Once the cat is out of the bag.....

Further from the Hansard debate on the Social Security Amendment Bill which introduced the DPB (reading historical Hansard is preferable to listening to Parliament today).

Dr Wall (Labour); "Step by step we are moving to the situation where financial provisions, quite rightly, are being based on the economic requirements of the people who are being supported by our pension schemes of one form or another; but unless there is very close supervision we will see the economic considerations gradually producing economic pressures to alter the social structure of our community, particularly in the family sphere.

We see this overseas, particularly in Sweden, where some very drastic and far-reaching changes have occurred in the pattern of family life, and when one looks at the processes by which these developed one finds they are largely due to the step-by-step increases in benefits along the path we are now treading."

So some of the members knew they were taking a risk, that they might be letting a cat out of the bag. The "close supervision" never happened.

And look! We are still following in Sweden's footsteps.