Almost three quarters of single parents still rely on welfare

ALMOST THREE QUARTERS OF SINGLE PARENTS STILL RELY ON WELFARE
Thursday, 18 October, 2007

The number of one parent families with dependent children rose between 2001 and 2006 but made up a slightly smaller percentage of all families when compared to five years ago.

"According to the Social Report 2007, released today, last year there were 145,032 one parent families with dependent children, up from 140,178 in 2001." Welfare commentator, Lindsay Mitchell added, " The bad news is around 74 percent still relied on a welfare benefit of some sort."

"The report also states that New Zealand has a relatively high proportion of families with children under 18 headed by sole parents, second only to the United States at 33 percent in 2006 and higher than the United Kingdom (25% in 2004), Australia (21% in 2005) and Canada (21% in 2001)."

"While the government is patting itself on the back for a drop in DPB numbers the sad fact is single parents are still heavily reliant on the state for their livelihood."