Latest news with #QuinTauetau
RNZ News
06-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Unemployment rate unchanged at 5.1 percent
Photo: RNZ / Quin Tauetau The unemployment rate was unchanged at the start of the year. Stats NZ data shows the jobless rate at 5.1 percent in the three months ended March, below expectations of 5.3 percent. More to come...
RNZ News
05-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
MSD doesn't know if benefit sanctions leading people into work, says aim is compliance
New data reveals the number of benefit sanctions for missed MSD appointments rose to 9042 in the March 2025 quarter - more than twice the 4356 in the same quarter last year. Photo: RNZ / Quin Tauetau The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) cannot say whether an increased level of benefit sanctions is leading to more people going into work. The agency says sanctions are designed to ensure compliance with benefit obligations, which then should help people find work, rather than directly helping people into employment. The number of benefit sanctions for missed MSD appointments rose to 9042 in the March 2025 quarter - more than twice the 4356 in the same quarter last year. There were a total of 13,485 sanctions in the quarter this year, up 79.6 percent year-on-year. Data released to RNZ after an Official Information Act request shows that in 2024, there were 3015 times that a client was sanctioned, then recomplied with their obligations and then left the benefit to work. There were 210 times when a client was sanctioned and then left for work, then recomplied with their obligations. That could include people who found work and then ended up back on the benefit. Graham Allpress, group general manager of client service delivery, said sanctions and obligations were one part of a broader picture that could contribute to a jobseeker finding work. He said MSD could not provide data about sanctions that led to someone re-engaging and then finding work because they could not link the sanction and the person finding a job. "People get jobs because they apply for them, and because they take steps to become ready for work. "We use sanctions as a last resort if someone is not meeting their obligations, to encourage them to engage with us and get back on track by re-complying their obligations. "In 2024, 92.8 percent of sanctions were lifted after the client re-complied with their obligations and got back on track. That is the purpose we use them for. "If someone gets a benefit and they have work obligations, one of the main things they agree to do is regularly apply for suitable jobs. By meeting their obligations, they maximise their own opportunity to get a job and 'exit to work'. "We are engaging with more jobseekers more frequently through proactive appointments and Kōrero Mahi seminars. Our support for jobseekers includes training, work assessments or work experience, and help with CVs and applying for jobs." In 2018, the then-Labour government produced a paper on the effects of work-related sanctions. It said that regimes less severe than New Zealand's were effective in increasing movement from benefits to work. But evidence from the UK and US was that very harsh sanctions could have adverse affects that drove people away from employment. Isaac Gunson, spokesperson for the Child Poverty Action Group, said it was unlikely that so many more people had started missing appointments. "What seems more likely is that MSD has become quicker to cut people off, despite the very real barriers many face in attending. "These are people doing their best in tough circumstances. They may not have access to childcare, a working phone, or may simply be confused by the system. "Pushing people off income support doesn't make the job market fairer or more accessible. It just assumes success is possible while unemployment rises and support systems become harder to navigate." Shamubeel Eaqub said there should be clearer ways to determine whether sanctions were having the effect intended. "How can we be confident they are doing their job? "I have no problem with them pulling these levers if they're effective. If they're creating a better outcome then of course we should be doing it. But we shouldn't just punish people." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
04-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Calls to keep plain language law as it heads for repeal
Photo: RNZ / Quin Tauetau A law to enforce the use of plain language in official documents and on government websites is being scrapped over criticism it is achieving nothing more than extra costs and red tape, but proponents argue that's not true and the Act needs to stay. The Plain Language Bill came into effect just over two years ago and requires government agencies to appoint a plain language officer, train staff to communicate using plain language and avoiding jargon, and report back annually to the Public Service Commissioner on how they have complied with the Act. But the Public Service Minister Judith Collins says rather than solving anything, the requirements have created a bureaucratic nightmare, and has promised to repeal it. Lynda Harris is the founder and chief executive of Write Group, a firm that helps organisations produce clear and easily understandable documents, and says scrapping the Act is a backward step.
