On welfare due to drug or alcohol addiction - the good news

Stuff has reported on the number of people on benefits for drug or alcohol addiction

 More than 5000 people are collecting benefits because drug and alcohol addiction is preventing them from working.

5,349 to be specific.

Last time I asked the question, June 2011, there were 5,855.

That's an 8.6% decrease.

However,

In 2009, 1181 people had spent four to 10 years collecting the benefit, and 291 people had been doing so for more than 10 years.
This year, 1394 people had spent four to 10 years on the benefit, and 485 had been on it for 10 years or more.

This would indicate that the hardcore remain but fewer people are being admitted onto a benefit for addiction reasons.

Labour's social development spokeswoman Sue Moroney said the figures showed the Government's reforms were not working.
"In fact, they've made things worse," she said.
"The number of Kiwis consigned to long-term unemployment has increased by more than 4000 people since the so-called reforms were introduced in July."

I'm not sure how overall long-term unemployment relates to this specific story or where these figures are sourced from.

In fact, the number of long term Jobseekers (dependent one year or more) reduced by 8 percent in the year to September 2013.

Labour has no grounds to complain anyway.

Here's a quote from a press release from 2009,

  Welfare commentator Lindsay Mitchell said that in June 2002 3,202 people relied on one of these benefits because of substance abuse. "Information just released to me from the Ministry of Social Development shows that number has risen to 5,838."