Karl Stagno-Navarra Reforming the welfare state has no one solution, but the sector is in dire need of being addressed before it is too late. Dr Charles Pace, from the University’s department of social policy, said the challenge of the welfare state was akin to climate change: “Either you address the issue and find common consensus or face the natural consequences,” Pace said in a debate on the welfare state organised by left-wing movement Zminijietna, yesterday.
Stressing that welfare reform depends mostly on the people’s will to accept necessary changes, Pace said political parties must stop promising the world and competing on who will give more.
According to Pace’s studies, the country remains without a second pillar pension in spite of the government’s partial reform, that will leave most pensioners without a full two-thirds increase unless it is addressed soon. “The pressures of an ageing population are placing a heavy burden on government’s free health scheme, and while it is doing all it can to reduce waiting lists as much as possible, the scenario for the future is that the same waiting list is destined to explode,” Pace said.
The debate was open to all political parties and while the PL’s interim secretary-general Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi and AD’s Chairperson Michael Briguglio attended, there was a ‘no-show’ by PN secretary-general Paul Borg Olivier.
Zrinzo Azzopardi stopped short of replying MaltaToday journalist James Debono, who moderated the debate, on whether Labour would stop insisting on lowering tax bands when the welfare state can only be supported by taxes.
Cautious on Labour’s future policy, Zrinzo Azzopardi stressed on the bi-partisan agreement on guaranteeing a future for the welfare state. While saying the State had to provide the vulnerable with a safety net, Zrinzo Azzopardi said the Maltese had to understand that the welfare state’s simple cash handouts created unwanted dependence, with all its negative consequences.
Zrinzo Azzopardi said a Labour government will guarantee free health but address anomalies in the way benefits are distributed. He lamented the lack of family-friendly policies as a way of cutting welfare dependency, citing the example of his wife, a police inspector who was refused permission for reduced hours to be able to cope with two children, and had to resort to unpaid leave.
Similar criticism came from AD chairperson Michael Briguglio, who said it was strange how government claims it does all it can to incentivise women to work, when childcare centres are almost inexistent. “It’s necessary that government ensures people are given the right tools, such as education, to prevent the effects of any future fall-out in the welfare system.”
Briguglio said that it is odd that government speaks about curbing abuse on single mother benefits, “especially teen mothers, when it scandalously drags its feet over sexual policy.”
He cited how the Scandinavian model of welfare was strong because the public accepted higher taxation, knowing the system would support them adequately.
Sociologist Angele Debono argued that the concept of single mothers changed over the years “from a state of widowers, to separated women or teen mothers, and these deserve attention.”
Debono disagreed with the tax rebate for parents who send children to private schools. While agreeing with the concept of universal benefits, Debono said means-testing can be discriminatory and potentially detrimental to many. “Government must be cautious that stringent measures on social benefits do not lead to the stigmatisation of the few who receive assistance.”
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