Christine Rankin: former Work and Income head on the Government's new JobSeeker cuts for teenagers

Nearly 9000 young people will no longer be eligible for the unemployment benefit when the Government brings in stricter rules in 2027.

Budget 2025 includes a change which places the responsibility for financially supporting 18- and 19-year-olds back on parents, rather than the state.

Former Work and Income Boss Christine Rankin says she loves the Government plan to kick young people off the benefit. 

"The benefit is the road to poverty - it's a terrible situation to allow them to be in when they should be starting their working lives or studying."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now.

Speaker 2 (00:00):
One of the surprises from the budget is the move
to kick kids off the doll Eighteen and nineteen year
olds will not be eligible for the Job Seeker or
for the Emergency Benefit if their parents are able to help.
Former WINS boss Christine Rankin is all over this. Hello Christine,
Hello Heather. Do you like this?

Speaker 1 (00:17):
Yeah? I love it? I absolutely love it. You know,
no eighteen or nineteen year old should be getting a
message that if they don't really make much effort, don't worry,
the government will fix it for them. And the benefits
the road to poverty. It's a terrible, terrible situation to
allow them to be in when they should be starting

(00:37):
their working life or or studying.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
How many kids, though, do you think, are at eighteen
or nineteen sitting around on the doll while actually living
with their parents, And how many of them will actually
be living independently in a flats just going away and
doing this kind of stuff.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
And look, they might be. But if that's the case,
here is the incentive. Just like the other incentives that
have been given since the government came to par It's
been very serious about welfare and I think very responsible.
So if you're not living with your mum and dad.
If you're living in a flat, you're going to have
to get a job if you want to maintain that lifestyle,
or you're going to have to go home. And that

(01:14):
is fair and reasonable and responsible and giving exactly the
message they need, you know, Labour said to them, come in,
all of you, come in, will give you absolutely everything
and you can have it for as long as you like,
and you don't have to do a thing. How disgraceful
is that to anyone, let alone young people. Now?

Speaker 2 (01:34):
The only trouble that I can see with this is
that it seems reasonably easy to get around the rules.
You're just move in with your girlfriend or your boyfriend,
don't you.

Speaker 1 (01:42):
Well, you've got to be married, don't you?

Speaker 2 (01:44):
Ire in a union or de facto, And de facto
is basically like you and I can be in a
de facto if we want to tomorrow.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
Of course we can. And so if they do have
had and I didn't realize that, well, look, you wouldn't
take much for you to organize that, whether it was
real or not, would it. So I think that that
was probably a silly thing to do. As part of it,
I like the general thrust I love the message. I
think it's really important to the young people in New Zealand.

(02:14):
But that is an out that a lot of people
I would suspect would take advantage of.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
Christine has always good to talk to you. Thank you
so much. That's Christine Rankin, former WINS boss.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
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Speaker 2 (02:29):
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