Louise Upston is refusing to take responsibility for National's collapsing Jobseeker target, despite her own Government's forecasts showing it will miss the mark by more than 60,000 people.  

“Today National had an opportunity to front up about why the target they've created is falling apart on their watch," Labour social development and employment spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime said.

  
“Instead, Louise Upston refused to take responsibility a failure of her own making.  

“National's target wasn't sabotaged by officials or inherited from a previous Government. They set it, they promoted it, and now they're failing to deliver it. 

“The Government’s own forecasts show they are set to miss their target by more than 60,000 people - around the population of New Plymouth - yet they still won't admit that their approach isn’t working. 

“You can't talk tough about getting people off benefits while presiding over an economy where 1,200 people are applying for a single cleaning job. That's not a failure of job seekers. That's a failure of a Government that has not created enough opportunities.  

“The least National could do is acknowledge reality. The fairytale target she sold to New Zealand has collapsed, and refusing to take responsibility for it won't help a single person into work,” Willow-Jean Prime said.