Act leader Jamie Whyte firmly believes plans to raise the minimum wage are in 'fantasyland” and New Zealand needs to look at the 'cupcakes” making up the economy, opposed to the 'whole pie”.

In front of a small gathering at the Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club today, Jamie touched on issues of crime, education and welfare reforms – particularly the link between the latter two.

Act leader Jamie Whyte at the Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club today. Photo: Luke Balvert

Act's proposal for welfare reforms is to introduce time limits on the availability of the benefit, where over the course of one's life they cannot claim any more than three years' unemployment benefit.

Based on former American President Bill Clinton's model, the effects of the policy are 'stark” as people begin to seek employment as their time runs out, says Jamie.

'Welfare should be a help when you have temporary problems. The problem with welfare is if it's open-ended it becomes a way of life.

'There are many New Zealanders who living of New Zealanders is an expectation and way of life. It's bad for the taxpayers and bad for the people living on it.”

Jamie says making the collection of the unemployment benefit more arduous is also necessary.

If people were forced to 'sign in” twice a week to receive the benefit, that's more annoying than going to work daily, he says.

Linked closely with this is a better education system, with Act's idea of a partnership programme allowing schools to tailor to the needs of the 'poorest children”.

In doing so, those children, who are the 'least well-served” by the education system, will gain a better education and have the chance to find employment rather than leaving school illiterate, says Jamie.

It also gives them opportunities rather than following in the footsteps of their parents who might have been living on the benefit, he says.

Against this train of thought is Internet Mana leader Hone Harawira's proposal to 'ludicrously” raise the minimum wage to $18 an hour – effectively shutting out even more people from the workforce, says Jamie.

He believes such a rate is far too high as an employer is losing money while training the employee for the first year, making them less appealing.

'It doesn't matter if they are paid $12 an hour or something for the first year because that's the way to get started in life and get ahead.

'If you say no they have to be paid $18 or some crazy number like it is, they are just going to be unemployed for years and then they will be stuck.”

He says Hone's talks of the wage increase helping unemployment in his Te Tai Tokerau electorate in Whangarei are far off the mark, with statistics showing if someone is unemployed for a long period they are setback for the rest of their life.

'They live in a fantasy land where they believe good will wishes and the legislative pen can solve all problems.”

This fits in with Jamie's belief where the left-wing parties have a disillusioned view where all resources and tools are there in the collective vision of a 'pie”.

The only issue is how to divide it up among the society and sectors, he says.

'Everyone talks about this collective vision of this pie. I see the economy as cupcakes; cupcakes that I made or you made.

'Don't talk about the pie because who is going to slice it up? Talk about the cupcakes.”