The government's directive to ramp up welfare sanctions to stop what it calls the surge in benefit dependency under Labour, is being slammed by parties on the left.
The coalition has told officials that beneficiaries who aren't doing enough to find a job must be penalised more rigorously than they were on the last government's watch.
But Labour says that's ignoring the evidence about so called "tough love" action.
And the Greens say reducing, suspending or cancelling benefits as a punishment will only mire people in deeper poverty.
Social Development Minister Louise Upston spoke to Corin Dann.