RNZ News
23-04-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
AI use for job seekers: Defaulting to a 'computer says no' situation
Photo: RNZ / Quin Tauetau Using AI algorithms to to renew expired Jobseeker benefits automatically could result in 'computer says no' discrimination, experts are warning. Cabinet has agreed to introduce a suite of new obligations and sanctions for job seekers this year, and halving the time people can be on the benefit from a year to six months is among the proposed changes. That would effectively double the workload for Ministry of Social Development staff processing re-applications and the ministry said it plans to use automatic decision making to roll these over. MSD said such AI would not be used to decline Jobseeker Support benefits - that decision would be made by a staff member. Victoria University of Wellington professor and AI expert Dr Simon McCallum said the potential for bias was too great. "There are certainly areas to be concerned about," he said. "Once an automatic decision is made the human won't think fresh about the situation, they'll just use whatever the computer says or default to a 'computer said no' situation." McCallum said human empathy can be inhibited by such a process. "When you are the human who just gets a group of people who are potentially problematic your mindset shifts into a 'I'm dealing with people who are problematic' and you get that expectation issue." He said such automated decisions would need human oversight in a way that could make them less efficient. AI expert Dr Karaitiana Taiuru specialises in the effect of automated decision making on indigenous and vulnerable communities. He said it all comes down to the data and algorithms used and if that reflects the nuances of such groups of people. "The data MSD has could very easily reflect bias against Maori, Pasifika and immigrants so in the ideal world companies and organisations would use those same communities to consult on the algorithms they're using, or how the automated system will work." Taiuri said that should be the first step. "MSD really needs to consult properly with all communities that will be impacted by this and I'm sure if they do this will be a cost saver but there has to be that human investment in the project first." He also said a standard developed for MSD's use of such technology needed an overhaul. "There is an issue here. MSD are saying they've got some safeguards from 2022 automated tools and AI have significantly changed in the last three years." MSD said it is reviewing the standard in consultation with the privacy commissioner. MSD is a co-signatory to The Algorithm Charter for Aotearoa New Zealand, which outlines the ways in which government agencies should demonstrate transparency and accountability in the use of data. Under the charter, agencies agree to making sure their data is fit for purpose by understanding its limitations and identifying and managing bias - to name a few. But Taiuru said the charter can not be enforced. "AI in New Zealand is not being regulated so it is up to individual departments on how they handle automated AI systems and if they choose not to follow guidelines they don't have to." MSD deputy chief executive for organisational assurance and communication Melissa Gill said it was important to make sure the ministry used automatic decision making carefully and responsibly. "Our automated decision making process for regranting benefits uses a series of simple checks to check whether a client meets the legal requirements to have their benefit regranted." She said the process did not include demographic information or profiling about people on benefits. Gill said the automated process would not decline a benefit regrant, and beneficiaries would still be able to re-apply for their benefits in person. "The redesigned 26-week reapplication and the use of automatic decision making in this way can make it easier for clients to do many of the basic things they need to do, without having to repeat information they have already given us, or repeat activities already completed. This allows us to focus on the interactions with clients that will help get them into work." MSD said its Automated Decision Making Standard was introduced in 2022 after consultation with the Privacy Commissioner, the Human Rights Commission and the University of Otago Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Public Policy. "It provides a framework for good practice and introduces specific automatic decision making safeguards, including the requirement that our clients get their correct entitlement and are not discriminated against," Gill said. "Where appropriate, we are able to consult with external reference groups to help achieve this. MSD has access to a range of reference groups who we can involve when this be required." Gill said MSD used the Standard to assess the shortened regrant process, and no specific concerns about bias or discrimination were identified. "As a result, there was no need to consult with external reference groups." AUT computer science professor and AI expert Dr Edmund Lai said some degree of bias is unavoidable in both human and computer systems. He said using automatic decision making to rollover benefits at the expiry date should not be a problem. "If the tool is used in exactly that way I don't see any problems because you're just saving manpower for screening all the routine cases where reapplication is successful and then a human will look at those other ones and rexamine those cases." He said it would need human safeguards. Law changes are needed in order for the government to introduce new obligations and sanctions for job seekers. A new clause in the Social Services Amendment Bill, which has passed its first reading, vastly expands the decisions that can be made by automated systems to include sanctions. MSD said it did not plan to use generative AI or automated decision making in that way. Both the Salvation Army and Law Society have called for the clause to be scrapped, in submissions to the select committee considering the bill. The Salvation Army's submission stated that automatic decision making "cannot account for the complexities we often see in the individuals we support", such as financial hardship, addictions, mental health issues or unstable living conditions. The Law Society wants the clause allowing the expanded use of AI to be dropped entirely. "This raises significant concern about how the use of automated systems will apply where the sanctions provisions involve some form of evaluative judgement, for example those relating to money management and community work." The AI experts RNZ spoke to said while they supported using technology for good ways to automate decisions, using such AI for sanctions would come with risks. Lai said it would not be an appropriate use of the technology to cut benefits or decide other monetary sanctions. All agreed such use of the technology would need human oversight and that is not currently regulated. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
