Ardern in 2013 and 2019
One News reports:
The Prime Minister has been labelled a hypocrite for continuing to enforce the former National’s Government’s drug sanctions on beneficiaries.
It comes while the Social Development Minister ignores the Green Party’s pleas for a more compassionate approach to be taken.
1 NEWS revealed this week that of the nearly 40,000 beneficiaries referred for jobs that required a drug test this year, there were only 114 failed tests and on 72 occasions beneficiaries were punished with sanctions.
Under the sanctions, regime job seekers’ can have their benefit cut by 50 per cent for four weeks, then stopped altogether if there are further infringements.
Jacinda Ardern backed the drug sanction regime this week saying, “we need to make sure that if someone is not able to get into work because they’ve failed a drug test that we’re able to encourage them”.
“From a Labour perspective it’s all about making sure it’s appropriate use (of sanctions), there are mutual obligations in our system,” she said.
In 2013, as Labour’s social development spokesperson, Ms Ardern criticised the drug sanctions telling NZ Herald that cutting support for drug users would reduce their chances of rehabilitation.
“All of the evidence suggests that responding in the way National has suggested doesn’t work,” she said.
So in 2013 Jacinda Ardern condemned what National did, but in 2019 she now defends them as mutual obligations.
The 2019 Ardern is correct of course.