Tauranga based New Zealand First MP Brendan Horan claims the National-led government's welfare reforms do nothing to promote the economy.

Brendan says the proposed welfare reforms will not help to lower Tauranga's high unemployment rate and instead the government should focus on creating jobs.

Brendan Horan.

'These reforms do nothing to promote the economy; the focus should be on creating more work opportunities.

'The Bay of Plenty has one of the highest unemployment rates and there needs to be an effort to create more jobs.

'There should be incentives with things like tax breaks to improve businesses in areas like agriculture to increase exports and manufacturing.”

Under proposed reforms, teenagers aged 16 and 17 years, and parents aged 16-18 years receiving the benefit, will have their basic costs paid directly to the provider.

They are also coupled with a training provider to help them budget, parent and undertake job training courses.

They will receive an allowance of $50 a week and have the chance to earn an extra $10 a week by participating in these training courses.

Solo parents on the DPB, widows and woman's alone benefit recipients will be required to look for part time work after their child turns five.

Women with children 14 years and above will be required to look for full time work.

Solo parents on the benefit who have a subsequent child will also be required to look for work once their child turns one.

Brendan says more emphasis should be put on up-skilling the population in areas like technology and communications, instead of cutting jobs in the public sector.

'The government is outsourcing jobs in Housing New Zealand, Air New Zealand is cutting jobs, it just seems like every week we hear of job losses.

'We need to be deeply concerned about the balance of payments and job creations.”

Brendan says the country is still a 'fair way away” from having enough jobs to be able to sustain such changes to the welfare system.

'I agree there are too many people on benefits, but there needs to be the jobs for these people to go to.”

Currently 13 per cent of New Zealand's population receive a benefit – 351,000 people, costing the state $8billion a year.