Sensible policy

From the outrage from some on the Left yesterday, you'd think that Paula Bennett was cancelling every welfare benefit, and taking custody of every beneficiary's first-born into the bargain. Of course, she isn't doing that at all, as Stuff reports:

Benefits will be cut to people with outstanding arrest warrants, Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says.

The move was signalled during the election campaign and confirmed today.

Of the 15,000 people with current arrest warrants, 8200 are on a benefit.

Most people clear their warrants within 28 days.

Under the new rules people will have a further 10 days to clear or challenge an arrest warrants before their benefit is stopped.

Payments to beneficiaries with children will be cut by 50 per cent after that time.

"Most people clear their warrants within a month so 38 days is a reasonable amount of time to step forward and straighten things out," Bennett said.

She said it was about people doing the right thing and coming forward to authorities.

"Once someone has come forward their benefit can be reinstated but there will be some clear consequences for people who continually refuse to acknowledge or resolve arrest warrants."

People will still be able to apply for hardship assistance and in exceptional circumstances, where someone posses a risk to the public, police can request that their benefit be cut immediately.

This is sensible policy from the Government, having been signalled prior to last year's General Election as a part of National's welfare reform package. 

And it seems that the policy is gathering overwhelming public support, as opposed to the derision of the usual suspects. Stuff is running a poll alongside its story which has at the time we took the screenshot attracted 3663 responses, and the results are pretty emphatic:

If this policy is a catalyst to greater clearance rates for warrants and crime, and if it makes life easier for the Police and the Courts then everyone benefits, except perhaps the person who is wanted on warrant.