Subj : Govt reveals targets - including 50k people off benefit by 2030
To   : All
From : News Person
Date : Tue Apr 09 2024 10:27 am

The Government has announced nine targets - including reducing the number of
people on the benefit by 50,000 and reducing victims of violent crime by
20,000 - to be achieved by 2030.


It also includes reducing those in emergency housing by 75% and increasing
school attendance to 80% of students present for 90% of the term.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced the targets at his post-Cabinet
press conference this afternoon.


He said the targets were built around the National Party's election promises
to New Zealanders - rebuilding the economy, restoring law and order and
delivering better public services.


The targets are, according to the Government:


Reduced child and youth offending: 15% reduction in the total number of
children and young people with serious and persistent offending behaviour
20,000 fewer people who are victims of an assault, robbery, or sexual assault
50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support Benefit
80% of students are present for more than 90% of the term
80% of Year 8 students at or above the expected curriculum level for their
age in reading, writing and maths by December 2030
75% reduction of households in emergency housing
Be on track to meet New Zealand's 2050 net zero climate change targets, with
total net emissions of no more than 290 megatonnes from 2022 to 2025 and 305
megatonnes from 2026 to 2030
Shorter stays in emergency departments: 95% of patients to be admitted,
discharged, or transferred from an emergency department within six hours
Shorter wait times for (elective) treatment: 95% of people wait less than
four months for elective treatment.
The last two targets were announced last month and the climate change target
was announced by former Climate Change Minister James Shaw in 2022.


Luxon said the Government had made "great progress" but was "under no
illusion about the scale of the challenges we face as a country".


"Despite the hard work of frontline staff like police, nurses and teachers,
New Zealand has gone backwards in recent years.


'Not going to be easy to achieve'
"That's why our Government is bringing back public service targets, to focus
our public sector on driving better results for New Zealanders in health,
education, law and order, work, housing, and the environment.


"These targets are not going to be easy to achieve. But we're not here to do
what is easy - we're here to do what is needed to reduce crime, shorten
healthcare wait times and improve educational achievement, no matter how
difficult."


He said the Government was focused on rebuilding the economy so it could
afford to invest in the public services New Zealanders deserved.

"But we know that spending more money will not in itself deliver better
results. Despite significant increases in spending under the previous
government, New Zealanders got worse results from their public services.


"We are taking a different approach. Setting targets will put a focus on
delivery in the public sector where there wasn't before. They will also drive
greater value for taxpayer money."


He said the targets were "deliberately ambitious" and would be challenging
and require the public sector to "think differently, dig deeply into root
causes, learn from other places, and be innovative and disciplined in
directing resources to where they will have the greatest impact on outcomes".


Delivery of the targets would be the responsibility of a lead minister and
lead public service agency chief executive, working in partnership with other
ministers and their agencies as appropriate.


Progress reports will be released publicly every quarter, starting from
mid-2024, a Government statement said.


'Who's going to do the work?'
Labour Party finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said ongoing public service
cuts would hinder the ability for the targets to be delivered.

"The Prime Minister says that his Government targets are ambitious, but
they've given themselves years and years to meet them," she told media.


"Just because you have a target doesn't necessarily mean that the work has
been resourced. What we're seeing with this Government is a cutting back on
public services - who's going to do the work?"


She added: "We all want reduced youth offending. We all want our families out
of hotels. We all want our children to be going to school.


"But actually, the detail behind the targets, what's the action behind this?
It's all missing."

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