Taxpayers Will No Longer Be Treated Like ATMs: New Zealand PM

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, just 81 days into his first term, has twice characterised the country’s economy as “fragile” in his State of the Nation speech. He warned this was going to force his government to make “tough choices,” and highlighted his intention to tighten the rules around social benefits, particularly targeting those who had been on welfare for many years. Recent actuarial modelling predicted beneficiaries could spend up to 13 years receiving state assistance. “We do everything we can to help people into work, but if they don’t play ball, the free ride is over,” he said. He described the policy as “tough love.”...