Awful to hear our Prime Minister today standing by drug testing sanctions on beneficiaries continuing to be applied when she has spoken about them in the past. It doesn’t matter if the number of children hit by them is small, it’s a policy that has no place in our welfare system

The WEAG report was clear drug testing sanctions needed to end. Putting people in financial hardship when there are substance abuse issues only causes more harm to themselves & those around them. The drug testing regime is costly and ineffective. We need a health approach instead

It’s clear the Labour Party has no intentions to overhaul our welfare system to one based on support, not punishment. The only party in Parliament who has consistently spoken against benefit sanctions has been the @NZGreens. We can’t rely on Labour alone to mend our safety net

A year ago it was reported that people, including families with children, were still being left in severe hardship bc of the drug testing sanctions regime. Despite the evidence & reports from the Govt’s own groups the Labour Party continues to support them https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/ardern-labelled-hypocrite-enforcing-drug-sanctions-beneficiaries