Majority of Kiwis oppose unemployment insurance proposal

Three out of five Kiwis oppose the government’s proposed unemployment insurance scheme, according to a survey by the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union (NZTU).

The NZTU survey found that 60% of respondents opposed the proposal, up 18 points from when a similar question was asked in December 2021, while 35% of respondents supported the scheme.

The proposal, also known as the New Zealand Income Insurance Scheme (NZIIS), aims to provide an individual 80% of their income for up to seven months if they are made redundant, laid off, or have to stop working because of a health condition or disability. It will be administered by the ACC and funded by levies from both employers and employees.

“The significant opposition to the income insurance proposal shows that New Zealanders can see this ‘levy’ for what it is – a new tax,” said NZTU campaigns manager Callum Purves. “One that will cost someone working full time on the median salary over $800 a year. This flies in the face of Labour’s election commitment to introduce no new taxes.

“As Kiwis learn more about this scheme, their objections to it only grow,” Purves said. “All it will serve to do is create a perverse incentive for some people to take a six-month holiday on 80% of their salary while playing havoc with the jobs market. And hard-working New Zealanders and businesses will have to pay billions for this privilege. The government says it cares about the cost of living pressures Kiwis are facing. It could make a start by dropping plans for this new jobs tax that will hit people in their wallets.”