A good investment

Stuff reports:

The Government has spent almost $2 million on an initiative encouraging beneficiaries to move to Christchurch for jobs.

A dozen people have abused the $3k to Christchurch scheme by taking grants and not fronting for work.

Despite this, Social Development Minister Anne Tolley is describing the initiative as a “winner”, saying it could be extended to other parts of the country.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Social Development said 523 men and 110 women had moved to Christchurch, at a cost of $1.89m, since the scheme began in July.

Of those, 350 had found work in the construction sector, 41 in transport, postal and warehousing and 31 in manufacturing.

Twelve people had been required to repay the grant and 24 people had reapplied for benefits.

So that’s around 500 more people in work. That reduces the welfare bill by probably $5 million a year and increases the income tax take by around $2.5 million a year, so not bad return for $2 million.