Sharples changes his mind

Remember when you were all bowled over by the Maori Party slamming benefit dependency?

Tariana Turia was guest at an ACT conference talking about ending welfare dependency wasn't she? I don't know for sure because I didn't go. I have never bought it. Growing the Maori population is far more important to Tariana than being self-supporting or children having intact two parent families. That's probably a colonial Pakeha construct anyway.

Here is an interview (starts at 32.29) with Pita Sharples on the back of National's new welfare policy. Sharples doesn't at all like work-testing DPB mothers when their youngest turns six. He blames kids running amok on both parents working, rejects the philosophy that assumes people need to get out to work, rejects work-for-the-dole, "dumb jobs" that people "don't like" and wants WFF extended to beneficiaries. The only aspect of National's policy he likes is the lifted abatement rates!

The interviewer, Justin du Fresne, says afterwards he is "thunderstruck" at the change in Sharples's views but probably quite rightly suspects the transformation has something to do with the impending matter of a general election.