of the Bill
(PCO21833/1.19). We will provide
you with further advice if the final version includes amendments that affect the
conclusions in
this advice.
- The
Bill amends the Social Security Act 2018 (‘the principal Act’)
to:
- remove
the benefit deductions, under ss 192 to 194 of the principal Act, for sole
parents who do not identify the other parent of
the child, apply for child
support, or both; and
- provide
for mandatory annual adjustment of the rates of main benefits by the percentage
of any increase in average ordinary time weekly
earnings.
- The
Bill also creates a new regulation-making power under the Veterans’
Support Act 2014 in relation to the abatement of veteran’s
pensions.
Currently, s 171 of the Veterans’ Support Act 2014 provides for the
abatement of a veteran’s pension.
- We
note that s 453(2) of the principal Act currently lists a number of types of
benefits which are subject to mandatory inflation
adjustment. The Bill
categorises these further into main benefits; and certain benefits that are not
main benefits. Under the Bill,
main benefits1 will be
required to be adjusted by any percentage movement upwards in average ordinary
time weekly earnings (i.e. the rate of adjustment
will no longer be measured by
reference to the Consumer Price Index). Certain benefits that are not main
benefits will continue to
be adjusted for inflation only.2
We understand that main benefits are a person’s main source of
income, and the purpose of the change is to ensure that rates
of main benefits
are maintained relative to wages. Whereas the types of benefits that continue to
be inflation adjusted are supplementary
payments to meet particular costs,
rather than for the purpose of income replacement. We consider that this
distinction does not
engage the right to freedom from discrimination, and that
even if it did, it would be justified because of the different purposes
of these
benefits.
1 These are rates of jobseeker support,
sole parent support, supported living payment, youth payment and young parent
payment, and generally
abolished former widows’ benefits and generally
abolished former DPB for solo parents.
2 These are the orphan’s benefit, unsupported
child’s benefit, and rates of benefits payable to long-term hospital
patients.
- We
have concluded that the Bill appears to be consistent with the rights and
freedoms affirmed in the Bill of Rights Act.
Jeff Orr
Chief Legal Counsel Office of Legal Counsel
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