The Maori Party is advocating a "work for the dole" scheme, saying if people have to work for their benefit they have an incentive to get off it. Party co-leader Pita Sharples says the dole is a trap that people fall in to. He says they have no incentive to get off the dole if their money just turns up without their having to do anything for it.

The Labour government's Social Development Minister David Benson-Pope has said the idea completely failed in the 1990's when the National Party in government tried it.

Dr Sharples is highly critical of the current government, which he says has written off the idea as a failed National Party experiment. He says all the current government is doing is getting people off the dole and onto the sickness benefit.

The National Party's welfare spokeswoman Judith Collins likes the idea. She says she is keen to hammer out something more concrete with the Maori Party, and she has already had some informal discussions with Dr Sharples. Ms Collins says she is encouraged the Maori Party is acknowledging the number of beneficiaries is a serious issue in the Maori community.

Ms Collins says while the number of people on the unemployment benefit has gone down, the number on other benefits has mushroomed.